Clip the test light lead to a +12v source such as the battery positive terminal and the tip on the negative terminal of the coil. The power to the coil is constant, and the ground is what pulses to fire the coil. If it's working correctly the test light should be lit when not cranking and pulse on & off while cranking.

 

Thanks for the clarification Tahoe.

Yep, the test light to the neg batt term and the test light probe tip to the unconnected neg side coil wire gets me a flashing glow when cranking! Now not a big bright glow like a straight 12v connection... but a pretty good glow off the filiment to at least indicate there is voltage cycling through both leads.

With that I will deem both triggers as operational, both coil primary windings sound with 12v continuity and within spec at 3.1ohms resistance. With the 12v supply confirmed to both coils and the triggers passing the flash test, I can only assume the spark unit is not faulty?

With that, the only thing I am left with is the high side resistance test of the two coils. Seeing that I had no luck getting any readings in the awkward locations while on the bike, I guess it is time to just pull the little bastards off and shoot them and the plug wires on the bench for final confirmation.

If the high sides test out within spec both across the coil towers and at the plug caps on the bench, I'm now out of ideas.

Film at 11.

(BTW, staying here in General Tech for this rather generic troubleshooting to contribute to the body of knowledge for later search use by others)

 

The battery side needs to be connected to the positive terminal not negative. You'll get a consistent bright glow and an obvious on/off flash while cranking if the trigger is working correctly.

 

how did this turn out? i am suspicious of my high side windings as well. sounds like you had similar issues to whats happening to mine right now