Bad plug cap, does bike run on 3 cylinders or 2 ?

[tuning-forks]

With waste spark ignition system, does a bad plug cap mean the bike runs on 3 cylinders or 2? I've seen both answers proposed, but have never done the experiment. Right now we're in sub-zero temps., so I'm not going to fire up the bike to find out either.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Waste spark means each /ONE plug fires EVERYTIME the piston comes to TDC...

So, with one bad spark plug cap, that would induce issues on ONLY THAT cylinder.

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[tuning-forks]

To clarify, I've read some say that if one cap is bad, neither plug attached to that coil will fire.
Here is an example of that argument: https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FaLH5aYL.jpg&hash=e79375a535527f85d2a3a7d08786b143
(actually, they state that if one plug then fires, the coil is defective)

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

What you asked about was waste spark...

As the FZ has two coils, (one for 2 cylinders), should one coil fail, will you loose spark to both plugs using THAT coil-
I would think so..

You can check for spark with a spark tester or simply grounding out the attached spark plug to the head,
crank, and look for spark...

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[tuning-forks]

Sorry, I'm talking about one cap disconnected or bad, not a bad coil.
I don't think my communication is that bad, but maybe I'm fooling myself.
I edited the link above as it didn't seem to work, the image is embedded now.

 

[trepetti]

Guessing here, but if 1 of the 2 caps connected to a coil is not connected well, it will not effect the OTHER cap on the same plug. For example, it the #1 cap is bad on the coil that fires #1 and #4, the #4 cap will still fire fine.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

What Tom posted ^^.

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