• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Bad to. Please Help.

  • Thread starter Thread starter JStones
  • Start date Start date
>> I had 12 v at all 3 locations within the switch.

ok, good. that eliminates the R side control assy as the possible problem

now into the headlight bucket to test the wiring there between the output of the start button, the clutch safety switch and the green/yellow wire to the solenoid.

pop the trim ring off of the front of the headlight and pull the light/ring assy - 2 phillips screws at 4 and 8 o'clock on the ring, there is a tang at the very top that you'll need to clear in order to remove the ring. lift the bottom away from the bike so that you are creating a space on the lower half of the bucket and the tang should clear

trace the 2 wires in the sheath from the underside of the clutch into the headlight bucket and you'll find 2 bullet connectors at the end.

the bullet connector that connects to the grn/yellow that heads into the harness goes to the starter solenoid

the bullet connector that connects to a 3 wire sheath with 2 orange/white wires comes from the run/stop/start wiring on the R control assy.

check for 12v on each bullet with ign on, run/stop to run, clutch in, starter button pressed.

you *should* have 12v on the 3 wire sheath bullet since you had 12v on all 3 connections inside of the R control assy

if have 12v on the 3 wire sheath bullet connector but not on the bullet that heads into the harness then your safety switch on the clutch is no good somehow.

if you have 12v on both bullets then check the resistance between the grn/yellow bullet coming off the clutch safety switch that heads into the harness, and the green/yellow on the starter solenoid. (key off)

report back when you know more

>> I wanted to do your solenoid test but I didnt fully understand it.

the starter solenoid contains a relay inside of it. when you activate the relay it allows power to flow between the battery and the starter, just like you did when you shorted the batt/starter with the screwdriver. in a perfect world when the green/yellow on the starter solenoid has 12v on it the relay closes/activates and power flows to the starter and your bike turns over. it will only start if the key is on, but you can turn it over with the screwdriver, or by putting 12v onto the green/yellow. so if you run a wire/jumper between batt + and the green/yellow on the solenoid the starter should turn over or the solenoid should click. let me know if this is still confusing,

if you can test this by putting 12v onto the green/yellow and seeing if it causes the starter to work and report back then we can check one more thing off.

so far we know that you are getting power through the R control assy, and we know that the starter works.

next in line is the clutch safety switch. but we're testing the solenoid as well, sorta testing the starter circuit from each end.

we're close
 
Last edited:
Miked,
My dad is stopping by the house tonight. Ill post my results. Figured one man could not accurately test in the wires in the lamp while holding clutch and pressing start button. Again, thanks for all the help.
 
> Again, thanks for all the help

no problem, know what a pita it is when your bike isn't right. I'll be sucking on the teet for some help here soon, just trying to give back where I can. let me know how it goes
 
Results:

First up, I found that the previous owner had done the clutch bypass and just never removed the clutch switch wiring. So this whole time Ive been pulling in a clutch to start when I didnt need to. So that answers test 1. I did clean this up.

Second, I had 12 v at the harness with the orange/white, and yellow green wires. It was in a green harness that ran to the Right hand assembly.

Third, The solenoid test. I Took a few types of material to try and make this happen. Wire, Metal hanger etc. When touching the positive terminal to the green and yellow wire. Nothing happened.
 
JStones said:
Third, The solenoid test. I Took a few types of material to try and make this happen. Wire, Metal hanger etc. When touching the positive terminal to the green and yellow wire. Nothing happened.
Click to expand...

The green/yellow wire is the exciter lead that comes from your starter button. It energizes the electro magnet in the relay that then completes the internal circuit between the large primary terminals that complete the heavy duty circuit to supply power to the starter motor. The green/yellow wire is normally off (an open circuit/not powered) and powered by 12v+ when you press the starter button. One main terminal on the starter relay is always hot because it is wired directly to battery. The other main terminal is connected to the starter. Forgetting the starter button, if you jump the two main terminals (connect them), the starter will turn over regardless of whether the ignition is on or not. The engine will not start without the ignition on, but the starter should crank the engine over.
If it does not, the relay is bad. It it does turn over, the exciter wire is not powered. In this case, you can check that by temporarily taking a jumper wire from battery positive and briefly connecting the other end to the yell/green wire on the solenoid. The starter should engage. If it does, then the problem is in your handle bar switch or the power supply to it. If the starter does not engage, then the solenoid is faulty.

Earl
 
Last edited:
Back to Square one.

Back to Square one.

Had a mechanic look at it and after doing a long list of readings on the multimeter he concluded it was the right hand controls. I got the part in yesterday and it was no change. So now I have a new solenoid and a new right hand controls. The clutch switch is bypassed. Whats left? Where do I go from here? Rest is just wiring right?
 
Last edited:
I'd go for a grounding problem on the starter solenoid that would make it so that the internal solenoid relay would become inop. Not exactly sure how to better ground the solenoid, I'm out of town so I can't test something up for you. You've already said that putting 12v onto the green/yellow on the solenoid did nothing (no spark when touched), and we know we have 12v in the headlight bucket on the other end of the green/yellow (iirc) so that helps make my case about a ground problem

Not sure why the mechanic had you order a right control, we'd already proven that good with the test for 12v on all 3 positions.
 
I ran a ground wire from behind the solenoid to the negative battery terminal. That didnt work. Still nothing when I hit that switch.
 
so just to confirm - you've been able to get 12v on the green/yellow on the soleniod when you hit the start button, correct? if so then do the following, else reel me back in and remind me what we know.

sometimes things in electrical land get goofy. lets see if the solenoid relay is really working. try this, we're going to measure the resistance of the 12v+ cables between battery + to the starter. the starter solenoid creates this connection when you press the start button and 12v is passed thru the harness to the green/yellow connection on the solenoid.

pull the red/12v+ lead off batt

leave your ground jumper on the solenoid in place

hook a multimeter setup to read ohms (200 ohm scale maybe, not too important) between the 12v+ batt cable that you just took off, and the lug on the starter that has the cable that runs between the starter and the solenoid - we're trying to read resistance from the batt all the way to the starter via the fat cables that run through the solenoid. hope that makes sense.

the meter should show that there is no continuity, that the circuit is open.

when the green/yellow on the solenoid gets 12v on it the internal relay should close and allow a connection within the fat cables between the input from the battery and the output to the starter.

ok, here we go:

using a jumper of the same size/diameter/gauge as the wires in the wiring harness, hold the jumper on the solenoid green/yellow connection. then take the other end of the jumper and touch it to batt + (we're doing it this way so as not to have an unfused 12v hot wire hanging off your battery that could short the battery out somewhere on the frame)

if the solenoid relay is working then when you touch the jumper to the battery + terminal the multimeter should change and show continuity/0 ohms/no resistance between the fat cables from the battery + to the starter input.
 
verified that the metal wrapped around the solenoid, along with the mounting bolt, all measure 0 ohms against battery neg. so the green/yellow supplying 12v+ to the solenoid works with the ground to trigger the internal solenoid relay closed in order to pass battery voltage via the red wire to the starter.
 
Back at it

Back at it

Im sorry for the delay, just had a baby boy and have been very preoccupied. I'm finding more and more time out there so here is my theory. I feel like its 100% the wire/wiring from Handle to Solenoid. New Solenoid, new RH Controls. Everything checks out individually. Together equals no results. So to rewire this what do I need to do? Now that the clutch bypass is gone, theres not much to it, right?

Thoughts?

Miked- As always, thanks for the continued help.
 
congrats on the new addition, I have 4 and a gaggle of grandkids so I know how a new addition impacts your free time.

measure the wire out with an ohm meter and prove your theory, should be able to go from the R control, or the bullet connector in the headlight bucket, to the green/yellow on the solenoid

did you measure ohms from the solenoid housing to battery - ??

nope, its pretty simple even with the clutch bypass. run/stop switch, into the headlight bucket onto the green/yellow, into the harness, down the harness to the solenoid, onto the green/yellow, solenoid grounded well

one wildcard here that I haven't considered is some sort of malfunctioning bypass switch on the kickstand/centerstand, might want to have a look to see if such a switch exists on the 550

you're welcome, lets get this thing solved shall we?
 
Its Fixed

Its Fixed

Miked/All - Its finally fixed. I took the RH Controls to Orange/white, Red, G/Y connector in headlight apart. Individually connected the kill switch wires and then ran a completely new Green yellow wire from headlight to the solenoid. Pushed the button and it fired right up.

Thank you for all of your help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top