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BLOWN MAIN FUSE

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Anonymous

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MAYBE SOMEONE OUT THERE HAS AN ANSWER FOR THIS. I RODE MY GS1100GL (1983) TODAY. STARTED GREAT RODE FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES AND SHUT IT OFF. CAME BACK TO START AND THE LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE ENGINE CRANKED OVER BUT AS SOON AS THE ENGINE STARTED TO RUN EVERYTHING WENT OFF. CHECKED AND THE MAIN FUSE WAS BLOWN. REPLACED THAT WITH NEW FUSE AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED. EVERYTHING INCLUDING TURN SIGNALS WORK FINE UNTIL THE ENGINE STARTS. (IT BLOWS THE FUSE AS SOON AS THE ENGINE STARTS TO RUN) I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THE CHARGING SYSTEM HAS SHORTED TO GROUND. HOW WOULD I CHECK FOR THAT? ANY OTHER IDEAS? ANYTHING WOULD BE HELPFUL. THANKS BILL :?
 
Re: BLOWN MAIN FUSE

If the charging system (stator/regulater/rectifier) had shorted to ground, some component of it would be burned out and it would not be working.
The charging system is a supply system and not a device draw. There is no fuse between the regulator and the battery and the system does not run through the fuse block. Only devices/systems that draw power run through the fuse block. You have a corrosion, faulty connector /increased resistance or short in the circuitry that draws power through the main fuse.
There is a red wire that is the primary positive power supply to your fuse box. there will be a connector between the battery and the fuse box you need to check. Next open the back of the fuse box and inspect the fuse bases for corrosion. After that follow the wiring from the main fuse using a wiring diagram and check voltage at each connection/junction. Make the checks using a multimeter and the engine not running, but ignition on. When you find the faulty spot, it will be indicated by the large voltage drop from your previous checkpoint.

Earl



BECKERT153 said:
MAYBE SOMEONE OUT THERE HAS AN ANSWER FOR THIS. I RODE MY GS1100GL (1983) TODAY. STARTED GREAT RODE FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES AND SHUT IT OFF. CAME BACK TO START AND THE LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE ENGINE CRANKED OVER BUT AS SOON AS THE ENGINE STARTED TO RUN EVERYTHING WENT OFF. CHECKED AND THE MAIN FUSE WAS BLOWN. REPLACED THAT WITH NEW FUSE AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED. EVERYTHING INCLUDING TURN SIGNALS WORK FINE UNTIL THE ENGINE STARTS. (IT BLOWS THE FUSE AS SOON AS THE ENGINE STARTS TO RUN) I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THE CHARGING SYSTEM HAS SHORTED TO GROUND. HOW WOULD I CHECK FOR THAT? ANY OTHER IDEAS? ANYTHING WOULD BE HELPFUL. THANKS BILL :?
Click to expand...
 
Earl,

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but if the RR is letting too much voltage through, wouldn't that cause things like instrumet lights to receive too much current (go bright and then blow) and then (seconds later) cause the main fuse to blow? This is what happened when I had an improper RR placed on my GS450 years ago. When I got the right RR this did not happen. I did not have to check the wiring for faults. The proper RR solved the fuse-blowing problem.
 
Re: BLOWN MAIN FUSE

BECKERT153 said:
MAYBE SOMEONE OUT THERE HAS AN ANSWER FOR THIS. I RODE MY GS1100GL (1983) TODAY. STARTED GREAT RODE FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES AND SHUT IT OFF. CAME BACK TO START AND THE LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE ENGINE CRANKED OVER BUT AS SOON AS THE ENGINE STARTED TO RUN EVERYTHING WENT OFF. CHECKED AND THE MAIN FUSE WAS BLOWN. REPLACED THAT WITH NEW FUSE AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED. EVERYTHING INCLUDING TURN SIGNALS WORK FINE UNTIL THE ENGINE STARTS. (IT BLOWS THE FUSE AS SOON AS THE ENGINE STARTS TO RUN) I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THE CHARGING SYSTEM HAS SHORTED TO GROUND. HOW WOULD I CHECK FOR THAT? ANY OTHER IDEAS? ANYTHING WOULD BE HELPFUL. THANKS BILL :?
Click to expand...

Bill...I have personal experience with this problem (ask Hap and Tim!!!) on my 1980 GS1100E. After much troubleshooting, a short was found to be the cause of my main fuse shorting out. The short was located within the "computer CDI" box (the small black box attached to your battery box). Instead of buying another one (VERY expensive), I just bought a new Dyna ignition system for about $160...and the problem was fixed.

If you have troubleshooted all other areas, I would seriously suggest opening up the CDI box and check all the small connections in there. My short came from a pencil-tip sized hole in the "white" wire..which was touching a small bolt).

Hope that helps!

Rudi
 
It could easily be the stator. When my bike was only about a year old I had the same symptoms. Turned out to be a bad stator after I had already tried replacing the R/R.
 
THANKS FOR THE INFO. I WILL CHECK THESE OUT THIS WEKEND. IF ANYONE ELSE HAS ANY OTHER IDEAS I'M STILL OPEN. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE HELP. BILL
 
This one is one of those yes and no situations. The charging system should output between 14.2 and 14.9 volts when functioning correctly. For Electrex R/R's in particular, design point charge rate (optimum) is 14.7 volts. The 14.2 to 14.9 volt range holds true for all bikes with 12 volt electrical systems. Voltages within that range will not "blow" electrical components. The only way you could "blow" electrical components would be if the charging system is faulty and charging the battery at a rate higher than 14.9 volts which would sustain an abnormally high system voltage. So yes, an R/R "letting" too much voltage through will cause thing to burn out, but if that is happening, the R/R is faulty. You did not exactly have an improper R/R on your 450. You had a faulty R/R installed on your 450. Had it been working correctly, it would not have caused anything to burn out. It may have burned itself out if it were incorrectly matched to your stator output, but that would not burn out lights, etc etc.
It would have had to have the same 14.2 to 14.9 volt output. The wattage capacity could have been mismatched though. As long as you use a R/R with a greater wattage handling capability than your stator has output capacity, everything will be fine.

Earl



nabrams said:
Earl,

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but if the RR is letting too much voltage through, wouldn't that cause things like instrumet lights to receive too much current (go bright and then blow) and then (seconds later) cause the main fuse to blow? This is what happened when I had an improper RR placed on my GS450 years ago. When I got the right RR this did not happen. I did not have to check the wiring for faults. The proper RR solved the fuse-blowing problem.
Click to expand...
 
Earl,

Yes, when I said improper, I meant it was charging my system at too high a voltage. A brief test, by measuring the voltage at the batttery terminals while the bike was running, showed 20 volts. Obviously way too high. I did not know whether it was a faulty R/R or just the wrong R/R for the bike. You've clarified it for me - Thanks.
Anyway, the bottom line is that I think we've all pointed out various electrical problems that might be the root cause of blowing the main fuse. Checking all of them is probably a good idea. If only it didn't have to be such an annoying, time-consuming process. The good side of it is that when you're done, you know you probably won't have to worry about for a while.
 
:-)

Earl

nabrams said:
Earl,
I did not know whether it was a faulty R/R or just the wrong R/R for the bike. You've clarified it for me - Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
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