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GS 850 died in the rain

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
A

Anonymous

Guest
Had to ride home in the rain yesterday on my '79 GS850. Made it about 3 miles when the engine died. Coasted to a stop, wouldn't restart at first but did restart after sitting 3 or 4 minutes. Went 1/2 mile and died again. Again wouldn't start immediately but did after 3-4 minutes of just sitting. Same sequence occurred about twice more with me only making it a 1/4 mile or so before repeating sequence. Finally would not restart. Got a trailer and hauled it home. This all took about an hour. Backed it off the trailer at the house, hit the starter and it started up and ran fine while I pulled into the garage.
Pretty sure it's an ignition problem but not sure where. Bike still has dual points and dual coils. Would appreciate input on what problem might be. Thought it might be a cracked coil, but I don't think it would have restarted after 3-4 minutes while it's still raining. Perhaps loose connection somewhere?
 
Could be cracked spark plug cables and they are shorting in the rain.
 
Also, although it hasn't done it in a long time, had a bad condensor once. Symptoms... started ok, ran for a bit, then quit. Would restart after it had cooled down for a while and then repeat the cycle. Easy to fix, but took a while to troubleshoot.

Spark plug connectors (resistor caps?) also seem susceptible to moisture if they're still the originals.
 
Do you have a good gasket on the points cover?? It could have gotten moisture in it
 
Appreciate the comments. Started wetting electrical connections, coils, etc. to find problem. Engine eventually died, but could not isolate specific problem. Finally replaced points and condensor system with an old Martek electronic ignition and solved problem. Looking back, I'm relatively sure points were the culprit. They just needed to be replaced and were really affected by damp conditions.

Bike ran like a top for 1600 miles from Texas out to Camp Pendleton, CA.
But we encountered no rain the whole trip.
 
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