• 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.

Peculiar electrical problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter lsuzuki
  • Start date Start date
L

lsuzuki

Guest
Hello all, my bike is currently stranded in Michigan City behind a gas station pending my rescue, so I'm hoping you can help me determine the problem before I drive 60 miles to fix and drive it home!

I started a 180 mile day trip on my GS250 with a freshly charged battery, new stator and R/R, fully cleaned and well-connected electrical system. No problems early on, but after stopping for gas at mile 60 the starter was a little anemic on the cranks. I drove another 30 miles, rested for an hour (it was a hot day), and the starter did not have enough juice to crank. I push started the bike and took off home.

25 miles later the engine lost power and I cruised at 40mph for 2 minutes hoping for an interstate exit. Finally it died completely with absolutely no vital signs from the electric system - no oil pressure light, no cranking, no headlight, nothing.

The bike rest 2 hours (I went to the beach), then I was able to push-start it again. Rode 5 miles, then died again just like before. No lights, signals, nothing. (This time I had to get home, no time for the beach.)

While pushing it off the highway, after 10 min I started to see the oil pressure light dimly, and 20 minutes later I had power back to everything (although not enough to push-start the bike again.)

Any ideas? This would seem straight forward except I can't explain the power slowly returning to the systems. Thanks everyone!
 
I will also add that my fuse is in tact and I can not see any obvious electrical issues
 
Your charging system is dead somewhere and the battery is not charging up, that's why it died

Batteries can get back some charge over time, that's why you could push start it the second time

Charge your battery, read the Stator Papers and go from there
 
Thanks for the tip. Although, I have trouble believing that a battery can spontaneously regain that much charge, especially considering that the environment did not change between the two incidents (typically temperature will affect the battery output more than anything else.)

Is there a chance that there is a system draining the battery power while the engine is hot/engaged, but not after it has sat a while?
 
Anything is possible on why it's draining power

You just need to charge up the battery and break out the multimeter and start testing
 
Hi,

How old is the battery? After a rest, batteries can regain a little of their charge due to chemical reaction. How much it regains depends on the size/age/type of the battery.

If you are sure about the cleanliness of your charging system and have installed a new r/r and stator, then I would suspect the battery has reached the end of its useful life. Some batteries can last 4 or 5 years or longer. Others last less than 2. It depends on how it was initially charged and subsequent maintenance.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
As a matter of fact I do not know the battery age, so I suppose I will buy a new one, drive out to Michigan City and hope for the best.

Even with a bad battery, would the engine be able to support itself electrically (assuming a good charging system)? Or is there something special like the transistors that run off battery current?
 
lsuzuki said:
As a matter of fact I do not know the battery age, so I suppose I will buy a new one, drive out to Michigan City and hope for the best.

Even with a bad battery, would the engine be able to support itself electrically (assuming a good charging system)? Or is there something special like the transistors that run off battery current?
Click to expand...


If your charging system is up to speed and you have a weak battery, it should be able to run indefinitely if you don't turn it off. Notice I said weak. If the battery has a dead short or a complete open (dry cells, broken post) then it will not keep the bike running.

I would replace the battery and use the Stator Papers as previously advised.

Hap
 
Ground your r/r to the battery ground post when you put the new battery in.
 
Thanks everyone for the tips. As it turns out, my beautiful brand new Stator is fried. It was shorting the circuit when the motorcycle was hot, but functioned normally when cold. This resulted in the battery being under-charged and the system shorting out at high temp.

I am going to go ahead and say a GS250 was not designed to ride 60mph for 4+ hours straight. Be warned, everyone else.
 
lsuzuki said:
Thanks everyone for the tips. As it turns out, my beautiful brand new Stator is fried. It was shorting the circuit when the motorcycle was hot, but functioned normally when cold. This resulted in the battery being under-charged and the system shorting out at high temp.

I am going to go ahead and say a GS250 was not designed to ride 60mph for 4+ hours straight. Be warned, everyone else.
Click to expand...

You are right the electrical system can not handle that, however this will solve the problem of over stressing the stator.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=161397
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
Starter cranking slowly
Replies
7
Views
145
adam83
adam83
peteGSX
1982 GS450 - No Spark
Replies
12
Views
221
peteGSX
peteGSX
S
Bike randomly died while riding.
2
Replies
28
Views
567
stossboss_gaming_and_news
S
E
Electrical gremlins affecting indicator lights and starter circuit
Replies
9
Views
219
eldevigo
E
E
1982 GS650E More Ignition Issues & Gremlins
Replies
3
Views
155
EmmCee
E
Back
Top