gs850g gear indicator

[dbd32]

My GS850G shows 1 2 3 4 on gear indicator but not 5 Is there anyway to get inside and would it just be a bulb thats gone or something more serious and dificult

[1978GS750E]

My GS850G shows 1 2 3 4 on gear indicator but not 5 Is there anyway to get inside and would it just be a bulb thats gone or something more serious and dificult

The first thing I would check is the gear position switch at the shifter. Sounds like it may not be making contact when in 5th gear. If it is like most that I have seen, there are brass contacts that may just need cleaning??

[Rich82GS750TZ]

If you want to remove and clean it as Ron suggests, the gear selector sensor is above where the shift shaft goes into the side of the case. If you take it off, be careful not to lose the pin and spring on the back side of it. They really want to be free.



If the sensor and pin are clean, it’s possible that one of the 5 bulbs on the board inside your instrument cluster had burned out. You could swap bulbs around and test each gear position to see if it is the bulb. Maybe you’ll get lucky and just have a little corrosion cleanup to do.

[bwringer]

Getting the "dashboard" apart is surprisingly straightforward.

As noted above, it's probably just a burned-out bulb. 5th gear is the one that's on the most, so it always burns out first.

Finding those damn weensy beensy ickle wickle teensy bulbs is less straightforward. They are available from Suzuki, but they want a lot of cash for them -- $5.22 each here in the states. There are various standard "grain of rice" bulbs out there, but I never found one that fit just right.

While you're in there, it's worth replacing all the instrument lighting bulbs (a standard size, easy to find... I forget exactly what, though. Maybe #158?).

If you remove the switch cover down below, make sure you replace the ancient glass-hard o-ring or it will leak.

[Brendan W]

Before opening the dash you could go to the plug at the gear switch tail. It's up above the airbox.
Open the five wire plug and ground the red wire coming back from the dash.
This should light up fifth if the bulb is okay.
It could probably use a clean anyway.

[dbd32]

Thanks for the info guys