1982 gs1100glz starting issue.

[bigdaddygb]

ok i'll try both of those tomorrow. thanks for the help.
By the way i have been using the wiring diagram all day ... guy i bought bike from had a "friend" fix his wiring harness when he left the wires hanging down and they got burnt by the motor.. so i got lots of splices in there. that's why i am getting a new wiring harness.. but for now i'd like to at least be able to start it.

Thanks again.

[sedelen]

Had same problem last Monday on my '79 GS1000E, turned out to be a open connection in the headlight bucket that completes the circuit from the starter button to the
starter relay. Yellow wire with green stripe pulled free. To find it I checked
continuity from starter relay to clutch safety switch, which was good, then I stuck a needle through yellow wire with green stripe to the starter button and checked continuity to the other side of clutch safety switch, I got nothing. I took off the headlight and immediately saw where the wire pulled free from the splice connector inside the headlight bucket. To check starter button I checked continuity from yellow wire with green stripe near starter button with one lead and the other lead to handlebar (ground), I got no continuity until I pushed in starter button. You can basically do the same thing, but I'd check continuity between the starter button and starter relay first, and you will have to pull in the clutch lever (twist ties work well since you need both hands for checking continuity). Warning, if you take apart that clutch safety switch there are some very tiny parts that seem to vanish in thin air, like a copper U, a small post it fits on and a very, very tiny spring. I spent an hour and a half looking for that spring on a freshly swept garage floor only to find it sitting on the engine case in front of the starter cover. I was very lucky to have found it at all. Hopefully the problem will be as easy to find as mine was.

[bigdaddygb]

ok here is more info i just found out... guy i bought bike from stopped by this morning. had a few extra parts for me such as the clutch safety switch.... apparently he took it off because he didn't like having to hold the clutch in to start the bike.. which much like a car.. if you have it in gear is going to lurch out from under you.. or sheer of teeth in your starter. So i asked how he bypassed it and we took off head light to find he took both wires and attached a resister inline between them. now i checked this for continuity and found it was fine. wire was fine all the way back to the starter relay. so that is ok. now i have 1 wire that comes back from the ignition switch (keyed switch) and runs back almost all the way to the battery where it splits off into two ( more hacking) one wire goes down to the fuse block the other goes to the reg/rec.. this wire got separated last night while i was checking to see if it was the reg/rec. and since it was getting dark i left it loose. i went ot check to see that starter was infact turning over engine and not just free spining (pulled spark plug and check to see piston moving up and down) and it did some how i hit the other red loose wire and must have sent power back up to the switch and have nothing now. no matter where i turn the key i have no power. i pulled the plug in the head light bucket and check cont. and yes wire is fine to plug.. it's good up to switch... after that.. nothing.. i think i shorted out switch. since i am buying land end of this month i will have to wait till after that to get parts for it. I have checked all the fuses and none of them are blow.
Thanks guys.

[Matchless]

So i asked how he bypassed it and we took off head light to find he took both wires and attached a resister inline between them.

A resistor to replace a switch?
There should be no resistor in series with the wire. Just plug them together.
That is the path that supplies the battery +12v to the solenoid via the ignition switch, killswitch and starter button and a resistor (depending on the value) could cause the solenoid not to operate and not swing your starter.

[hjfisk]

A resistor to replace a switch?
There should be no resistor in series with the wire. Just plug them together.
That is the path that supplies the battery +12v to the solenoid via the ignition switch, killswitch and starter button and a resistor (depending on the value) could cause the solenoid not to operate and not swing your starter.

Agreed, go back and read the post #14 that I posted last night, it will walk you right through that particular circuit on the bike . it is very basic. hook wires directly no resistors, a switch is not a resistor. Also have you tested the function of the solenoid with the jumper wire to be sure it is good? I realize the you jumped posts to test starter, now you have to test solenoid.

[hjfisk]

ok here is more info i just found out... guy i bought bike from stopped by this morning. had a few extra parts for me such as the clutch safety switch.... apparently he took it off because he didn't like having to hold the clutch in to start the bike.. which much like a car.. if you have it in gear is going to lurch out from under you.. or sheer of teeth in your starter. So i asked how he bypassed it and we took off head light to find he took both wires and attached a resister inline between them. now i checked this for continuity and found it was fine. wire was fine all the way back to the starter relay. so that is ok. now i have 1 wire that comes back from the ignition switch (keyed switch) and runs back almost all the way to the battery where it splits off into two ( more hacking) one wire goes down to the fuse block the other goes to the reg/rec.. this wire got separated last night while i was checking to see if it was the reg/rec. and since it was getting dark i left it loose. i went ot check to see that starter was infact turning over engine and not just free spining (pulled spark plug and check to see piston moving up and down) and it did some how i hit the other red loose wire and must have sent power back up to the switch and have nothing now. no matter where i turn the key i have no power. i pulled the plug in the head light bucket and check cont. and yes wire is fine to plug.. it's good up to switch... after that.. nothing.. i think i shorted out switch. since i am buying land end of this month i will have to wait till after that to get parts for it. I have checked all the fuses and none of them are blow.
Thanks guys.

I really doubt that you ruined the ignition switch, If you are in doubt you can take the electrical part off the bottom of the switch and take it apart and clean it up, just copper contacts . These are a very primitive switch and very durable

[sedelen]

I really doubt that you ruined the ignition switch, If you are in doubt you can take the electrical part off the bottom of the switch and take it apart and clean it up, just copper contacts . These are a very primitive switch and very durable

Agreed, ignition switches are pretty durable, would probably blow a fuse or melt a wire first.
With the switch on the first postion, you should get 12 volts to the hot terminal of the starter relay. That 12 volts feeds the starter motor when the ignition button is pushed in, without it the starter motor does nothing.
Check that and see if you got your 12 Volts.

[bigdaddygb]

ok will check it out and remove the resister and plug it directly into one another. as for the solenoid i have not yet done that, but i will.
Thanks for the help so far guys, i really appreciate it.

[bigdaddygb]

ok check solenoid and it works when i just the yellow/green wire to the positive terminal. also have power to run/stop switch, and to button when it is pushed... BUT... nothing is moving... thinking it may be in wire from button to relay... not sure will check maybe tomorrow.. getting cold again.. and i don't have a garage.

[hjfisk]

ok check solenoid and it works when i just the yellow/green wire to the positive terminal. also have power to run/stop switch, and to button when it is pushed... BUT... nothing is moving... thinking it may be in wire from button to relay... not sure will check maybe tomorrow.. getting cold again.. and i don't have a garage.

Sounds like you are on the right track now.

[sedelen]

.. thinking it may be in wire from button to relay...

Now that's what I'm talking about. The wire from the starter button, that runs into the headlight bucket where it connects with a splice connector to the wire that goes to one side of the clutch safety switch, which connects to the other side of that switch when the clutch is pulled in, then runs down to the starter relay. That problem prone wire with all it's connections and switches has got to be good for your starter to turn over.
Tie back your clutch lever and check continuity from the starter button to the yellow wire with green stripe (I believe) on the starter relay. If you don't get continuity, you have an open connection somewhere along the length of that wire.

[bigdaddygb]

well ok. i did all that and still nothing. i did find that my fuse box had some bad connections in it because when i went to turn it on today i got nothing... and I mean NOTHING.... lol so i traced it back to fuse box.. check fuses.. and endup popping it apart and cleaning the contacts off from the brown tarnish and check cont. then and found it was good... all was good till i hit the starter button a few times... everything went out again. I did feel the solenoid click like it wanted to do something but i got nothing. i popped off little y/g wire and touched the + on battery and it turned over.. plugged it back up and like i said everything went out. starting to get dark and i am ordering a new (used ) wiring harness tonight. Then we'll see once i have it on. Thanks again guys.

[Big T]

Remove the fuse box from the bike, pull off the back cover and let us know what you find. It can get fried or have loose connections there

Also, you probably want to pull apart the right handlebar switch and clean the starter button and kill switch. CAUTION - there are small springs and parts underneath the plates. I use a 2 Qt ziplock and disassemble inside it. Keeps those small parts from springing off to never never land

[bigdaddygb]

i did pull the fuse box apart. tab arms inside were clean. just the ends had a little tarnish on them. fuse end clips are i ngood shape not loose. put it all back togather and reinstalled fuses. i found a few wires he had all screwed up late last night, I'll probably just run new wires for the parts fro mthe wiring diagram i have fro mthe welcome package i was given . Thanks by the way. I will get it done hopefully this weekend. Trying to sell my boat to help pay for land i am buying for our new house.

[bigdaddygb]

well started to rewire the bike tonight. Tired of all the BS i have found so far. I think P/O was having trouble with starter found a few fried wires.. couldn't get it to start and had someone hack in another Suzuki's wiring harness ( wire colors weren't even close ). So I took the wiring diagram and have been following it to the T. Making connections it says should be there and removing ones that shouldn't. found a few from the starter button that weren't connected right, and a few that were missing all together. The clutch switch had been taken out all together. According to the diagram it's labeled as the starter disconnect switch, so if I take out that switch then it goes from the button right to the starter relay. I have been soldering every joint i had to make and have reused connection blocks soldering on to the tabs and crimping them down to make sure they stay on. Every wire gets tested from end to end once it is ready to be put back in block to make sure I don't have any bad connections. So far I got about 6 wires done.... from head light to fuse box area.... 999 more to go..lol hopefully I will get a fairly warm weekend so I can get it done... i figure another 6-8 hours total for wiring and buttoning up the parts and it'll be done. I'm not rushing I'm taking my time and making sure it is right the first time.