Is this problem electrical?

[amontyg]

So yesterday my 82 GS 550L quit on me while I was riding it. I was just driving down the road when it suddenly lost power. When I pulled over, the bike started back up again, only to die several yards down the road. After two or three repetitions of this behavior the bike refused to start. I initially suspected that this was a fuel problem, however, I loosened the drain screws on the float bowls and found that they were all full of fuel. I also took the fuel hose off the petcock off to find that it was working properly.
Later today, after finally getting the bike home, I took one of the spark plugs out, rested it against the engine, and turned the starter. Sure enough there was spark.
Now I can start the bike every now and then, but it only runs for a few hundred yards and dies. There seems to be enough fuel in the float bowls every time this happens.
Is this problem electrical? If so, what component is likely the culprit?

[cowboyup3371]

When you said you took the fuel hose off, did you check for vacuum or just put it on prime and let it flow that way? Have you looked at your wiring going to the coils to ensure nothing bare is touching the frame?

[BassCliff]

Hi,

What work have you done on the bike recently?



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[refeicul]

sounds to me like a loose connection. wiggle your + battery post if the post itself wiggles not good. another way is to see if your lights dim out or go out when it dies. check the fuses maybe a partially blown fuse that's intermittently still making a connection? i recently ran out of fuel and i still had power. now if its not electrical maybe float height?

[sedelen]

I had the same problem. Turned out there was a barbed nipple splicing together my vacuum hose and one end came off, lost vacuum so no fuel
going to the carbs. I switched the petcock to prime and it ran OK, made it
home and found one end of the vacuum line disconnected where it was spliced.

[mike_of_bbg]

Smells electrical to me.

Check your voltage at the coils. Check your coils primary and secondary impedances (should be ~3 ohms on the primary and 24-35k ohms on the secondary). Carry an extra plug with you and do the spark test when you're having the problem. Check your charging system, too:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=152769

Stock ignition? Your ignitor might be over-heating. Could also carry around some canned air to cool it and see if that helps.

[amontyg]

In answer to BassCliff's question, the only work I have done on the bike recently is some fork work and switching out some valve shims. Also, I replaced the little contactor in the front brake handlebar that switches the brake light.
The only electrical problem I have had is two years ago my headlight burned out. When I went to change it I found that the electrical system had actually been overheating and the solder on the bulb had actually melted. At that time checked the charging system and fixed the problem by soldering all important connections. I felt around on some of the wiring with my problem now, and everything seems to be at the correct temperature.

[koolaid_kid]

I suggest testing the igniter: http://members.dslextreme.com/users/...-ends.html#A11