A friends 79' stalls.

[morrison]

My friend has a 79 GS1000 and it will sometimes not start with out a jump. While running it will appear to be charging according to a DVM. Sometimes it will stall while sitting at a light and not restart as if the battery were dead. It has a new battery since a month ago. Sat for 3 days and started right up but then died on a ride. No draw on the battery was found either. Possible Generator going bad?

[Nessism]

First you say the bike is charging then you ask us if the "generator" is going bad. You need to tell us.

Please search out "stator papers", it will lead you though some charging system checks. Easy, but critical, stuff to check.

[OldVet66]

You might want to see if it is overcharging and boiling the battery dry. These charging systems are famous for that, and then they go on to fry the stator if run too long in that condition.

[morrison]

It is charging, at the times it gets tested. But when it does stall the battery wont start it, leading me to assuming it doesn't charge at one point or another. Everytime I go to check running voltage it is charging.

[Big T]

Well, read the Stator Papers and do some more advanced testing

But, it sounds like a battery issue

What voltage readings are you getting?

[OldVet66]

Well if you have around 15v when you are running some higher revs, you are cooking the battery. If it is low on water, It won't start.

[morrison]

Tested it today at idle it had 10v's.. gonna tear into the stator and see if anything is broken or visibly bad.

[OldVet66]

Check the plugs from the stator leads, they like to heat up and get discolored or burn. The whole harness needs the connectors looked at.

[cableguy]

You might consider following the advice of those who have already posted, before you tear into anything. It's all step by step, in logical order, and above all, correct info. You've got a few hours of cleaning, inspecting and testing ahead of you.

Put away your wrench and grab your multimeter. Better call your friend and tell him to bring over a pizza and a sixer.

I'm a noob too and at the tail end of a situation similar to yours. Thought I had the problem diagnosed, then figured I would go through everything properly as long as it was apart, and found a burnt wire pretty far from where I thought the problem was, but the whole system isn't really that complicated, so really, everything sort of connects somehow.

Long post but you are now properly warned- there are no shortcuts or "easy" electrical fixes until you test everything first.

Mines still apart after 2 weeks because I decided to swap out the rear spring, adjust the valves, and(as long as the tank's off) repaint the tank and side covers. When I put it back together I'll know everything is clean, adjusted, and healthy. Then I can ride this summer instead of looking for the next chance to tear into again. Oh don't forget to use a bottle of citrus and degrease everything while you're in there.

[Big T]

Tested it today at idle it had 10v's.. gonna tear into the stator and see if anything is broken or visibly bad.

READ THE STATOR PAPERS BEFORE YOU PROCEED (did I put enough emphasis on it this time?)

http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_garage.htm

It could be as simple as adding a ground wire and replacing a few connections

Did you receive a megawelcome from Basscliff?

Edit: It appears that you have missed one of the essential items of the GSR. The megawelcome

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/GSR_Greeting.html

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

Happy reading!

[morrison]

Replaced the Rectifier. Fixed the problem.