Finally went ahead and did this

[pete]

If you only have the one lead from the negative battery terminal, then it should be easy enough just to make up a second lead, and use that one to route from the battery to whereever you want the single ground point to be.

The essential point of the single ground is for everything electrical to have a direct connection to the battery negative, which you can do with multiple grounds and multiple leads, it's just messier...

As long as the relay has a normally open option so it only closes and provides connectivity when voltage is applied, it's all good.

[Adler]

If you only have the one lead from the negative battery terminal, then it should be easy enough just to make up a second lead, and use that one to route from the battery to whereever you want the single ground point to be.

The essential point of the single ground is for everything electrical to have a direct connection to the battery negative, which you can do with multiple grounds and multiple leads, it's just messier...

As long as the relay has a normally open option so it only closes and provides connectivity when voltage is applied, it's all good.

I thought about making my own new negative cable and just using that but then I have a loose wire, Id rather keep it clean.

Can you (or anyone) tell if the relay pictured is a normally open relay? I have very little experience reading electrical diagrams but it looks to me like the circuit is closed to 87a.

[posplayr]

If you only have the one lead from the negative battery terminal, then it should be easy enough just to make up a second lead, and use that one to route from the battery to whereever you want the single ground point to be.

The essential point of the single ground is for everything electrical to have a direct connection to the battery negative, which you can do with multiple grounds and multiple leads, it's just messier...

As long as the relay has a normally open option so it only closes and provides connectivity when voltage is applied, it's all good.

Sorry pete, that would be so that everything has a unshared current path back to the R/R (-).

[Adler]

Well I managed to get the negative cable off the engine, so heres a small update.

The current state of the single ground.

that is the R/R ground and the negative battery ground.
(Thats IS an R/R, right? I ask because it says "Regulator" on it and makes no mention of rectification)

Here are 2 stragglers who haven't found their way over to the ground point yet.

This appears to be a ground point associated with the fuel sending unit. I am guessing this isn't too important?


This looks like the harness ground. Unfortunately there is no way it will reach the single ground point so I may have to splice in some more wire to make it reach.

[chef1366]

Prior to 1980 Suzuki used seperate regulators and rectifiers.

[Adler]

Prior to 1980 Suzuki used seperate regulators and rectifiers.

I believe you may be mistaken.
According to the fiche the E models had separate regulators and rectifiers. The L's either didn't have rectifiers (magic!) or had them combined.

GS550E


GS550L

[chef1366]

Do your stator wires go directly into your regulator?

[Adler]

Do your stator wires go directly into your regulator?

Two of them go directly into my "Regulator" and one goes into the harness (I hear it takes a detour to talk to my headlight?)

[chef1366]

Two of them go directly into my "Regulator" and one goes into the harness (I hear it takes a detour to talk to my headlight?)

Than I am mistaken.
Sorry

[Adler]

Than I am mistaken.
Sorry

Glad to be of service *bows*.

Seems the L's are an exception to the pre-80 rule.

[dueller]

Well I managed to get the negative cable off the engine, so heres a small update.

The current state of the single ground.

that is the R/R ground and the negative battery ground.
(Thats IS an R/R, right? I ask because it says "Regulator" on it and makes no mention of rectification)

Here are 2 stragglers who haven't found their way over to the ground point yet.

This appears to be a ground point associated with the fuel sending unit. I am guessing this isn't too important?


This looks like the harness ground. Unfortunately there is no way it will reach the single ground point so I may have to splice in some more wire to make it reach.

Or make up two wires with ring terminals on them. One long enough to go from the Neg bat cable point to the fuel sending unit ground and another to go from the Neg bat cable point to the frame ground. Unless this is what you meant by splicing?

[Adler]

Or make up two wires with ring terminals on them. One long enough to go from the Neg bat cable point to the fuel sending unit ground and another to go from the Neg bat cable point to the frame ground. Unless this is what you meant by splicing?

Good idea, I hadn't really though about how I would "splice" in the new wires.

[pete]

Definitely heading in the right direction there! And yes, what Dueller said, best way to get that done when there's no way for them to reach unless you remove the eye terminal and properly solder on an extension.

Sorry pete, that would be so that everything has a unshared current path back to the R/R (-).

True... it does make sense... at least my suggestion has the same result though

Just so I get this clear in my head... essentially you want everything electrical getting the correct voltage from the R/R, which becomes even more important with the Honda 6 wire setup, in that if the sense wire is sitting somewhere where it has a voltage drop, it will overcharge.

On the right track now?

[Adler]

So I believe the relay I got is the wrong one.

There seem to be 2 common types of bosch style, 5-pin relay.
The one I got,


and the one I should have got,


The one I got seems to switch between powering 87a and 87. the other one switches between OFF and powering both.

[2BRacing]

and the one I should have got,


The one I got seems to switch between powering 87a and 87. the other one switches between OFF and powering both.

Yes, the second one is correct for the coil relay mod. If you use the first relay and connect coils to 87a and 87, when the relay latches, only the coil connected to 87 will receive 12V. So either you will be running only on 1 & 4 or 2 & 3, and this can cause headaches to troubleshoot.