Electrical failure on GS1100ED

[JEEPRUSTY]

OK. I downloaded the factory service manual from BassCliff's site. I'm on page 75 right now and am currently looking at the flow chart.

Odd how so many ends of the flow indicate a defective panel.
Surely Suzuki did not inetgrate teh functioning of the whole systerm with the display unit.

Twould be insane.

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Wow! This manual is so much better than the Hayne's. I will follow all of these flow charts tomorrow and see what I find.

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Again, this is a short passage from the GS1100 Hayne's manual.

First of all I know that these tests are for the earlier models but it should be the similar, right?


Page 174, section 15.

15 Check panel assembly: description and testing - T, ET, EX

1. A comprehensive check light display is incorporated in the instrument panel. It monitors the status of the brake fluid level, battery electrolyte level, headlamp high and low beam and the tail/brake lamp bulb. If a fault occurs, the appropriate warning lamp is switched on the panel. When the ignition is turned on, the warning lamps in the check panel are illuminated. When the engine is started, the warning lamps should extinguish as soon as the the oil pressure light goes out. Any remaining warning lamps indicate a fault in the relevant circuit. The check light display circuit is shown in the accompanying diagram.

2. The check panel is dependent on it's supply from the oil pressure switch. If this fails, the check panel will not operate normally. If this condition is suspected, remove the oil pressure switch lead and connect it to earth (ground) with the ignition switch on. If the check panel now comes on, the oil pressure switch should be tested by temporarily disconnecting it's lead and connecting it to earth (ground).If when the the ignition switch is turned on the check panel operates normally, the oil pressure switch is faulty and should be renewed.

3. If the check panel is still malfunctioning, check the associated wiring for continuity, using a multimeter set to the resistance (ohms) scale. Refer to the circuit diagram and the main wiring diagram for details. If the wiring, fuses, and warning lamp bulbs are in good condition, check that the headlamp and stop/tail bulbs are are working. Note that if the fuses protecting the check panel are renewed, use only Suzuki genuine parts to ensure full protection of the check panel circuit. If this fails to resolve the problem, check the rear brake fluid sensor and battery electrolyte sensor as described below.

4. Disconnect the sensor leads from the rear brake reservoir and connect to them the probe leads of a multimeter. Set the meter on it's resistance range and note the reading. If the sensor is working correctly, no continuity should exist when the fluid is at the upper level mark. If the float is pushed down, continuity should be shown to correspond with the lower level mark. If the sensor is faulty, renew the reservoir assembly.

5. The battery electrolyte sensor can be checked by measuring the voltage between it and the battery positive terminal. If the battery is fully charged, a serviceable sensor will indicate 1.5 - 2.0 volts. If this is not the case, renew the sensor. If the above tests fail to locate a fault, the check panel must be considered faulty and should be renewed.

So I hope you guys read that .

Now with the testing, I have tried grounding the oil pressure switch and nothing has happened. My tail light does not work either and I guess the check panel won't work unless I fix that tail lamp. My bike doesn't have a brake fluid level sensor . My battery electrolyte sensor is disconnected and the wire is just taped up.

I will try grounding that electrolyte wire, I guess.

What do you guys suggest I do?

[Flaming Chainsaws]

I found more. This is from the factory service manual I downloaded from BassCliff's site. Page 268.

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Page 18 of factory service manual (from BassCliff's site).

[Flaming Chainsaws]

This is frustrating. It appears that no one has ever had this problem, according to the searches. Except for one person but he has not yet solved it. I guess I'm on my own. Brand new wiring harness coming up. I know that wires are broken and melted on my current harness so this will eliminate that issue. Will it fix my light issue, I don't know....

My friend often asks me, "Why do you keep working on this old bike? You would be riding right now and spent less time and money if you bought a newer bike that was ready to go."

He's right. Wish I bought a newer bike in the first place . Funny... I've trained and took classes to become a tech and I can't even figure this out? Sheesh.... But I'm already deep into this. Must finish it!

OR

I can turn it into a track bike. No need for lights on the track!

[Curly]

Arg, wish I could have seen this earlier, I'm very proficient at electronics. Rewired most of my bike, replaced the entire harness (old one still worked, but found an oem harness for $85), have rewired a '52 chevy, wired in MegaSquirt to my track toy, traced various shorts, and made a COPs harness from scratch. Those are just a few of my projects.

Man, I wish you could drop by with the bike, there's a **** ton of tests and checks you can do without even turning the key. My Fluke has solved many mysteries for me. PM if you'd like discuss it more, serious offer. shame you probably wouldnt trust me, don't blame you.

[Mista M]

Flaming,
not that I'm some older guy with years of experience.

Everyone who wrenches has to have at least one project that stumps them. A project that causes you and others to question your sanity. Anyone can plop down cash for a new machine. Sure summer is coming to a close, but once your running, you will know that bike like the curves of _ (fill in)

Step away, work on something else for a day, come back with a fresh attitude.
Its just nuts/bolts and wires.

Stick with it, you will figure it out. I'm sure we can all share stories of similar experiences. I'm going through it now with my bike. At least you got to hear yours run

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Flaming,
not that I'm some older guy with years of experience.

Everyone who wrenches has to have at least one project that stumps them. A project that causes you and others to question your sanity. Anyone can plop down cash for a new machine. Sure summer is coming to a close, but once your running, you will know that bike like the curves of _ (fill in)

Step away, work on something else for a day, come back with a fresh attitude.
Its just nuts/bolts and wires.

Stick with it, you will figure it out. I'm sure we can all share stories of similar experiences. I'm going through it now with my bike. At least you got to hear yours run

Hmmm.... What else do I have to work on? I guess I can start fixing some of the drywall in the basement. My dad's been bugging me about that all summer. Yeah... I'll do that. That should take me a week or so.

I have ridden many newer bikes and a few old bikes. I have found that newer bikes lack character, IMO. They're too clean, have no history from the PO's, and just too "perfect" all around. And the newer sport bikes all look the same .

This bike runs surprisingly well. Carb clean, valve adjustment, general maintenance... Doing these things one at a time really adds up.

This electrical issue is the ONLY thing that's keeping me off of the road.

Break time for me though.

[Digitus]

Electrical problems are hard to hunt down if you dont know where to start.

Im not an electronics wizard too, So I have to rely on common sense and the bit that I know about electricity. This is the way I work:

- I unplug everything that does not work, and leave to working bits. Then I focus on 1 simple thing, like the turn lights
- I look at the wiring diagram where the power should come from, so I follow the lines on the diagram from the turn signals to the battery. I note which colour the cabling should have along the way
- Then, with my $15 multimeter I start measuring where theres a voltage, starting at the battery and following the wires on the bike back to the turn signals. So thats 1 pin of the meter connected to the ground and 1 checking all the places the wiring passes a connector or switch
- By looking at the wire colouring, I can then find where the voltage stops for the turn signals

This will take a while to do and there will be no quick solution. Regular stepbacks from the bike and regular checkbacks with the forum members on specific measuring results will aid you in understanding the how and why.

just my $0.02 on this issue, I hope you get things all sorted

[koolaid_kid]

Digitus, I like your response. Every electrical issue is unique. You have to take it down to the minimum, which is what you propose. Then you start adding and debugging piece by piece. Quick and dirty solutions tend to end up just dirty, not quick.

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Yeah, I'll work on the bike later. I will remember to take it step by step. Thanks for the advice!

[gremlin]

just for giggles. add a ground wire from the battery to the motor, from the motor to the frame. and one from the frame to the mounting plate the electroinces are located.

then dismount every turn signal, and check ware the wires come out of the end and the ground wires. test them on a battery or power supply to see if they work. my bike over the years the wires had rubed ware they came out of the signals. this coused a lot of headacks. i had to run new wires then use liquid tape to keep the wires from moving. the other problem was over the years the grounding wires had croded and added restiance. so when the bike was runing, it would do strange things every now and then, with the power back feeding trying to find the grounds.

[Dogma]

I finally found this thread. I don't have much to add except that there's no reason to fear rebuilding a wiring harness instead of replacing. Especially when you have more time than money. Besides, it's an excellent opportunity to clean and protect every connection on the bike. It will also help you find the hidden places where wires are chafed, or things that may turn into a problem a year from now. Check continuity every way you can find and splice in new wire wherever anything looks questionable.

The process of putting it all back together, tracing out every wire and connector, will get the whole electrical system into your head. You will know which wires belong and which don't. You will know, for certain, that the wiring is right. Knowing a bike that intimately also increases the pleasure of riding the old machine. According the ifixit manifesto, "If you can't fix it, you don't own it". There's nothing like riding a bike that you really own.

All that, and you haven't yet identified that the problem is in the wiring harness. I'll third George's second to Digitus' response. You'll have to get so methodical that the problem cannot escape.

[sschering]

This addresses the original issue. not the damage cased by the other guy.

You have 2 grounds going to to your starter relay mounting bolt (the 2 ring terminals)
Only 1 should go there.. it grounds the electrical mounting panel and the components attached to it.

The other ring terminal should be attached directly to the frame..
It ties the electrical harness ground to the chassis ground..
There should be a mounting point for it in the frame somewhere around the battery compartment..

Fix that and the ground looping should go away.