no start help

[dueller]

Hey basscliff I couldn't for the life of me figure out where that wire goes! You might have ended three months of frustration right there. So on the negative terminal are you saying that the black wire and the black/white wire should be attached?

Typically the black with white stripe wires are ground wires! Did you add all those wires or were they there already? Follow those down to where they end if you don't already know. That's what had me all confused. There should only be the one wire to the starter solenoid from the Positive battery terminal or there should be a fat wire from the battery pos to the starter solenoid and a smaller red wire to your regulator/rectifier. Check what all those black with white stripe wires are for if you didn't add them. I would bet they are a common ground point and should be on the negative terminal.

[ms5490renegade]

Could the ignition coils be bad if in not getting spark?

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Unless you get the battery connections wired properly you won't get anything, no spark, no lights, no starter, etc.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[ms5490renegade]

Can anyone take a picture of theirs? I'm really struggling on reading the wiring diagrams

[mike_of_bbg]

I'd take pictures but from an 82 550L it would not be a good guide. Your bike is 30 years old. It seems that some folks have made some "improvements" to the wiring over that time on your specimen. It happens (my bike has some as well).

You need to trace each of those wires back to somewhere. Yes, stock grounds were black with white tracers but someone appears to have done some re-wiring and may have used whatever they had laying around, regardless of what color confusion it may cause later.

As noted, the factory configuration is one thick, black ground wire bolted to the top of the crank case from the (-) post. I've added a ground wire on mine directly to the R/R case to make a local ground point there, and whomever wired this bike may have done the same. If I'm deciphering correctly, that thick black wire (which would have been red from the factory) is running from the battery (+) to your starter solenoid, which is right next to the battery? The other thick cable on the solenoid should head down to your starter.

The Clymer wiring diagram has two more wires coming from the battery (+): one to each fuse box. One fuse box has a single fuse and is the accessory fuse box. That black box with the snap-on clear-ish plastic cover looks like it might be it. The other fuse box is the one with your four fuses (main, ignition, headlight, and signal probably). That appears to leave two wires that were not there when the bike left the factory. You need to find the other ends! Make sure none of the wires going to the (+) are secondary grounds or you could cause some major damage!

The coils get +12V all the time when the ignition is on. The points cause spark by disconnecting the ground from each coil at the right time. This means that you can take out your handy-dandy multimeter (you have one of those, right?), set it to 20V, turn your bike on and get 12V at the red wires headed to your coils when compared against the bike ground - motor, chassis, battery (-) terminal, whatever (at least it looks like they should be red, but the print is small, it's late and dark, and I'm tired plus over 40).

[dueller]

One thing that would help is putting your bike year and model in your sig. Just had to scroll down to the bottom to remember what bike you have Trace those wires down to see where they go. That's your first order of business. Doesn't really matter what the diagram says at this point if you don't know where those wires goto. Maybe take a quick snap of what each of those wires goto and post if you aren't familiar to what the other end of those wires is connected to.

Back to the beginning too. You say no start. Does it crank? Do you have any idiot lights? (not saying you are an idiot, just generalizing )

[Steve]

One thing that would help is putting your bike year and model in your sig. Just had to scroll down to the bottom to remember what bike you have.

Why scroll to the bottom?

That's where the NEW posts are.
Or, at least, they should be.

It is so much more logical to read a post from top to bottom.

Very easy to make that change in User CP / Edit Options / Thread Display Mode / Linear - oldest first.
While you are there, also change it to Show 40 Posts per Page, it minimizes page-flipping on longer threads.

.

[dueller]

Why scroll to the bottom?

That's where the NEW posts are.
Or, at least, they should be.

It is so much more logical to read a post from top to bottom.

Very easy to make that change in User CP / Edit Options / Thread Display Mode / Linear - oldest first.
While you are there, also change it to Show 40 Posts per Page, it minimizes page-flipping on longer threads.

.

Cuz I have a Polish heritage lol Just haven't changed it. I already did the 40ppp

[ms5490renegade]

Got it to attempt a fire up with the electric start. Then nothing

[mike_of_bbg]

Got it to attempt a fire up with the electric start. Then nothing

You know, you really need to be a lot more forthcoming with the information. While there are some great guys here who I KNOW could figure out what's wrong no problem with just a little while with your bike, none of them are with your bike! All we have to go on is what you're typing or posting pictures of, and that ain't much at this point.

"Got it to attempt to fire up with the electric start"

OK, so the starter turned it over. Was it trying to "catch"? Was fire happening inside the motor?

"Then nothing"

The battery ran dry? It will still crank but isn't trying to catch? Just clicks? Doesn't even click? How long did you try to crank it? Did you change anything between these two extremes?

Did you check for spark when the starter was running? Do you have a trickle or float charger for your battery? What's the current resting voltage?

[ms5490renegade]

You know, you really need to be a lot more forthcoming with the information. While there are some great guys here who I KNOW could figure out what's wrong no problem with just a little while with your bike, none of them are with your bike! All we have to go on is what you're typing or posting pictures of, and that ain't much at this point.

"Got it to attempt to fire up with the electric start"

OK, so the starter turned it over. Was it trying to "catch"? Was fire happening inside the motor?

"Then nothing"

The battery ran dry? It will still crank but isn't trying to catch? Just clicks? Doesn't even click? How long did you try to crank it? Did you change anything between these two

Did you check for spark when the starter was running? Do you have a trickle or float charger for your battery? What's the current resting voltage?

I'm sorry. I really dont know much about bikes. The battery is new. I held the starter for just a few seconds. I was a bit shocked it tried to start. It won't do it again. I will try to get a video of the wires and where they go. I'm almost sure I'm messing something up. Is there anyone in the vicinity that could help? Cold beers and food would be provided....

[ms5490renegade]

The dash lights are on so I gotta be doing something right... Right?

[Lucygoosey]

Typically the black with white stripe wires are ground wires! Did you add all those wires or were they there already? Follow those down to where they end if you don't already know. That's what had me all confused. There should only be the one wire to the starter solenoid from the Positive battery terminal or there should be a fat wire from the battery pos to the starter solenoid and a smaller red wire to your regulator/rectifier. Check what all those black with white stripe wires are for if you didn't add them. I would bet they are a common ground point and should be on the negative terminal.

Hey Dueller yeah those wires were already there but I might have to redo them they got a bit fried trying to figure out the harness. I've been constantly studying the wiring diagrams like its the Da Vinci Code but still having trouble. I got the regular 3 Wires. 2 out of the positive side black and red and on the negative it show the black and white frame ground wire. But if you are looking atthe bike from behind I have a fat black wire coming out the bottom right. This is for a 1983 gs 450e by the way. I'm trying to figure out is there a total of 4 wires in the battery or 3?

[dueller]

Hey Dueller yeah those wires were already there but I might have to redo them they got a bit fried trying to figure out the harness. I've been constantly studying the wiring diagrams like its the Da Vinci Code but still having trouble. I got the regular 3 Wires. 2 out of the positive side black and red and on the negative it show the black and white frame ground wire. But if you are looking atthe bike from behind I have a fat black wire coming out the bottom right. This is for a 1983 gs 450e by the way. I'm trying to figure out is there a total of 4 wires in the battery or 3?

Well, like I said, there should only be three wires stock coming from your battery. One large one to the starter solenoid from the battery positive side (stock this wire is usually red but looks like someone replaced yours with a black one), one smaller guage red one going to your fuse box,


and a black one from your battery negative to the frame ground. I have two on my negative side because I have a replacement regulator rectifier. The green with yellow stripe wire on my negative side goes to the RR.

As Mike said here, you need to provide more info on what you are trying. Don't be afraid to explain the steps you are taking inbetween trials of things so that we can understand what is happening on your end!!

[mike_of_bbg]

It's OK, we just need to get our expectations in the right zone. There have got to be a lot of members near Indy. Do you own a multitester (a la http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...41000P?mv=rr)? That is an essential tool for any electrical work (MC, car, or home).

An easy one - Did you have to pull the clutch lever to get the starter turning? The GSes shipped with a clutch interlock. That switch can get unreliable after time. Many of us bypass it: follow the two leads (they'll be wrapped in plastic) from the switch on the underside of the clutch lever back to the headlight bucket (you'll have to remove the headlight). The ends should go to two bullet connectors. Unplug the leads from the switch and plug the connectors that went to them (from the wiring harness in the bucket) into each other.

I'm sorry. I really dont know much about bikes. The battery is new. I held the starter for just a few seconds. I was a bit shocked it tried to start. It won't do it again. I will try to get a video of the wires and where they go. I'm almost sure I'm messing something up. Is there anyone in the vicinity that could help? Cold beers and food would be provided....