Very stupid question...

[MisterOh]

Hey everyone!

Want to start off by saying what an amazing community this is! I've been silently lurking and picking up TONS of information from you guys. I picked up an '82 GS650GL a few weeks ago with absolutely no mechanical experience. It's been an interesting few weeks to say the least.

So I've run into a problem. My charging system is dead. I haven't had time to go through the diagnostic stage in the stator papers because of school (also, I can't afford a new stator or r/r at the time) so I've been charging my battery with a battery tender every once in a while.

I live in an apartment, so it's a hassle to charge the battery that way because there aren't any outlets in the parking garage. Yesterday, I had the idea of removing the battery, bringing it inside, and charging it with the tender that way.

It charged completely, and I checked the voltage (12.3ish). I put it back into my motorcycle.

Now my lights and horn all work, but when I try to start it just makes a single clicking noise!

Now, I'm pretty sure I just messed up on putting the battery in. How many wires are supposed to go to the positive terminal? I could have sworn there was another wire (for the starter relay maybe?) but I can't find it! It just has that one red wire from the fuse box connected with all the black wires going to the negative side.

I bump started the bike and rode home but now it's sitting in my garage and I have no idea what I should do. Please help

[cowboyup3371]

I would have that battery actually load tested at OReilly's or Autozone or whatever you have there first. 12.3 is actually pretty low still so you aren't pushing enough juice through to the starter. You'll probably need a new battery and verify you have about 12.5 or higher before starting it.

You will probably have one wire from the battery post to the starter solenoid where it then breaks off to the fuse block. Clean all your wiring and check your fuse block to ensure everything is good there (don't just look at the fuses as they can break under the metal caps if using the older tube style, use a power light or multimeter).

Basscliff will be along later with his official welcome but in the meantime, throw your location in your profile and your bike info in your signature block.

[MisterOh]

The battery is about a month old. I may have remembered the voltage amount incorrectly? I'm pretty positive (hah, a pun) that it's OK. I'll check it again when I get back and report a more accurate voltage.

The wire from the fuse block goes directly to the positive terminal of the battery. Nothing branches off from it.

Side note: Why isn't my signature showing?

[cowboyup3371]

Post up a picture of your fuse block and starter solenoid if you would please.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. MisterOh,

Over the years wires may have been added. Ideally there should be just one wire on each terminal. But adding extra equipment and grounds can add one or two wires to the terminals.

There should be one big wire on the negative terminal that connects to the bottom of the engine case. The positive wire should connect the the starter solenoid. I don't know what other wires might be included in your setup. How about a picture? And trace the wires to find out where the other ends connect.

Now let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[tom203]

Well, you say you have no mechanical experience, but you know about starter relays! Anyways, the positive battery post has a big red wire going to starter relay and a smaller red wire up to fuse box. It sounds like the big wire is hiding, so look again! Also next time you have battery out, look for small black wire bolted to bottom of battery box- this is a clue to correcting the pitiful wiring on this model.

Even a fully charged battery will only last 1 hour of running with lights on.

[Mop Bucket]

Welcome to the forum.

If you haven't buy a manual and look at the wiring and other diagrams to find out what is what. Even with the manual I downloaded a wire diagram from Basscliff's site.

[MisterOh]

Hey Everyone,

So I'm an idiot. The wire from the starter relay was black so I just assumed it went to the negative terminal. I actually tried putting it to the positive terminal before but starting the engine only made all the lights turn off! I had to actually make sure that the connector from the fuse block was touching the battery terminal while the wire connector from the starter wire had to be stacked directly on top of the fuse block connector and not touching the actual battery terminal.

Pretty weird! Thanks for all your help!

[cowboyup3371]

How about throwing up a picture of what you saw as it still sounds like something isn't connected correctly.

[MisterOh]

Sure thing







the green wire from image two is the one in image three

[bccap]

Looks like a pretty good reason for your battery not charging. Once you have this fixed. Check your battery voltage with a multi meter, after fully charging the battery. Off record voltage. At an idle, record voltage. At 2500, record voltage, and at 5000. Report back. Once you have done that, then you will have to do the stator papers tests, if something is wrong. But that frayed wire could be your whole problem.

[MisterOh]

The voltage goes up maybe .2 or .3 volts no matter how hard i rev the engine. Either the connections are bad (very possible... previous owner didn't take very good care of the bike) or the stator is shot (also very possible with a GS series)

[bccap]

Did you fix that ground wire ?

[MisterOh]

Oh sorry, I guess the picture made it look like the wire is broken. The ground connection is solid, I'm sure of it.

[bccap]

There are better people than me for identifying what's what in the wiring in your pictures. However, it is evident that you need to do some major clean up of those connections. I wonder why he cut the original ground wire and moved it to the other bolt ? It should be taken off, cleaned up, and reattached using a proper connection. Here is a link to the stator tests for your charging system.

http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_statorfault.htm