Grounding troubles

[MBanks]

So I've been having some trouble with my electrical system not being properly grounded. Most of the time, everything works ok. Sometimes when I try to start my bike, all the lights will kill out and there will be no response from the ignition button. I find that if I touch my screwdriver to the - terminal, the lights will come back on and I can usually get it to start (sometimes takes a few tries). I'm guessing that somewhere something is not grounded properly.

What cables are supposed to go to ground at the battery box? There has always been a cable coming from the big bundle under the tank that had one cable going to the -, but I have been grounding it to the battery box through one of the starter screws. Is this a good grounding spot? Any help is much appreciated, electricity may as well be magic to me.

Matt

[Eli69]

could be your ignition switch. does wiggling the key help?

[duaneage]

The RR has a ground wire that should go to the frame. This is the most important ground since the RR actually runs the bike when the motor is turning. If the frame is grounded to the RR then all the electrical devices can reference the frame.

The small ground wires are to make sure the battery box and electrical devices mounted on it are grounded to the frame as well. The rubber mounts are there to prevent vibration from damaging the electronics. Replace the connectors with new bullets and even new wires if the copper is green.

Finally the battery gets a big ground to the engine so it can crank the starter. It does not power the bike when running and needs only a small amount of current to stay charged. It may have a small ground wire that goes to the frame or battery box depending on model.

[MBanks]

could be your ignition switch. does wiggling the key help?

I'll try next time and see. If something was wrong with the ignition switch, would it cause the whole system to dump (lights and signals off)?

[Eli69]

it's happened on more than one of my bikes. the ignition contacts are old and not as accessible as, say, the light switches. you can't just open them up and clean them.

i usually spray contact cleaner or pb blaster in the keyhole and work the key back and forth as periodic maintenance, and when i first start to refurbish a bike.

you should probably go through the entire wiring harness to look for broken wires too. especially where the wires move around as they go from the frame to the steering head. i had a broken wire there shut me down completely: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=183604