1979 GS550L gas gauge not working....

[youngrider1994]

I got the bike back a few weeks ago and right away the blinkers and headlights stopped working. At the time, everything else worked. I took it back and the guy said it was a bad fuse, couldn't really tell by looking at it, and that the connection was a little lose. I went for a ride and then noticed the fuel gauge now isn't working. I ordered an aftermarket fuse box to fix the lose connection. Could this fix the problem?

[Steve]

First of all, WELCOME. BassCliff will be along shortly to give you the full Welcome Wagon treatment, but you might get it quicker if you introduce yourself in the GS Owners forum.


You "got the bike back".

Where did it go?

Why?

Was the gas gauge working before it went?

If your "guy" says he can't tell if a fuse is bad, you really don't want him touching your bike any more.

A new fuse box won't necessarily fix the problem, read on.

As far as having a "blown fuse", here is a quick check.
1. Turn the key ON, does anything come on? Yes? The MAIN fuse is good.
2. Leave the key ON. Turn the headlight ON. Did it come on? The LIGHTS fuse is good.
3. Leave the key ON. Try the horn, brake lights or turn signals. Any of them work? The SIGNALS fuse is good.
4. Start the engine. Does it start and run? The IGNITION fuse is good.

If all of those work, the non-working gauge is not due to a blown fuse. (by the way, the gas gauge is powered by the SIGNALS fuse)

Open the seat, look at the front of the seat, under the back edge of the tank, you should see two wires, one black, one yellow. The two wires from the tank should be plugged into matching wires on the bike. If they are not, that is your problem. If they are already connected, separate them, turn the key ON, run a jumper wire between the two wires on the bike, the gas gauge should go to full-scale. If it does, your problem is in the sending unit in the tank.

You have your location as "Wilmington". Which one? My mapping program says there is a "Wilmington" in 11 states and South Australia.

Depending on which of the states, I know there are several of us relatively close, so might be able to lend a hand.

.

[youngrider1994]

The bike was sitting for a year and then it went to get fixed. what i mean by you couldn't tell by looking at the fuse is the problem was in the end cap. Before it went there it worked, the first time i got it back it worked, then when I got it back and running correctly the gauge didn't work. when i taped the wires in place(so there wasn't a lose connection in the fuse box, the blinkers and lights work fine, before i taped them, the lights sometimes worked) I will upload pictures after work so you can see what i mean. I am in Wilmington MA. Thanks for the advice, I will try your suggestions later.

[chuck hahn]

First thing to do to see if its the guage itself is to jump the two plug from the harness together and see if the guage works that way..if it does its not the guage. Second suspect is the connections from the wires on the sending unit. You can have a barely held on male connector. Thirds is the sending unit itself. Take it out of the tank and remove the cover on the housing..three little bent over tabs is what youll see. Plug it into the harness and use a continuity tester and follow the path. Theres a wire that goes from the round pass thru thing in the plate to the waffle board. Ive had to replace that wire and solder in a new one to get good connections. Also where that wire passes thru the hole in the unit case youll get a spot that can short the wire there.

[tkent02]

I love a nice tight 550!

[youngrider1994]

TKENT02:Might be a little smaller than the rest but its a nice bike and is a great beginners bike.
chuck hahn: thanks for the advice. ill see if it works latter on.

[youngrider1994]

unfortunately i believe its the sending unit. will probably just let it be and wait till im able to get it done.