Stranded HELP, starter relay

[azr]

Busted down at the motel. We thought we would take a look to see why Trevors 83 1100 bike won't start with the start button. We took the connections off the starter relay. Now when we put them back to where we thought they went things just start to spark....arrrr. We can't download a wiring diagram from cliffs site to my phone for some reason so if anyone can be of help it would be hugely appreciated. The only thing that makes sense is we are putting the wires back on wrong, don't know how though but I've done dumber things before. There's one positive wire one wire from the starter, two wires coming from the harness and one wire from the negative terminal.weird thing is trevors positive wire is on the oposite terminal on the relay when compared to my 1000G

[Agemax]

it shouldnt really matter which cable goes on which post. battery to one, starter to the other. when you hit the button it latches them together.

if you have 2 smaller wires i guess 1 is a ground for the relay and the other is the 12v switched supply from the starter button.

sorry if this is no help to you.......

[old_skool]

I'm up early, I'll see if I can help, lets start with all the wires, rather than try and do a proper repair at the hotel, let's get you back home, tape up all wire ends so nothing makes contact with anything(do not re-hook them up) except the 2 large pos wires, the one from the bat to the solenoid and the one going to the starter, key on, the touch(arc and sparks) them together will turn over the starter and start the bike, when the bike is started, tape those 2 up(separately) so you can ride it home. If you have long distance service to the US on either of your cell phones, like I said, I'm up, I can pull up a electrical diagram for you and talk to you on the phone. I'm pm-ing you my number.
Rich

[bccap]

Where are you guys ? Do you need tools, multi meter, beer etc. ?

[Nessism]

Seems a bit late for this tidbit, but in a pinch, you can use a screwdriver to short across the two main posts on the starter relay, which should get the starter motor turning. Once you get home you can take your time and fix the wiring as needed.

[rustybronco]

We took the connections off the starter relay. Now when we put them back to where we thought they went things just start to spark....arrrr.

Please clarify which of the two pair of wires are sparking when connected. Is it the large or small set of wires?

Connect each of the two larger wires to the starter solenoid one at a time (as was said, it doesn't matter which cable connects to which post). When you connect the last of those two wires up, does it spark then? If so, the solenoid is bad AND it will either crank if the starter is good, or it won't if the starter is bad OR the solenoid is shorted internally to ground.

Daniels picture will show you where to connect the smaller wires.

[azr]

Ok I'm up, I'll take all the suggestions and see what I can sort out. Thanks again, this is yet another reason why I like this site!

[koolaid_kid]

Just to clarify from the previous posts:
Your solenoid will have 3-4 wires connected to it. 2 will be heavy gauge (thick). The heavy gauge wires go to the posts (threaded connections using nuts and lock washers).
1 goes to the battery. 1 goes to the starter. I would proceed in this manner:
First, touch the heavy gauge wire from the battery to one of the posts. As mentioned before, which one does not matter. If it sparks, your solenoid is bad. Replace it with one for a garden tractor. If it does not spark, put the lock washer and nut on it and tighten it up.
Second, touch the heavy gauge wire from the starter to the other post. If it sparks, your starter is bad. Push start the bike and get it home. If it does not spark, put the lock washer and nut on it and tight it up.
Third, there is usually one smaller gauge wire that goes to the starter button. It is usually a spade connector. When the key is on and you press the starter button, your multimeter should show ~12V.
That is really all there is to a solenoid, which is actually just a high current relay.

[GelandeStrasse]

You could bump start it to get home?

[azr]

So we found some ****ty grounds and such and and extra wire someone put in from the neg on the battery. Can someone tell me where the two black/white wires go that come from the main wiring harness. They come out right by the battery/relay. I remember one going to the front battery box bolt but where does the other go??

[tatu]

So we found some ****ty grounds and such and and extra wire someone put in from the neg on the battery. Can someone tell me where the two black/white wires go that come from the main wiring harness. They come out right by the battery/relay. I remember one going to the front battery box bolt but where does the other go??

Is the main rubber mounted plate that holds all the electrical gubbins earthed? There will need to be one there, mine goes through the R/R bolt hole.

[850 Combat]

Is the main rubber mounted plate that holds all the electrical gubbins earthed? There will need to be one there, mine goes through the R/R bolt hole.

Grounding the plate fixed an intermittent starting problem on the 1100G I gave to my brother. Ring terminal on the solenoid bolt, and one on the battery, plus a jumper to the frame.

[trevor]

We got it starting on its own. Yeah!!! Thanks for all the help guys. Gsr and its members continue to impress me so much! We will post more when we get home.
Trevor

[bccap]

Please post pictures of your internet roaming bill at the end of the month. That I gotta see......

[rustybronco]

A wifi connection at the hotel wont show up on a phone bill.