No crank: intermittent, can't find a fault.

[ThrottleBack]

80% of the time I hit start and she fires right up. But randomly I will hit start and get nothing. This time I opened the kill/start cluster to fix the throttle cable and upon reassembly the start button gets me nothing. Heres what I have and know:

- New solenoid
- 11.8-12v at solenoid from start button
- Kill switch effectively kills the power from start button at solenoid, so it's working
- 12v at solenoid from battery
- New ground link wire from frame to battery

Using a screw driver across the posts cranks strong BUT DOES NOT START. My bike ALWAYS starts within a second or two. My only theory is that the ground wire from the "panel" to the battery maybe faulty, and I'm clueless how to test it or if I'm even on the right track. 30 year old wiring, got to love it.

[Agemax]

i thought you had all this fixed in your mystery "safety switch" thread?

[ThrottleBack]

So did I, it just randomly came back after a lot of other use.

[Agemax]

are you sure you haven't pinched the wires while resecuring the throttle back together?

[ThrottleBack]

Positive i'm getting proper voltage from starter switch and function from kill. I even took it back apart and checked. Only change was originally i forgot to put the gold plate back in that covers start switch. I put that back in but again, voltage is right.

[ThrottleBack]

What's got me thinking ground is the when this occurs it doesn't start when turned over. When the problem vanishes she starts. The bike hasn't even moved in a week.

[Agemax]

go back and recheck all the ground wires

[ThrottleBack]

I pulled the rack and seat off and looking at it I don't see any obvious breaks. I'm going to hit google and see about how to use my meter to test ground. I HAVE to figure this out because until i do I will never take the bike out.

[Steel Toed Tank]

I run a ground from R/R to battery -, R/R case to frame and electrical panel, then from panel to battery -, frame to battery and motor to battery -.

I also go through every connector on the bike with with contact cleaner and dielectric grease.
Might seem like overkill, but the hour a year it takes me to do it less time and effort than chasing shorts and bad grounds throughout my very short and very important riding season.

[ThrottleBack]

I run a ground from R/R to battery -, R/R case to frame and electrical panel, then from panel to battery -, frame to battery and motor to battery -.

I also go through every connector on the bike with with contact cleaner and dielectric grease.
Might seem like overkill, but the hour a year it takes me to do it less time and effort than chasing shorts and bad grounds throughout my very short and very important riding season.

Maybe I will step back for today and just take the time this weekend to run the grounds like you do. Electrical idiot question: what did you mean by "motor to battery"? (- not needed, that part i know :P).

I need to head over to bass's site and become familliar with the r/r, i need to understand where it is, what it is, and why I care becauxse it seems that pops up a lot.

[Steel Toed Tank]

I pulled the rack and seat off and looking at it I don't see any obvious breaks. I'm going to hit google and see about how to use my meter to test ground. I HAVE to figure this out because until i do I will never take the bike out.

+ lead on battery +, - lead on the ground you want to test.
Try to pick the furthest point from the battery.

Your reading should be within a .1V or .2V of the reading you get from putting your leads directly on the battery terminals.

Electronics Tutorial #1 - Electricity - Voltage, Current, Power, AC and DC

[Agemax]

Maybe I will step back for today and just take the time this weekend to run the grounds like you do. Electrical idiot question: what did you mean by "motor to battery"? (- not needed, that part i know :P).

I need to head over to bass's site and become familliar with the r/r, i need to understand where it is, what it is, and why I care becauxse it seems that pops up a lot.

wrong....... motor to battery- = motor to battery NEEDED. "-" = ground wire

[Steel Toed Tank]

It means I have a ground wire going directly from the engine block to the battery.

Over the years I have seen numerous strange issues on bikes, cars and transport trucks solved by simply fixing, cleaning, or adding a ground.

Hold on, I'll get a couple pictures.

[Steel Toed Tank]

This green wire runs direct to the battery -.


This next picture, the ground wire is white.
It starts at the bolt for the R/R, and attaches behind the fuse block to one of the solenoid mounting bolts.
From there it continues on to the battery -.



It all might be more than needed, but I ride in a lot of areas with no cell service, and often more than 10 miles to the closest house or person.


Somewhere on here there is a 'ten things to do to have a healthy, reliable and safe GS' list. I think it comes in BassCliffs' welcome package.
Completing that list when I first got my bike has given me 15,000 kms of worry free good times.

9 out of ten times when a newer GS owner gets on here asking for help, it's something that would have been addressed IF they had gone through the list.
Besides making your GS safe and reliable, going through the list with your bike teaches you the finer points on how it works, what to watch out for & keep an eye on, AND will help immensly when something goes wrong far from home.


EDIT: And would you just look at that patina!
You can't fake a finish like that.
Painting and polishing takes what? A day or two MAX.
The finish in that first picture took 3 DECADES!

[ThrottleBack]

wrong....... motor to battery- = motor to battery NEEDED. "-" = ground wire

do what now? I think you misunderstood me. I was saying you guys don't need to specify battery "-" I know grounds run to the negative post. I dunno your post just confused me, easy enough to do.

It means I have a ground wire going directly from the engine block to the battery.

Over the years I have seen numerous strange issues on bikes, cars and transport trucks solved by simply fixing, cleaning, or adding a ground.

Hold on, I'll get a couple pictures.

Thanks for the pics. I had a feeling you meant exactly what it is, engine block to battery, I was just making sure. Is that just to help ensure the battery always has a ground? I have never seen that done before.

Reading the r/r write up explained a lot, i'm also going to replace all the butt connectors to spade. I have a broken hand it's not like I don't have time to do this right.