Where in the world is the main fuse??

[Guest]

so having what appears to be a major electrical issue with my 1988 GS40L. I recently picked up the bike and it has been running great. Today I went into my apartment after riding it, came back and had no lights on the dash, no ignition, no nothing. I immediately thought it was a fuse, so began to look for one. I have traced every wire, taken apart the headlight, taken off the gas tank, taken off the seat, side panels, everything. And for the life of me cannot find any fuse anywhere. How is this possible? I bought the bike used but I didn't even think it would work without a fuse. If there is one and I am missing it, that is most likely the issue. If there isn't however, does anyone have any ideas? I can get the bike to turn on if I pop the clutch, once it on I get no headlight, brake light, blinkers or tac. I feel like its all connected.

Please, someone help!

Thanks

[cowboyup3371]

Just to clarify, do you mean a GS450L?

If so, it looks like a single inline fuse right off the positive battery cable

[Steve]

I am intrigued not only by the "GS40L", but also by the "1988".

I was not aware that there were any GSes (without some extra letters attached) after about '85.

OK, I looked in my manual folder, found that the 450L went through at least '87. In some states, the year of the bike is listed as the year it was first sold, so it might be an '87 that is titled as an '88.

If that is the case, cowboyup is correct, it is a single fuse that is on the smaller wire connected to the battery positive terminal.

.

[gsrick]

Amazing, after looking at the manual and parts fiche, there is only one 15A fuse and it come directly off the battery. According to the manual yours should be under the left side cover. Look for a white tube with a wire coming out both sides.

[gsrick]

I am intrigued not only by the "GS40L", but also by the "1988".

I was not aware that there were any GSes (without some extra letters attached) after about '85.

OK, I looked in my manual folder, found that the 450L went through at least '87. In some states, the year of the bike is listed as the year it was first sold, so it might be an '87 that is titled as an '88.

If that is the case, cowboyup is correct, it is a single fuse that is on the smaller wire connected to the battery positive terminal.

.

That later model is a weird one. It has little bit of Madura styling and uses the twin carb.

[Steve]

That later model is a weird one. It has little bit of Madura styling and uses the twin carb.

If memory serves correctly, didn't all the 450s have "twin carbs"? "-k

.

[sam000lee]

On my three GS450s the fuse is in a small white plastic fuse holder under the left side cover. It's secured by two prongs on the same plate as the R/R, ignitor and turn signal flasher. Look for red wires and follow them. My friend just found that the PO had lditched the fuse holder somewhere along the way and electrical taped the wires going to it together... so also keep an eye out for that kind of thing.

[Penguinwobbler]

Thanks for the responses guys, and pardon my haste. It is indeed a 1988 GS450L. Here is a shot of what she looks like - IMG_5438.jpg going to do some more investigative work0, but definitely no evident Fuse or fuse holder. It is possible the PO had ditched it like mentioned above. if that is the case and not a fuse, does anyone have any other ideas as to what could be causing the issue?

[sam000lee]

Looks like somebody has modified the bike a lot so without more information it's pretty hard for us to help. The GS450 wiring diagram can be found here: http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

Does the bike have the stock wiring harness? You said in your initial post that it was not getting electrical anywhere but that it does run if you bump start it, so that means it has to be getting power to the ignition system.
If you have an aftermarket ignition switch, maybe they wired it incorrectly and put the ignition circuit on an accessory setting. Is your key in the right position?
Sounds like it's time to pull out a multimeter and seeing where you are and are not getting power. More pictures will help...

Where abouts in Boston are you I live in the area?

[Penguinwobbler]

I will take some more detailed pics, maybe that will help. Looks like someone absolutely messed with the wiring. Who knows how many PO's there were. Need to 100% rip out the entire electrical system and re-wire this winter. But until then, need to figure out a workaround for the summer. It doesn't appear that there is any fuse coming out of the main positive like the wiring diagram shows. Any ideas as to what could be cutting power?

I am located in the South end of Boston- where about are you?

[BigD_83]

That later model is a weird one. It has little bit of Madura styling and uses the twin carb.

Do you mean the "Siamese" carb, Rick? Like on each side of the 83-87 550es?

[cowboyup3371]

Can you give us some good pictures of the battery and surrounding cables?