Blows main fuse when I turn on the key?

[Redman]

Has Elvis left the building?

A couple things I had to notice

1- The OP, PAC315, although registered about a year ago, this is his first post.

2- The guy, Gumpster, that said "it's fixed" is not the OP.

.

[LOTO]

Edited....sorry for the thread hijack

[Big T]

I'll be watching this thread with interest...been cleaning up my 1980 GS1100 L and got everything back together enough (I think anyway) to check turn signals, headlight, horn, instrument panel, etc and about 2 seconds after I turned they key on I lost all power..gear indicator lit up and I was about to celebrate and then it shut off. The tank and carbs are still off and most wiring is easy to access....wanted to check electrical before I button everything up and get started on the crabs over the winter.


I checked the fuse case assembly and didn't see any blown fuses....is there an inline fuse somewhere that I could be missing? Sounds like I have a dead short somewhere and should I start by removing fuses as stated earlier?


Excuse my ignorance but what is R/R?

LOTO, you'll get better answers by starting your own thread, rather than hi jacking someone else's.

[Big T]

A couple things I had to notice

1- The OP, PAC315, although registered about a year ago, this is his first post.

2- The guy, Gumpster, that said "it's fixed" is not the OP.

.

They're both in SE GA, so it's probable Gumpster helped PAC315 with the problem, as happens here at the GSR

[Gumpster]

The R/R is a regulator and rectifier.

The owner installed a new battery and fuses and the problem seems to fixed. We are doing about a 60 mile round trip ride next week to lunch spot in the next county and if it pops again, I will have some supplies on hand.

LOTO, I would check battery connections and ground. Use a test light or meter and see if the main fuse has power and if the other fuses have power with the key switched to the run position. It's a start anyway....

[LOTO]

LOTO, you'll get better answers by starting your own thread, rather than hi jacking someone else's.

Objection noted and will be more careful with my contributions in the future...

[Big T]

More informational than an objection

[Redman]

...........

The owner installed a new battery and fuses and the problem seems to fixed. ....

..

A new battery ?? Fixed the problem of blowing main fuse as soon as turn on ignition key...?

Just for fun... turn on ignition key, and try tapping on horn(s), then try tapping harder, see if that blows the main fuse.

[Gumpster]

A new battery ?? Fixed the problem of blowing main fuse as soon as turn on ignition key...?

Just for fun... turn on ignition key, and try tapping on horn(s), then try tapping harder, see if that blows the main fuse.

We are going to completely check it out next week and will check the horn as well. This area gets really crazy this time of year due to the Georgia - Florida game so will have to wait till next week.

[fbody_mike]

Unplug the R/R and see if the fuse blowing still happens. If not replace the R/R. Preferably series R/R (e.g. SH-775)

Funny how life works. I was reading through this thread today at work. Then on the way home my gs550e loses all electrical power as I'm cruising down the freeway. Pull to the shoulder and catch a whiff of burnt electronics. Check my fuses and sure enough the main fuse is opened. It's at 15 amp and I only had a10 amp spare. Pop it in and the bike comes back to life, I haul butt to the nearest autozone for some more fuses because I know I'm on borrowed time. 1 minute after getting 15 amp fuses and replacing it it blows again. Again on the side of the road I remember the above suggestion so I pulled the regulator connector and rode the rest of the 30 miles on the battery, but no blown fuses.
The old regulator has a brown goo dripping from it and stinks to high heaven. Moral of the story, don't discount the regulator.

[PAC315]

Hey folks! Been kinda hectic lately, and this is the first time I have been able to get back about my fuse issue. I purchased a new battery as the old one would not hold a charge. I also purchased new fuses and replaced them all. I pulled the tank and looked at all my wires and found no obvious shorts. So, I put it all back together and the bike started right up w/o any issues or blown fuses. I even pressed the horn many times and actually held it down for about 15 seconds. No blown fuses. All other systems work fine. Per suggestion of GS member Gumpster, who has been a great help and reached out to offer me some suggestions and lots of electrical wisdom, I checked the voltage while off and with the bike on. Voltage off was 12.2, and running at about 1,000rpm, was 13.8. After a couple of rides about 15 miles each everything seems to be working fine. Although the rectifier is fairly hot to the touch, but not so hot it burns your hand. FYI, I always have the lights burning when I ride.

So, Gumpster & I figured it must have been an old and possibly sulfated battery causing my problems.

[PAC315]

More info: on my second ride I noticed that my oil temp gauge was not working. I installed this about 11 years ago, and have no recollection of exactly where I got the power to run it. I still have to hunt this down as I like knowing what temp my oil is at, plus I like looking at gauges. So, possibly this might also be a contributing factor to my mysterious fuse blowing issue. Anyhow, with Gumpster’s help we’ll get to the bottom of this.

So, until we talk next, I ride with lots of extra fuses! And I will get that rectifier checked out soon, and make sure it is grounded properly too, just to make sure!

Later!

[posplayr]

Funny how life works. I was reading through this thread today at work. Then on the way home my gs550e loses all electrical power as I'm cruising down the freeway. Pull to the shoulder and catch a whiff of burnt electronics. Check my fuses and sure enough the main fuse is opened. It's at 15 amp and I only had a10 amp spare. Pop it in and the bike comes back to life, I haul butt to the nearest autozone for some more fuses because I know I'm on borrowed time. 1 minute after getting 15 amp fuses and replacing it it blows again. Again on the side of the road I remember the above suggestion so I pulled the regulator connector and rode the rest of the 30 miles on the battery, but no blown fuses.
The old regulator has a brown goo dripping from it and stinks to high heaven. Moral of the story, don't discount the regulator.

Thanks for the field report.

[Redman]

Good to hear of improvment, but I think the cause of you fuse blowing still exisit, but for some reason just isnt as repeatable as it was.
Yah, carry some spare fuses with you.

If the horn(s) are suspect, I dont think operating the horn will aggravate the problem and make it reoccur. Tapping and rapping on the horn(s) will. Have key on and tap and rapp and bump the horns.

...........
..........................................Voltage off was 12.2, and running at about 1,000rpm, was 13.8. ..........................

That seems fairly good. As a good check of your charging system also check battery voltage at about 4000 rpm.
(Although not really related to your fuse blowing problem).

More info: on my second ride I noticed that my oil temp gauge was not working. I installed this about 11 years ago,...............
...............

Ah, maybe might find a wire disconnected hanging around somewhere. Or maybe it was a problem inside the temp guage that was shorting out but now has blow open.

[bobgroger]

I had an intermittent fuse blowing on my 850. Finally tracked it down to a horn rotated just right so the hot terminal would contact the mount under the right wind or vibration conditions. Usually would blow both the headlight and main fuse.