GS1100 Crank but No Start

[Guest]

Recently completed the first stage of a complete rewire and seem to have created a no start condition. What I know so far is that I have spark, the carb is drawing air through all 4 of the jets, and I can smell fuel in the exhaust when hitting the start button and while it cranks. While it does not start it does blowback through the carb occasionally and does a loud pop through the exhaust.

1982 GS1100g

Thanks in advance.

I feel like it somehow developed a timing issue

[LOTO]

I recently finished a restoration on my GS1100l and had a very similar problem including popping through the exhaust....when putting all the wiring back in place I had broken of a main ground to the battery box....hope yours could be this easy

[Deltacharlieecho]

I'm doing all of my switches and lights direct grounded to a daisy chain on the negative terminal of the battery and the battery grounded to the frame.

Shouldnt be an issue but I do have one exposed ground connection on the end of the chain.

I'll do something about that connection and let you know how it works out.

[Steve]

Did the bike run before you started the re-wire job?

When I type "Columbus" into my mapping program, it returns about 20 locations in various states. Which one do you claim?
Just wondering, because there might be a GSer close enough to help you, but we don't know if you are in:
Georgia
oHIo
Indiana
Mississippi
Nebraska
Arkansas
Colorado
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky (2 of them there)
Michigan
Missouri
Montana
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Pennsylvania
Texas
Wisconsin
and a few in Canada.

.

[Deltacharlieecho]

I live in CBus Ohio.

The bike did "run" before the rewire but it was poorly at best. Now I'm sure I did something wrong but the starter is working much better than before the rewire I'm just not getting it all to come together. Not sure what it is but a friend if mine said that it may have jumped timing.

[Brendan W]

Recently completed the first stage of a complete rewire and seem to have created a no start condition. What I know so far is that I have spark, the carb is drawing air through all 4 of the jets, and I can smell fuel in the exhaust when hitting the start button and while it cranks. While it does not start it does blowback through the carb occasionally and does a loud pop through the exhaust.

1982 GS1100g

Thanks in advance.

I feel like it somehow developed a timing issue

Timing is a possibility, however is it valves or spark?
Given the wiring work the first thing might be to check that the coil feeds are not swapped over.

[Redman]

...................
Given the wiring work the first thing might be to check that the coil feeds are not swapped over.

+1

Recently completed the first stage of a complete rewire ............

more than what you said about the grounds....?

...... ............

some other thoughts:
- how long did bike sit during this work? maybe battery low on charge
- you say is spark, but how would you describe the sparks? maybe are weak sparks.
- what is voltage at the coils (org/wht wire verses ground) when turn on key? and while cranking?

[Deltacharlieecho]

I have tested the coil leads a few different ways to ensure they're not swapped around. If my understanding is correct, orange and white go to positive terminals on the coils while the black/white and black/yellow go to the negative of the coils.

[Deltacharlieecho]

Bike sat for about a 2 weeks an had the battery on a tender for the entirety of the second week.

The sparks are blue, the plugs are a little carbon fouled but that's to be expected when the carbs avent been properly dialed in yet.

I'll need to check the voltage. How do I set up my multimeter to check that? Just positive to ground on the coil or between the battery and coil somehow?

[Brendan W]

I have tested the coil leads a few different ways to ensure they're not swapped around. If my understanding is correct, orange and white go to positive terminals on the coils while the black/white and black/yellow go to the negative of the coils.

Is the black and white on the coil that fires cylinder 1 & 4 ?

[Deltacharlieecho]

I believe so, but the bike is being built in a storage unit so I'll have to swing buy and take a look in a bit. When doing the rewire I followed the schematic so it should be right, however should and are, tend to be two wildly different things at times.

[Brendan W]

I believe so, but the bike is being built in a storage unit so I'll have to swing buy and take a look in a bit. When doing the rewire I followed the schematic so it should be right, however should and are, tend to be two wildly different things at times.

Only seven posts and you're coming up with that. You're gonna fit right in here I can tell

[Deltacharlieecho]

I may be new to building bikes, but I've been doing ridiculous wiring on guitars for years. If there's one thing you learn and learn quick it is that you will mess up in ways that will leave you confused for weeks once you figure it out. I once built a bass and somehow switched the hot and ground wires on an output Jack. This was a passive bass with variable resistors and and bleed circuits so in theory it could have been one of around 25 different things.

I definitely get it.

[Deltacharlieecho]

Is the black and white on the coil that fires cylinder 1 & 4 ?

Okay so those were switched and that was part of the problem. I think I switched the wiring for the power switch and the kill because it starts and idles as long as I hold the start button down lol.

Any suggestions there?

[Brendan W]

Okay so those were switched and that was part of the problem. I think I switched the wiring for the power switch and the kill because it starts and idles as long as I hold the start button down lol.

Any suggestions there?

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/GS1100G_1982_wiring.jpg

Have a look at the starter button on the top of this diagram. With the stop/kill switch closed the coils should be hot. If you have the starter button wires the wrong way around the coils only are live with the button pressed.