Rewiring GS1000ec advice..

[Kamakiriad]

Hi, great site for great bikes !
Wondering if anyone has rewire advice please..
I've bought a low mileage 78 gs1000ec import (I'm in UK) which has fried wiring (batt + cable had melted, and also various grounds in loom & signal cancel unit - now replaced). Just wondering opinions on what best to do so this doesn't happen again? Where to put some inline fuses, and if there are main hiccups in design of loom that I can leave out or improve upon? I have a new electrex r/r to go on and have gone over the loom with a microscope, cleaned all terminals etc.

Any answers appreciated
Jim

[Brendan W]

Hi Jim and Welcome
The standard loom had one weakness. One of the generator phases went on a loop to the headlight before coming back to the rectifier. This loop is known to fry.
Sounds like yours is more serious than that. Any chance of a picture. Harnesses can be in better shape than appears and repairing the stock harness can be an easier solution.
Here is is our library. In addition to stock wiring diagrams there should be some stripped down harness schematics.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

[Agemax]

Replace the old tired fuse box with a modern blade type fuse box.
I replaced mine with the one in the link below, it works great, has more fuses than required so you can add more circuits if required, such as the coil relay mod.
It also utilises a single point ground, so run all your ground wires to it and then connect direct to the battery.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fuse-Box-With-Negative-Blade-Holder-6-Way-With-LED-Indicator-For-Van-Car-UK/123988206832?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

[Kamakiriad]

Hi , great stuff - thanks for replies. Unsure what caused the 'fry up' although most damage looks to be around rear end of loom with signal cancel unit badly damaged. Lack of a headlight and previous owner saying 'someone' used to have 1000s nosecone etc. makes me think headlight wiring had been messed around maybe. Anyway it looks salvageable to me so will crack on armed with your advice and try and get this fired up (not literally !). Pics show temporary liquid electrical tape repairs
Jim20210305_130036.jpg

[Kamakiriad]

20210305_125750.jpg
Apologies - will only let me attach one pic per post

[chris]

Hi Jim, to answer your question on the best thing to do so as to prevent future problems. You have received good advice about installing a blade style fuse box and wiring up the RR as per stator papers. In my opinion your bike is a candidate for a complete re wire including fresh switch gear. Too many times I hear of people spending days chasing electrical gremlins, when they could of replaced the 40 year old wiring with fresh stuff. You have several options, #1 oem style harness and switch gear. #2 moto gadget m-unit ( most expensive) #3 build it yourself basic wiring harness with aftermarket switch gear ( simplest and probably cheapest). There are many basic wiring diagrams on the internet you can use if you choose option 3. I hope this helps. Maybe others will chime in with more options.

[Kamakiriad]

Hi - thank you yes, that's a good call and very helpful. I'm looking at this wiring and wanting to keep it stock, but really i'd just be patching it up until next time it goes south. It would be nice to feel there's decent new wiring going on down there and I'll look at options. Many thanks again for all the help and suggestions, jim

[salty_monk]

Once you get the GS wiring up to scratch it tends to be very reliable from that point forward, low failure rate. Removing the headlight loop, fitting a series RR and adding some relays (for the coils if you have voltage drop as well as other accessories) are all good things.