re-wiring bit by bit

[Anonymous]

Hello folks, thank GOD there's a resource on the web like this. I just bought my first motorcycle, an '81 GS850, and really love it. Handles great, starts every time, and runs fairly well.

I am not, however, an electrician or much less a mechanic. I've done a bit of both in my time, enough I suppose to know when to ask for help.

Here are the electrical problems that I know of:

1. Front and rear turn signals are stuck in the ON position (except for the rear-left which won't come on at all, even with a new lamp, but a test light shows that a tiny bit of current is there). Activating either the left or right turn signal switch does absolutely nothing, though the High and Low beam part of the switch does work. (Question: the turn signal switch seems to have two setting in the left and right direction. From neutral I can click once in either direction and it stays, but I can also push it a bit further in either direction, though it will return back the left or right position when released. I haven't seen turn signals like this, what does the far position do?)

2. The front brake doesn't engage the brake light, though the rear brake does. I disassembled the switch last night and saw that the little square piece that appears the slide over the contacts was broken into two pieces. The brake lever is bent, so I assume some previous owner dropped it and perhaps this contributed to the internal breakage. Is there a fix for this other than replacing the entire switch?

3. I found an awesome color wiring diagram ( http://smokeriders.com/Technical/wir..._diagrams.html ). It says that it's for a 1980 GS850GT & GLT, will this be similar enough for me to use?

4. I see from said diagram that there is a part called a TURN SIGNAL CONTROL UNIT, which I believe is missing from my bike. I see one unit clipped near the side of my battery and what looks like a clip for another unit, but there's no unit. I read on this forum that some electrically-inclided people have bypassed this unit so I'm not at all sure that this current set up is a problem. What does the CONTROL UNIT do? I believe the person who wrote that they bypassed the unit said they thought that it just automatically cancelled the signals after 15 flashes. Is that all it does?

5. There seem to be some shorts in some of the factory connectors. Some of the plastic shows signs of melting and some of the male prongs inside the connectors are corroded. Where can I find replacement connectors?

Other than that, everything seems fine. The horn works, the high/low switch works, all the dash lights work. I'd really like to just simply replace the wiring harness, but unless I can find one at a scrap yard for <$50, I won't be able to afford it for a few weeks. Any suggestions on how I should go about diagnosing the turn signal issue?

Also, when you replace a wire that is factory labled with specific color labeling with a standard black/grey/yellow/red/etc wire, how do you record what that wire is? And what gauge wire should I use to replace the existing wires?

Any specific resources/ links ya'll can point me at? Any help at all at this point would be appreciated. And if anyone knows someone in the Eugene, Oregon area that would like to be a mentor or swap labor, please let me know, too.

Thanks!

[focus frenzy]

the switch works by you pushing it the dirrection you need to turn, you push the switch all the way to activate the flasher and start the self cancel function.
the self cancel feature is regulated by speed and distance, the bike has to be going over 20mph to become active, it then will self cancel if a predetermined time elapses or you travel over a set distance.
there is a magnetic reed switch in the speedometer that the control mondule uses to calculate distance traveled.
if you turn on the turnsignal sitting still or traveling under 20 mph the self cancel feature is over ridden and the turn signal will keep flashing till the bike exceeds 20mph then the self cancel function will activate and cancel the turn signal after the predetermined distance or time.

it is realy a good system that was way ahead of its time back when Suzuki came up with it.

if the control box is missing and the stock flasher is still in place the turn signal will not work, the control box controled the flasher via the third wire going into the flasher module.
you can use a generic automotive two terminal flasher to take the place of the factory flasher but the self cancel function will not work, not a problem if the control box is missing.

yes you can use the wiring diagram for a 80 850 for your bike, the only differance I can think of is the front turn signals, I think the 81 has front running lights, the 80 does not (two element bulb instead of single)

[Jethro]

I have a 3 pole flasher in both my bikes that can be bought at the local auto parts store for about $3. Does anyone have a bike that still self cancels? I'm not sure I have ever ridden a GS that has one still functioning.

[ddz]

Im glad to report that on my 1980 gs100g my self canceling blinkers still WORK ! All hail the mighty GS Good luck j2x you'll get all the help ya need here .This site is filled with the best & most helpful people you would ever want to meet

[SqDancerLynn1]

The turn signal control unit is a self canceling unit.

The front brake switch is still availablenew Or you can replace the banjo bolt with a hyd activated switch.

As for the connectors get some from an electrical supply house
the stuff at the local auto zone Kragens are junk. My own preference is to use a splice tube & solder the wires together with two layers of shrink wrap tubing

[focus frenzy]

I have a 3 pole flasher in both my bikes that can be bought at the local auto parts store for about $3. Does anyone have a bike that still self cancels? I'm not sure I have ever ridden a GS that has one still functioning.

mine still works, I changed my turnsignal bulbs to LED's and the stock flasher does not work with LED's so for the short term I have a conventional flasher.