Ok, I got the carbs cleaned, put them back in and...

[Anonymous]

1981 GS650E
Now the bike doesn't want to turn over. It did before I pulled the airbox and rack out, now I hit the button and nothing happens. No starter noise, nothing. The headlight is nice and bright, the taillight is also, turn signals work, the horn works although it sounds weaker. All the bikes electrical components are under the right side cover attached to the airbox so I'm guessing I must have done something to it when I removed them to pull the airbox out. I looked over and I didn't miss any ground wires anyplace that I can see. Any suggestions how to trace this disaster out? (I don't know what the starter relay is or where it's located. Is it the thing that looks like a yellow metal canister with two wires and one yellow/green stripe going to it? I have a voltmeter I just don't know what to put it on to sort things out. I know this is kind of a rare model bike, being the E model but hopefully the wiring is the same. Also, when I put the carbs back in I kinda forgot to attach the choke cable...is it possible to reconnect this thing without pulling the rack? I really don't wanna go through another 2 hour torture session to pull the rack again.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm dying to get this thing running!

[Anonymous]

Re: Ok, I got the carbs cleaned, put them back in and...

1981 GS650E
Now the bike doesn't want to turn over. It did before I pulled the airbox and rack out, now I hit the button and nothing happens. No starter noise, nothing. The headlight is nice and bright, the taillight is also, turn signals work, the horn works although it sounds weaker. All the bikes electrical components are under the right side cover attached to the airbox so I'm guessing I must have done something to it when I removed them to pull the airbox out. I looked over and I didn't miss any ground wires anyplace that I can see. Any suggestions how to trace this disaster out? (I don't know what the starter relay is or where it's located. Is it the thing that looks like a yellow metal canister with two wires and one yellow/green stripe going to it? I have a voltmeter I just don't know what to put it on to sort things out. I know this is kind of a rare model bike, being the E model but hopefully the wiring is the same. Also, when I put the carbs back in I kinda forgot to attach the choke cable...is it possible to reconnect this thing without pulling the rack? I really don't wanna go through another 2 hour torture session to pull the rack again.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm dying to get this thing running!

That's it. Put the voltmeter on the grn/yellow wire and try to start the bike. If you don't have 12+ volts there, then check the connections back to the starter switch, kill switch, neutral safety, clutch. I don't have a wiring diagram in front of me, but hopefully you get the idea. There should be battery on one side of the solenoid and when the grn/yellow gets power then battery is applied to the other side, thereby turning the starter - if everything is good that is.

[redliner1973]

Place the "kill" switch back to the 'run' position and don't tell anyone what you did!

[Anonymous]

last

I wish it was the killswitch not being in the run position, I'd glady rather be embrassed than to try and figure THIS out, and thanks for the help with the relay, I'll test it and see what happens.

[Poot]

check for any blown fuses.


a quick test to see if it is your starter solenoid, is to short the two terminals on it while the ignition is on. you should get a spark *careful*

mine malfunctioned a while back, and wouldnt turn over, so i got a wrench and gave it a rat-atat-tat and it has been working ever since. dont go nuts

[Anonymous]

OK, so far, this is what I have come up with.

Shorting the two terminals on top of the starter relay causes the bike to turn over. I don't have voltage at the green/yellow wire. (I'm not sure if I'm connecting it right or not, grounding one lead and touching it to the green/yellow, produces nothing.) From there I went up to the starter button and determined that I have 12 volts across the killswitch when it's on, but nothing at the starter button. At least, I don't think I do anyway. I wish suzuki had just used a normal button instead of this plastic/spring crap, I'm not sure how the voltmeter leads should be positioned to read it, what I did was put one lead into the middle of the disk thing under where the spring goes and then one lead to the ring outside of that. If this thing ends up being the problem is there a way to replace the switch with just a regular push button switch or do I have to try and get that suzuki part?
Oh also, I should have continuity from the green/yellow on the relay with the green/yellow at the starter button, and the orange/white wires are positive power, right?

[Anonymous]

Oh and

I have no blown fuses, I checked and then checked with the continuity setting to make sure.

[Anonymous]

When you say you have 12 volts across the killswitch when it's on, how are you making the measurement? If you have the multimeter directly across the swith, with the red lead on one side and the black on the other, then the switch is bad. There should be no voltage drop across the switch when it is on. Try shorting the switch out with a piece of wire. If that fixes it, then take apart the switch and spray some contact cleaner in there and work the switch a few times. it may be dirty or corroded.

[Anonymous]

What I meant was if you try and read across the switch there is power there and continuity when the switch is on, when it's off, theres no continuity so I think the kill switch is fine, I'm just not really sure where to go from here.

[Anonymous]

So, what you are doing is measuring from ground to one side of the switch then ground to the other side. If you get battery on both sides then the switch is ok.

I'm not sure how you bike is wired but on mine (I'm looking at the diagram now) the kill switch is wired to the fuse. So you are good to that point. The kill switch then gotes to the starter button, then to the starter disconnect switch. I believe this is in the clutch ( I take mine out - I hate them), then to the solenoid.

Check to make sure you have battery at each point with the starter button depressed. If you have a starter disconnect switch, you need to have the clutch pulled in.