yet again I am in need of some gs wisdom

[rspector]

I have a 1980 gs1100 e
Today I went on a ride (200 miles) in about the last 20 or so the bike totaly died. Battery wasn't completly dead but dead enough not to turn the bike over. Any way I looked at my battery and noticed that it was almost completely out of water. So I stormed off into the woods looking for water, filled the battery up and tryed to start the bike, it still didn't start but it had a little more juice then before, ok so i finally got some jumpers and let the car run on the battery for 15-20 minutes, I disconnected the headlight and a couple of other connectors in the head light, and made it home when i got home the bike was fine starts right up .
Now 1 what would cause the battery to be dry,2 is there something in the wiring for the gauges that would cause the battery to die, because a couple of days ago I took them off, I thought I had them plugged back in correctly but if I let off the throttle all of the warning lights come on it doesn't effect the way the bike runs , they just kinda flicker if I am not giving the bike gas, I took the light out started the bike and wiggled the wires but couldn't replicated the problem. I thought I heard a crackling comming from around the clutch lever area but couldn't be sure. 3 Would dyna 3 ohm coils effect the charging system in any way
Thanks
Rob

[SqDancerLynn1]

You might make sure the coils are not shorting out on the tank. When was the last time you checked the battery ??????

[rspector]

last time i checked the battery was about 4000 miles ago, and wouldn't i hear the coil's shorting out on the tank? and if they are shorting on the tank how do i fix that problem

[redliner1973]

That sounds like a bad battery to begin with. If your lights are coming on at idle, the stator is not putting out enough to keep everything at 12 volts, engine dies, warning lights do strange things. I would install a new battery, then check voltage at battery with engine running at 5K RPM. then go from there.

[gsBert]

if your coils are shorting out on your tank, you'd feel the heat pretty quickly my friend...

which reminds me make sure the tank is isolated from the electrical system, you don't want to ground a 15,000V spark on your fuel supply...

[rspector]

i would think if the coils were shorting to the tank that the bike wouldn't run very well? any way i am getting a new battery today hopefully that solves the problem. I have read threw all of the stator papers and have a pretty good idea what to check , I'm just hopeing the last owner of the ibke already replaced the stator and r/r, any idea how long the stock ones would last? the bike has over 16000 on it now

[pano]

A couple rides ago when we took an overnighter to West Point NY I began to blow fuses. It was always the same fuse which powered my console, directionals and breaklight. Later I found one of my coils loose and resting on top of my engine. I am now sure the coil was shorting out occaisionaly and causing the fuse to blow.

Before I replaced my reg/rectifier I went through 3 batteries and I always found them low on water. Since replacing the reg/rectifier i have had the same battery and it always has plenty of juice and i don't remember having to add water to it.

[rspector]

well i pulled an r/r off that other bike last night and now i get 14 volts at 5000 rpm,but my guages still flicker if i pull the clutch in they go off its real wierd any ideas?

[RacingJake]

I can't remember since I'd ripped all my wiring off my bike years ago but is there some type of clutch safety switch on the clutch lever. Where you have to pull the clutch in before the starter will turn over. If so it could be bad wiring, loose, shorted out, open cuircut, bad ground somewhere around that area?? Maybe the clutch cable is flexing causing the wiring assy to move causing an open.

PS most of my wisdom comes from a big hammer :?

[rspector]

its really starting to confuse me, I just took my bike for a 30 mile ride, when i give it gas no matter what rpm it is, when i'm moving or not the lights will shut off, but when i left off of the throttle the lights come back on, I tried moving the wiring around when it was running and can't make it happen. My old rr had a ground that bolted right onto the front of the unit, this one doesn't? How hot should the r/r get I can touch it but not for very long feels like its at least 150 degress f. Any way still trying to figure it out.