no power at all

[jrucifer]

I just bought a 1982 GS400 for my first bike. It's in great shape, lots of new parts, new paint, new batery, fresh oil and sparkplugs... the only problem is there is no power whatsoever. The guy I bought it from said it runs great and all, but when he was putting the new battery in, he got one side connected, and went to put the other side on and hit the frame with it. When he got it all screwed down, there was no power when the key is put in or turned.

what does this sound like to you guys? blown fuse? fried connection? I dont know much about bikes, so any help is greatly appreciated.

[chef1366]

Check your fuse panel which should be under one of your frame covers. The one that says 400 on it. Always remove the negative first and attach it last on your battery.

[jrucifer]

i checked both sides of the bike, can't see anything immediately that looks like a fuse panel. would i have to remove any coverings besides the frame covers to get to it? what should i be looking for? i feel embarrassed asking these questions

[chef1366]

Follow the small wire from the positive post of the battery and it should go into an inline fuse. It might have a cover over it that pops off. Just look around, you should see a wire that breaks into a plastic cylinder that opens up for a fuse. I don't have a 400 so I'm reaching too. Don't be afraid to ask, no other way to learn. Check out a microfiche for your bike.

[Cyg]

use bikebandit.com for your microfiche. I use that all the time too find parts or what should go where. http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandi..._r=7&WT.srch=1

goto oem parts/ year/ make/ model/

[scott hamm]

no power

look under the left cover.
you will see the ignitor aboe the starter solonoid.
look at the right rear for a roung whiteish tube .
this is the fuse holder, it clips in a bracket made for it.

scott hamm
82' GS300L

[jrucifer]

I feel incompetent because I cannot find this fuse for the life of me. I checked bikebandit, but they only have the gs450 models. the electrical looks very similar, but I couldn't find anything that looked like the fuse in the diagram. I havn't found any wires that end in a plastic cylinder.

scott, here's a picture with the parts you described. can you see anything? point me in the right direction maybe?

http://www.skateaz.com/vol3/userfiles/gs400side.jpg

Thanks everyone for their help.

[scott hamm]

no power

the bracket beside the soloniod is the fuse holder.
the fused wire should connect to the pos+ side (wire going to battery) on the solonoid.
follow this wire and see if theres a in-line fuse.
on my GS300 someone had removed the fuse completely and i re-wired a spade type fuse holder in-line .
if theres not a in-line fuse you have a battery or solonoid connector problem.
hope this helps

scott hamm
82' GS300LZ

[jrucifer]

I found and replaced an inline fuse running from the positive side of the battery... still nothing. The battery is brand new, so I don't think that's the problem. what are my options here? I am brand new to working on motorcycles, so I don't want to mess anything up. Think it's worth it to get it towed to a shop?

[chef1366]

Did you charge the battery?

[jrucifer]

nope... i dont have a battery charger.

before I go out and buy one, take a look at this picture. This struck me as pretty odd...

http://www.skateaz.com/vol3/userfiles/gs400wires.jpg

thanks for bearing with me.

[scott hamm]

no power

the solonoid has been wired backwards but will work as wired.
the small cut wire was supposed to go to the fuse,
the large cut wire must have went to something extra as if lights.
make sure one end of the fuse wire goes to the battery and the other goes to into the wiring harness.
make sure the battery has power and we'll go from there.

[jrucifer]

a couple of updates on the issue:

first of all, the battery does have power

2nd, the other end of the fuse i replaced just leads back to the negative end... i shouldve noticed this earlier but i didnt. the wire connects to what looks like a connection for a charger...

there is no fuse directly inbetween the battery postive and the solonoid.

[scott hamm]

no power

without being there this looks like someone has chopped the wiring like mine was.
the wire that is supposed to go to the fuse has been cut from the wiring harness.
this wire feeds the igniton switch, if you can find it you may be able to trace the problem.
look for a new connection around the electrical panel in the wiring harness.
this wire shoulod be connected to the postive side of the battey but needs to be fused for protection.
the battery cables will not be fused due to the high amps.
also look for any cut wires in the harness near the battery area.
the one you're looking for will be a 16 or 18 gauge wire and mine is blue, but it can be any color.
i hope this helps, and it's be hard for me to meet face to face to fix the problem.
i'd find a good mechanial minded friend or a shop if you can't find the problem
hope this helps
scott

[jrucifer]

okay, so i believe i've gotten closer to a resolution... i bought a new fuse assembly and connected the cut wire (that originally had the fuse which was removed) to the wire that leads to the ignition switch (looks right according to the wiring diagram). When the bike is switched on, the fuse is immediately blown. However, if I turn the key to park, the brake light works. So, I am assuming that there is a bad connection somewhere. Where should I start? what else could be causing this?

Thanks for your patience on the issue... I really want to fix this myself instead of having to pay to get it towed and worked on at a mechanic.