Dead Bike Battery Polarity Reversed

[Strat]

I just bought a 1983 GS750E for 75 bucks. The problem is that the original owner put the battery in backwards then tried to jump it with the start setting on the battery charger. As a result nothing works, the signal lights do not even work. I have wanted a GS for several years now and this one just fell into my lap. I just hope the CDI box is not fried, I checked and it is $420 for a new one... Anyone have any ideas of where to start?

[Steve]

First, remove the apparently dead battery. Use jumper cables to connect the bike to your car with the car's engine not running. Turn the bike key ON to see if there is any life. If not, check your fuses. If there is life, try starting it. Until you try it, you won't know, but it's possible that it's something simple, not the ignitor.

Oh, yeah, WELCOME TO THE BOARD. \\/

.

[Redman]

Strat,

Welcome to GSR.

I would say to start with fuses.

Have you tried charging battery, and checking it? I suspect it will have problems now too.

To check anything much more you are going to need a multimeter. Have one?

I havent had the experience of reverse polarity on a GS (I can tell you about 1965 Mustang though). Nor can I predict what that might have done. THe probelm would have been right when the battery installed wrong and then more when the key turned. Then the battery charger on start would have caused problem to the battery.



Tell us more of what you have found. Plenty of folks here to help, and most of tehm know what they are talking about.

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[salty_monk]

Even if the CDI box has gone you can get a mechanical advance from an older model & hook up a Dyna S for $120.

Dan

[Strat]

good advice. I tried jumping it earlyer off of a battery in a functioning bike, nothing. I was searching unrelyable websites online and heard something about a Negative Fuse on the negative terminal. The bike is not here at my home yet so I have to check that out later. I am going to test for voltage and see where it stops. It may be something simple... Its not a fuse in the fuse block.

[gpans]

similar problem

I have a similar problem caused by my own stupidity. 1978 GS550E. I had just finished cleaning/rebuilding the carbs and I rushed to get the bike back together so I could test out running it. The battery has always been dead (or the stator, but that is a later problem) so I sent up jump cables as I have in the past. The only problem was, I accidentally reversed the polarity to the bike battery.
The bike was in the 'on' and 'run' position, but I never pushed 'start' when I realized my mistake. I switched the cables but now no lights display. I could almost never get her started from the kickstart, but when I try the 'neutral' light will shine for a second. I hope this is a good sign and proves I didn't do too much damage. Could someone give me advice on what to test and do? I do have a good voltmeter but I don't have a trickle charger. How would I check to see if fuses have been blown?

[Narcoleptic_Snowman]

I would check the fuses. I did this exact same thing... INSTANTLY popped the main fuse. Woops. Thank God for fuses . Anyway, check out basscliff's website. He has tons of manuals up there. Should be one for your bike which will tell you where your fuses are. http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

[suzukiSam]

i did the same move on my outboard engine, in which case, reversing the battery polarity was instant death for the rectifier. unless there is an inline fuse, i'd check to see if your rectifier got fried..

[gpans]

Thanks guys! I'll check it out tomorrow...even if it is both the fuse and rectifier it is a less serious problem than initially envisioned. I'll make another post of my progress.

[gpans]

yup, it turned out to be the fuse and that was it. cost me only $1.75 to fix my really dumb mistake:-D

[Zooks]

Anyway Strat, (the original author of this thread) good luck with the bike.

Let us know what happens.