r/r - Clymer manual wrong

[outthebay]

Well..... I finally figured out the answer to the charging issues with my '79 GS850. The r/r was never wired up right! I even brought the bike to a shop to see why it was not charging.... they said it was the r/r, which they replaced. Still no charge (they didn't check?). Anyway, I bought a Honda r/r (6 wire) and following Basscliff's instructions was wiring it up and noticed that only 2 of the 3 wires from the stator were connected to the r/r!

And I was double-checking with my trusty Clymer manual, which said two wires go to the r/r, and the other to some switch (not r/r). I even gave the wiring diagram from the Clymer manual to the mech who replaced the r/r!

How much needless suffering has this caused GS riders????

[egent]

That has always been part of the charging issues with the GS bikes. Suzuki had one leg of the stator wired to the head light switch so that when the head light was not on, this leg would not produce power. But when the added draw of the head light was needed, this leg would be added to the system. If you follow the wiring diagram closely, you see it goes the the head light switch, and then back down to the third input on the R/R unit. In bikes that had no headlight switch, as mandated by US law in 79 or 80, the wiring was not really changed, but instead of going to a switch, it is jumper-ed in the connector to the left handle bar switch. It is always best to remove these connections and attach the stator wires directly to the R/R. Removes many of the issues seen in GS charging.

[Steve]

Yup. What he said. 8-[

.

[BassCliff]

Cooking with electrons

And I was double-checking with my trusty Clymer manual, which said two wires go to the r/r, and the other to some switch (not r/r). I even gave the wiring diagram from the Clymer manual to the mech who replaced the r/r!

How much needless suffering has this caused GS riders????

Hi Mr. outthebay,

In my little r/r replacement guide, I thought I had mentioned the fact that I had cut back and taped off those wires running up to the (non-existent) headlight switch. This eliminates that loop of unnecessary resistance and allows the three stator wires to be connected directly to the three r/r input wires. I think I learned that little trick from the good folk right here. What a place! \\/

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff