81 Gs1100 Starter relay?

[seuadr]

Ya still getting power when crossed, I'm thinking its a bad connection with the kill switch....

well fortunatly, it's pretty easy to disassemble and clean the kill switch. just take it apart slowly as there is a small spring in it.

[lucabond]

Apply 12 volts to 1 of the little terminals on the starter pull off 1 but not the black /white thats ground if it starts its good. Then I would check the clutch handle switch, follow the wires from the clutch handle under the tank and unplug them and check the connections. Now connect ur black lead from ur volt meter to ground now prob the 2 wires coming from the harness with the ignition on and the start switch pushed u should have 12 volts on 1 of those wires. If not the problem is between the start button to run switch to fuse box. If u have 12 volts plug the lead with the 12 volts into the connector it was plugged to and test the other lead from the switch with the handle pulled in for the 12 volts. No voltage and the problem is probably the switch. Connect both leads to the wires from the switch in the lowest ohm scale u should get 0 or there abouts when u pull the lever. If it seems to be the switch Ill bet with a good cleaning it will work fine.
If it went the other way go to starter button and look for the 12 volts not there go to start switch and back to fuse till u find the 12 volts.
My money is on the clutch switch, happy hunting

[Lawhook]

Thanks lucabond, and everyone else...The voltmeter turned out to be a very beneficial and needed tool, that would have saved me a lot of time. I was able to pin point the connection that needed cleaning and off I went (took about 15 minutes to diagnois and fix, I guess all those other days were spent learning the electrical system :-P, so no time was wasted). Thanks again and hopefully this winter will be the next time I post in this section of the forum...enjoy the weather while it's here (at least if your in CO)...

[Steve]

The voltmeter turned out to be a very beneficial and needed tool, that would have saved me a lot of time.

Good to hear that you are up and running, but there is another tool that is even quicker and easier than your voltmeter in times like this. A good test light.

Sometimes you just need to know if there is power or not, and don't really care whether it's 12.4 or 11.9 volts. A good test light will have a quality, flexible lead with a good clamp on it, and an incadescent bulb. With practice, you will be able to tell when the voltage is a bit low as the bulb will not be as bright, but you are just looking for the presence of power, not the quantity. Other times a light is better than a meter is when the power is intermittent, like a turn signal. A digital voltmeter will show the increase, but probably never read the voltage by the time the power goes off again. An analog meter takes time for the needle to swing. The light simply goes ON and OFF.

Besides checking for power, you can also check for grounds by moving the clip from the negative side of the battery to the positive side. Now anything you touch with the probe that is grounded properly will make it light up. You could have done this to see if your starter solenoid case was actually grounded.

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[Lawhook]

Thanks

I can only spend thirty dollar bills and have ocd about change...so the volt meter fit the bill :-)...I definitely will be picking up a test light ( i had used one of the led's off the bike to make one for this past issue but it was very ghetto rigged and a quick tester, but a test light would be great for my on the road tool set...thanks again