Ugh...electrical problems...

[kinch]

...are slowly sapping all of my desire to go on living.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 1980 GS850L. All stock as far as I can tell.
Here's the scoop; I started out having a charging problem so I went through all of the connections on the bike, disconnected/cleaned/reconnected all of them but still no luck. Ran a direct ground from the R/R to the - battery terminal and then the charging system worked fine for about a month but started draining the battery again. replaced the R/R with one from Electrosports and it ran fine for about another month but then would struggle to turn over enough to start and eventually wouldn't start at all.

With a full charge on the bike when I was able to start it the charging system test from the Stator Papers indicated a good charging system but at this point the starter solenoid went bad. No biggie, jumped the solenoid terminals with a screwdriver a couple of times and the thing drove like Jehu for a couple of days until I could pick up another solenoid from a used bike parts warehouse near me. Put that in but still nothing unless I jump the terminals with a screwdriver. Damn, I replaced the bad solenoid with another I thought.

So I bought a used one off of Ebay and the same thing. Also, when I tried jumping the terminals again some smoke started to come off of the - terminal so I didn't want to keep at it and screw things up worse.

I've cleaned all terminals and put dielectric grease where it seemed needed, I can't figure out the problem and I'm not good with anything electrical to start with. Could it be that I just have bad enough luck to have 3 burned solenoids or is something possibly causing them to fail or could it be something else?

Oh and the horns dont work anymore and as of late weren't working even when the bike was running fine. All fuses OK and all good connections to the horns.

Any advice?

[almarconi]

First thing I would check is the grounds on the bike. Make sure they are clean, intact and tight.

Does the solenoid click when power is applied to it?

Why did you replace the R/R if the stator papers indicated a good charging system?

Can you get the bike started or is it completely dead?

[kinch]

I've checked all of the grounds and they're good as far as I can tell. I actually replaced the R/R because I did the stator papers test and it indicated a bad R/R. I meant that since I've replaced it the charging system checks out fine when I'm able to get it started.

Would you think that a bad ground somewhere would be the most likely cause of the smoke coming off of the negative terminal? It certainly possible that I've missed something but I have taken off all of the side-covers, wiring in the headlights etc and can't see anything at the moment.

The bike turns over but I don't keep the screwdriver over the solenoid terminals long enough for it to give it a chance to start because the smoke from the terminal makes me think that I'm going to fry everything.

[chuckycheese]

I think you replaced a good solenoid with 2 more good solenoids. I suspect one of your problems is between the starter button and the solenoid. Checking that out should be very easy. If you push your starter button (ignition on) and the solenoid doesn't click, you're not getting power to it....or the solenoid's defective, which I think is not only unlikely, you've also just about ruled that out by trying 3 different ones. The fact that you can cross the posts on the solenoid with a screwdriver and get it to fire isn't very relevant because the solenoid has a 'hot' connection directly to the battery and a ground directly to the grounded starter. In other words, when you put a screwdriver across it, you're just completing an already 'hot' connection. (Your starter button accomplishes the same thing inside the solenoid if it's getting power to it.)

Crossing the solenoid posts with a screwdriver does show that the starter is good, the starter is grounded and the connection between the solenoid and the starter is good. That's all good and important to know!

Your charging system may be perfectly fine but your wiring is probably shorting out somewhere resulting in a constant drain on your battery. It may be from the horn or that may be a separate issue. In either case, I don't think you're probably getting power from the starter button to the solenoid so I'd check that out first. Good luck! You'll get it figured out sooner than you think.

[kinch]

I think you replaced a good solenoid with 2 more good solenoids.

Yeah, I figured that at this point...doh! Maybe I can make solenoid art out of them or something.

I'll check all that out, thanks. Now to rule out the horns for the time being can I just remove the connections and wrap the connectors in electrical tape until I'm ready to reconnect them (after I'm done troubleshooting the rest) or do they need to be connected while I troubleshoot the rest of the bike?

[kinch]

Also, the clymer manual and the jpeg wiring diagram posted somewhere on here shows the wire going from the starter button straight to the relay and only 3 wires going to the headlight but when I open the headlight the wire from the starter button and seemingly almost every other wire in the bike is going through it.

[chuckycheese]

Onward

I wouldn't be too concerned about the horn because it may be corroded or otherwise not in 'honking order'. You could take it off and use your car battery to see if it works. It would just take a few minutes and is simple to do. Just run a wire from pos and neg to the two connections on the horn; my guess is that it's bad. If it's not....then we've got a good clue that something's wrong with that wiring and we can figure that out.

Oh, and by the way, your horn button completes a ground. Your horn is always 'hot' when the ignition is on and when you push the button, it grounds it and makes it sound.

OK, onward! Your starter has 2 wires, one of which connects with a number of other ground wires. The other one does go to the solenoid (relay) but it does so by way of the 'starter disconnect switch' which is a nuisance that was built into the system whereby you had to pull in your clutch in order to complete the connection. It's very easy to bypass, if it hasn't already been done, and it could very well be where your problem lies.

Is that still hooked up on your bike??? If so, you can bypass it in about 5 minutes. Find out and let us know!

[kinch]

Thanks again for all of the tips. Unfortunately I've had to start work but I'll be back at it tomorrow and will provide updates.

[chuckycheese]

Right!

Thanks again for all of the tips. Unfortunately I've had to start work but I'll be back at it tomorrow and will provide updates.

You're welcome! We'll get it figured out.

[tlepac]

me too with the electrical problems above!!

I have a 1979 GS 750 L which is having the very similar issues. I have three issues with it:
1. No title--will work on this if and when I get it running
2. Carburetor issue--not getting gas--I have had the carbs apart and cleaned twice now and still no gas to the cylinders. I know the bike will run b/c when I spray a bit of starter fluid in the carbs directly it fires right up!
3. ? Short issue--When I first got the bike the starter would turn over sometimes and sometimes not. Just no response at the push of the starter button. This has now progressed to where it doesn't turn over at all when I press the starter button. I thought it was the starter relay as there is no "clack" on first hitting the starter button but I purchased another relay and carefully cleaned all the connections with contact fluid and same symptoms. If I short the two posts of the starter relay the starter turns over but not as fast as with a bypass direct from the battery + to the starter. I think this is telling me that the problem is a shrt issue. Also when I first got the bike the turn signals worked and now they come on but won't blink. I am not sure if this is a burnt out relay due to my futzing around or part of the overall electrical problem.

At this point I could really use some directions and advise. Thanks in advance for any help! BTW the battery is brand new--Didn't have one when I got the bike

Terry

White Bear Lake, MN

[eddiev]

A couple of things I can mention from past experiences that may or may not help.

Re: starter :: Years ago I changed my o-ring on the starter to try and fix an oil leak and in reconnecting the starter lug I overtightened or jostled it enough to crack the bakelite insulator inside the starter. I don't remember if it caused a short or an open but the starter wouldn't turn. I took the starter apart and reinsulated it the best I could, kept my fingers crossed and it's been fine since. Something like this may have happened with your bike previously and it may be intermmitent.

Re: Charging system. I have an 82gs1100gl. If your wiring is the same as mine you'll see 2 legs of the stator going to the R/R and the third leg running up into I think the headlight switch (somewhere that made no sense) and then back down to the R/R. It turns out that this third path was for something Suzuki never completed and is not needed. My point is that there are a lot of connections in that third path that are probably bad connections. I bypassed mine with an additional soldered on wire and connected it to the third R/R leg.
I've since had no charging system problems. This was the last thing I did after changing the stator and 2 R/R's.

Hope it helps.
Eddie V

[kinch]

The Yellow/Green wire that goes from the starter button to the starter relay goes from the button, through the headlight, into the harness and comes out right into the starter relay. I don't think it goes through a disconnect switch that I can tell.

As far as the horns go, one horn is dead and the other one just emits a light ping when it's on the bike with a fully charged battery and I hit the horn button. Blares when hooked up to the car battery though (scared me half to death as I was expecting it to squeak like it was doing on my bike!).

I'm even more confused that I was before though as it doesn't seem that the wiring in my bike matches the diagram.

Anyway, the other wires (2 orange and white) coming from the starter button go into the fuse box and the fuses look fine as far as I can tell. I uncovered a segment of ground wire in the harness that looks to have been cooked at some point and melted through the insulation. I suppose the next step then would be to cut open all of the wrap to trace and replace that ground wire.

[posplayr]

kinch

I uncovered a segment of ground wire in the harness that looks to have been cooked at some point and melted through the insulation. I suppose the next step then would be to cut open all of the wrap to trace and replace that ground wire.

If it is like mine it is between the two ground wire ring lugs. It can melt part of the harness byt no current actually goes through the harness.

A bad battery terminal ground to the engine is suspected. It happens when cranking.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=140109

[DanTheMan]

I had a similar problem in the starter switch not working on mine a few years ago, I bypassed the solenoid with a simple horn button switch and it worked fine.
After all that, the reason for the solenoid not doing its job was the fact it was poorly grounded (it also smoked wires). I grounded it to the battery instead of the frame and it was fine, has been ever since. Mine is also an '80 GS850L.

[chuckycheese]

Fuse

Listen to Posplayr...he knows his stuff and taught me a lot. I also think you're going to find it's not properly grounded...an easy fix.

If you haven't already done so, by all means try a different 10 amp fuse in the starter slot. I've had bad ones that looked perfectly fine and I know others have, as well. If you don't have any new fuses, switch two of them around.

What you reported about your horns is totally typical so don't worry about that until you get the starter issue figured out. Getting the horn fixed is going to be a 'piece of cake'.