Help! My 1985GS 550L stops running on long rides...

[550ERAT]

Definately keeps posted. My '83 GS550E does the same thing. I was told by a mechanic that the igniters don't "go bad" they either don't work or they do. I am also suspecting my signal generator. I need to find out if they can be an issue when hot. HMMMMMM...

[Calvin Blackmore]

Definately keeps posted. My '83 GS550E does the same thing. I was told by a mechanic that the igniters don't "go bad" they either don't work or they do. I am also suspecting my signal generator. I need to find out if they can be an issue when hot. HMMMMMM...

I think they could be prone to intemittent isssus as well
there is a hunk of aluminum in the box that looks as much like a hat sink as anything else

did i mention i have three igniters?
gosh that was mean

http://www.mtsac.edu/~cliff/storage/gs/GS550E-ES-L_1983.PDF

[Il-Ed]

My 550L did the same thing mostly when i would stop at a signal and i found that if i turned off the lights it would start up.I did the coil mod and it has been fine.I think the charge system is weak on thes bikes.
Ed

[chef1366]

I've seen igniters do crazy things. They do not either work or not.

[Tarsyn]

I have a 1985 gs550L and I had a problem with only 2 of my 4 plugs firing. It ended up being my igniter. I was able to repair it and it has been running great. The igniter is a copper covered electrical box located on the left side just by the battery. The signal generator is under your suzuki cover and 4 bolts on the right side. There is a simple check for that if you have an ohm meter. Cliff has it all detailed on his website. Mine has been running good but it does have a voltage drop to the coils which I haven't been able to figure out. The plugs are a little rich but it still runs like a top and I am gettting about 40 mpg running it hard. I might have to do the voltage relay fix. I hope this helps. Travis

[avastyematey]

god i am getting stressed out. I am trying to run through all the electrical tests but i am getting stuck.

Things I know.
Voltage at battery 12.45 at rest. (Good and fully charged)
Voltage while reving engine (can't be exact my tach is broked) 13.5-13.95. (Little low right?)
Starter Relay is 3.45~3.75 ohms (dead on according to the shop manual)
Signal Generator 392 ohms on both G/W & BR (dead on again)

Things I still need to do.
Resistance on the Igniter.
Voltage/ Resistance at the Coil
Reg Rec & Stator

Things I don't know/understand.
How do I measure resistance on the Ignitor?
What should I have between the pins? The Shop manual numbers don't make any freakin sense to me.
How do I measure resistance on the coils? Where do the leads for my multimeter go?
Why doesn't the Clymer or the Shop manual tell me anything.

Additionally it looks like there might be an aftermarket stator in the bike already. Correct me if i am wrong but the Stator connects to the R/R and the wires are supposed to be a whole bunch of funky colors, where as after market are all yellow. I have 4 wires going to the R/R 3 Yellow and one Red. Does that sound right?


sincerely
one frustrated jrt.

[avastyematey]

also i just rode home from the garage i was working at, and the bike was running horrible. missing, bucking, sounding weird. what the hell.

[550ERAT]

Will an igniter "act up" when it gets hot? Will it cause the bike to die when idling? There is a company in New Zealand that sells an after market igniter system. Hypertek I think it is called.

[Calvin Blackmore]

god i am getting stressed out. I am trying to run through all the electrical tests but i am getting stuck.

Things I know.
Voltage at battery 12.45 at rest. (Good and fully charged)
Voltage while reving engine (can't be exact my tach is broked) 13.5-13.95. (Little low right?)
Starter Relay is 3.45~3.75 ohms (dead on according to the shop manual)
Signal Generator 392 ohms on both G/W & BR (dead on again)

Things I still need to do.
Resistance on the Igniter.
Voltage/ Resistance at the Coil
Reg Rec & Stator

Things I don't know/understand.
How do I measure resistance on the Ignitor?
What should I have between the pins? The Shop manual numbers don't make any freakin sense to me.
How do I measure resistance on the coils? Where do the leads for my multimeter go?
Why doesn't the Clymer or the Shop manual tell me anything.

Additionally it looks like there might be an aftermarket stator in the bike already. Correct me if i am wrong but the Stator connects to the R/R and the wires are supposed to be a whole bunch of funky colors, where as after market are all yellow. I have 4 wires going to the R/R 3 Yellow and one Red. Does that sound right?


sincerely
one frustrated jrt.

godd he3avens man dload the manula on the basscliff website it has the testing info
i think i enve gave a link on another thread you started.

[avastyematey]

Calvin,
I have the manual and was trying to follow the steps, p 169.
I did the signal generator test, it was good.
this chart confuses me. I get no readings that look anything like those numbers. and I don't have a Rx1kohms setting the settings on my meter are 200, 2000, 20k, 200k,2000k.

and this chart doesn't say where to put anything

i know that i am missing something, i just don't know what.

[avastyematey]

okay i think that i figured something out.
coil 1/4 gives 4.7ohm at primary
and 34 ohms at secondary

coil 2/3 gives 4.7ohms at primary
and NOTHING at secondary

which points to a bad coil right? that still doesn't explain the random stops but its a step in the right direction, i think.

[avastyematey]

I Think I am getting closer.

Okay,
so I found a 1984 Gs550 parts bike; cheap. Now I have duplicates of everything!

My coils were bad. I replaced them with good ones.
I replaced the igniter too, It was getting better readings than the old one.
Went through my carbs again, made sure everything was tip top.
Charged up my battery to full.
Threw everything together, started her up and SHE RUNS! Better than before.

Word. Take her for a test ride. figure I will ride from my house to my buddy's house, and see how that goes.

Just before his house my bike dies again. But now I am prepared, I brought my multimeter. Popped off the seat, tested the battery, 12.0 volts. My voltage dropped.

Tested the Signal Generator, Now I am getting 454 on the G/W and nothing at all on the BR.

Does that mean that my culprit is my signal generator? Did I figure out my problem? When I finally make it home I will throw in the new one that I have and see what happens.

Right now I am sitting in his kitchen waiting for my battery to charge back up, according to the charger it was down to below 60% just from the ride over here.

So what do you think GSR forums, am I doing okay? Does it sound like I am getting close?

[chef1366]

Sounds like you have a charging problem Check out Stator Papers in the garage off the main page on this site.
Can't hurt to swap the crank trigger. You measured and that seems to be the issue.
Good luck

[avastyematey]

New Signal Generator is in. Been riding for a couple days and everything seems to be working. I keep my multimeter in my vest and check the voltage at the battery whenever i stop. its coming back at 13 - 13.5 volts at rest all the time. Much better than the 11.9- 12.0 volts i was getting before.

Cautiously optimistic
jrt