HELP, Real BAD Electrical PROBLEM

[Anonymous]

I continue to have an electrical problem that has been annoying up until Sunday - on Sunday it was more than annoying, I was stranded 70 miles West of my home. Had to bite the bullet and get it towed.

I only know enough about bikes to make me dangerous. I will try not to guess what the problem is and will give the facts.

Here's what happens.

(1) When I've been riding long distances - and the bike is running sweet - started right up when I began the trip I'll turn into a gas station, or food place, turn off the bike, and it won't start up again.

(2) 1/2 the time this happens, I can bump start it. 1/2 the time, the entire ignition system seems down.

(3) If I let the bike sit for awhile and cool down (a long while), it'll start. Sometimes, I swear it is dead, and I'll try for a few days - then inexplicably, it'll fire right up like there was nothing ever wrong.

(4) For the hell of it, I've placed the battery in a charger - but anytime I do this, the charger indicates the battery is nearly full charged - I do it anyway because I run out of things to do. Sometimes it seems to help, sometimes not - but I think the important thing is the time it takes to charge.

(5) Twice, when I've attempted to start the bike after it dies (wouldn't start), only the oil light and the nuetral light will light up when I turn on the ignition. The idiot lights and the headlight won't turn on. When this happens, the bike won't bump-start.

(6) After some time, I turn the key, and the idiot lights and the all the electrical seems to light up, but I can't get the starter motor to turn. When this happens, I can bump start it.

(7) After more time (sometimes days), I turn the key and it fires right up. Everything works. I ride it for days without incident and I fool myself into thinking it won't happen again.

(8) It happens again. And when I least expect/want it to.

(9) This is a 1981 GS 1100E with 26,000 miles and it looks/runs like new. It has never died or shown any indications of poor performance when I am running it. I've started it without ANY trouble (when it feels like starting, it starts immediately - no cranks or anything). Then, I've turned it off minutes after a great start and tried to restart it and nothing. No noise, it is as though the kill switch is on.

(10) I've removed the gas tank/seat - there is no sign of corrosion on the wires and I've mashed the wires that are supposed to be together, together. I've tried to follow the wires behind the headlight, and all I have to show for it is that the tail-light idiot light stays on all the time even though there is nothing visibly wrong with the tail-light.

(11) I've checked the fuses under the left side-panel - none appear to have blown.

That's it. It is as though a master devil fuse blows out on the bike when it is hot. The fuse either disables only the starter motor function (which allows me to "bump-start it and drive it home), or it disables the entire ignition system (which makes it a 500 lbs. paper-weight - totally useless).

When the bike runs/starts it runs/starts great/immediate.

Is there a master fuse which can reset itself? How can I fix it. I am a moron and I can't even get my multimeter to work.

Any suggestions.

[Billy Ricks]

Check and make sure you have a good ground on the crankcase. When it shuts down on you wiggle the fuses and see if anything happens. You could have a corroded fuse block. Could also be the ignition switch getting a little testy with age.

[Anonymous]

Andy, see my post titled "what the hell happened, update!" My bike was doing something VERY similar. It turned out to be the main fuse clip had broken and was only making minimal contact. Touch the metal ends of the fuses to see if any of them are getting hot (it won't shock you), that's a sure sign of problems. If you find a hot fuse end, you are on the right track. It could also be your ignition switch terminals corroded up.

[Joe Nardy]

Andy,

Unfortunately the best way to troubleshoot an intermittent problem is to analyze it when it is failing. Other than that, you should go through the entire wiring system and clean and reseat EVERY connector. I found a spray cleaner called DeoxIT D5 made by Caig Laboratories at an electronics store that cleans and condition electrical contacts. There are numerous connections inside the headlight and under the tank and seat.

Also, since I live near you (Lombard) and I'm reasonably adept at electrical systems I'd gladly help you out. Let me know if you're interested and we can try to schedule some time to see if we can chase this down.

Joe

[Anonymous]

Take JOE up on his EXTREMELY kind offer to help you track this problem down!! It is rare to find somone who will help you with a problem, it is even MORE rare to find someone that will help you with an electrical problem.

Joe, I guess some people like challenges like that. I'd rather be skinned alive than work on electricals!

[KEITH KRAUSE]

You've got a hot spot somewhere in the harness. As it gets hotter, the resistance builds up.
If possible, can you post a good picture of your wiring diagram?
We can trace it out and make sense of what it's doing.
I would suspect the wiring at the ignition (key, inside headlight), and the main fuse block.
If you continue to ride the bike, the next time it does it, try this: Bring some contact cleaner spray with you and spray it on the most likely areas that would heat up such as the two I mentioned. Spray just one suspect area at a time and see if it starts. Give the spray a little time to evaporate.
My idea is that the spray will quickly cool off the hot spot and might help you find the bad part. Contact cleaner dries rapidly and leaves no residue.
I've never had to try this, it's just a suggestion.
Hope you find the problem soon. Be careful, a hot spot can lead to a fire.

[Joe Nardy]

Mike,

Since I went to college for Electronics Technology and have worked in computer field service for 24 years, checking out a 12 volt circuit is fairly easy for me. Carbs, on the other hand ........................

Joe

[mdole]

On other place I run into simular problems is with the kill switch being dirty or corroded and not always making contact.

This shouldn't be your problem because this shouldn't keep the idiot lights from coming on. I am only mentioning it because I have run into things that really drive me crazy when working on bikes and one of the worst was when I was fixing up a Yamaha Virago that had had the wiring chopped. I fixed up the wiring but kept having problems and it turned out that in addition to the wiring I had a flaky kill switch, corrosion on the fuse block terminals, a bad side stand and clutch safety switch, and a separated ignition switch. The ignition switch and the kill switch were intermittent problems so it took me months to get it straightened out and there were days when I just wouldn't even look at it, but then I'd get another idea and go at it again and eventually I found and repaired all of the faults one at a time.

Multiple electrical problems are a real challenge to sort out and all you can do is plug away until you get it sorted out. One of the best things I've ever learned is when you just can't figure it out stop and start over and verify that everything you think is working is actually working. I've lead myself down the path many times because I thought I knew what was going on only to find out that I didn't.

Mike

[Anonymous]

All the above is very good advice but I have to impress that 99 percent of electrical problems can be pinpointed to bad grounds. Definitely make srue you have good grounds before going over the other things.

[Anonymous]

I'm humbled

I'm amazed at the group of folks on this web-page that are as passionate about their bikes to lend some helpful advice. Many of these came at such late hours of the night! Thanks.

Unfortunately for Joe, I may need to take him up on his offer. This was a lottery I'm sure he would have appreciated not winning.

Joe, we communicated briefly earlier in the summer - I had the "clack" no start problem - and I tried to join you on one of your excursions through Illinois, but was out of town. That no start problem was one symptom of this larger issue.

If you do this, I'll do what I can to make it worth your while. Choose a favorite beer/snack, etc. I'll P.M. you.

Thanks everyone!

ANDY

[Anonymous]

So if I post will you make it worth my while? Send Redhook Ale to:

Mopolopo
123 Unemployment Blvd.
Atomic City, WA
99123

Michael

[Anonymous]

I had an intermittant starting problem on my car recently. Sometimes it would start fine, sometimes it wouldn't. When it wouldn't, some idiot lights on the dash would glow half way on, even if the ignition was off. This was a tell-tale sign of bad ground, but it turned out the starter was bad too, possibly ruined by the bad ground. Anyway, one way to test this is to take a jumper cable and hook up one end to the negative battery terminal, and the other end to the engine block. This cured my car's problem, and I found the main gound for the starter was corroded badly. Fixed that by just putting in another ground wire, bypassing the corroded connection. Your problem may be elsewhere, but it's a simple test.