No lights

[burns]

Picked up an 83 GS1100GK the other day for $550. Couldnt pass it up....Any way everything was working great untill I shut it off to get gas. Turning it back on the lights didnt work anywhere on the bike, no running lights, brake lights, turn lights, head lights, or even gear indicator lights. At first I thought it was just a fuse, checked all fuses good to go. Then figured it was a shorted wire and would figure it out when im home as the bike would still start. When I got home I just happened to turn the key into the right lock position and low and behold all the lights turned on...I turned the bar to the left and the key to the right locking position and the lights turned on again....I have checked the wires everything looks good and I have pulled the ingnition switch apart and it look good also...Im stumped HELP!?!?!?!

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. burns,

You're going to have to take off the seat, tank, and side covers and visually inspect every inch of your wiring harness. Clean every electrical connector and ground including the fuse box. Your bike will love you for it. Sometimes these old glass fuses can fool you and be intermittent. It could also be that you have a faulty ignition switch.

Anyway, let me dump a TON if information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Redman]

burns,

Welcome to GSR.

WHere in general are you located. (maybe add that to your profile so shows up in every post. GOto UserCP)

THat is intersting that you loose headlight and other lights but ignition still is okay. Headlight is on one fuse/circuit and the other lights are on an other fuse/circuit. And you loose both of them (but not the ignition, so is not that loose all power, but loose two circuits. Ignition is another circuit.)

I would say to take off seat so can take off tank and look at connectors you find under the tank.

PM me your email address and I can send you GK scehematic (although for 82 GK).

Oh, and we need icture of your bike before can give any more advice, Need to know if its the two tone brown GK or the black/silver one.


Dave

PS BassCliff has an 1980. I have PMed him and said the an 83 GK will have the plastic tab blade fuses.

[burns]

Lots of info and thanks for the welcome! I have checked and cleaned all wires and cleaned most electrical connectors. Very still no luck. Any way Since you guys like pictures here is a picture of what it looked like when I picked it up. and then a picture of the 83 GR650 tempter and the problem in the driveway yesterday.

[7981GS]

For $550.00 (Canadian?) you STOLE that bike! WTG!
I believe that several of us would have grabbed it up as well.

Daniel

[Redman]

Burns,

Thanks for pics.

Ah, a GK that has had the GK specific stuff removed.
(and a bit of rewiring).

PM sent with link to find schmatic for 82 G and also for 82 GK.

So, you say the headlight cuts out (which is on one fuse/circuit) and all other lights cut out (which is on another fuse/circuit), but yet the ignition is okay (which is on yet an other fuse).
The main fuse goest to the igniotion swtich, and then one wire comes back and feeds all three of the fuses mentioned above. So if was a problem with the igintion swtich it would effect all three circuits.

You say you had the problem, then rode home, But then you said it was all okay for a while.
WHat is the status now?

You have voltmeter or test light probe to do some troubleshooting?

Dave

[burns]

test light probed a bunch of wires. The on position on the ignition switch still will run the bike but no lights work...but then when i turn it to the right hand side lock position the lights turn on....When I was driving the bike home the lights worked but then stopped working. Since then I have spliced a wire to make the lights work so I could take it on a small drive just because I was itching to drive it so bad. To me it still has to be the ignition switch since the lights turn on when its to the far right lock position. Bike ran great though for the drives I have been on it with.

[Redman]

test light probed a bunch of wires. The on position on the ignition switch still will run the bike but no lights work...but then when i turn it to the right hand side lock position the lights turn on....When I was driving the bike home the lights worked but then stopped working. Since then I have spliced a wire to make the lights work so I could take it on a small drive just because I was itching to drive it so bad. To me it still has to be the ignition switch since the lights turn on when its to the far right lock position. Bike ran great though for the drives I have been on it with.

The ignition swtich that turns on the headlight and the instrument lights and the ignition does that by putting power on ONE wire (orange) that then goes to the fuse box were that one orange wire connects to the three fuses (head light fuse brown/orange, instrument lights fuse orange/green and ignition fuse orange/white).


Hum, by "all the way to right, lock position" ....
... just looked at my GK just to verify. ....
Hum, Lock is all the way to left (have bars all the way over, then push key in and turn all way to left), and locks bars in position, and all power off.
All the way to right is "Park" which does put Main Power fuse power to the brown wire for the tail light and tail light only (and the power to the head light fuse and the instrument light fuse and ignition fuse should be off.)

Good that you have test light. Put ignition key to on and see if have power to the headlight fuse, the instrument light fuse and the ignition fuse. Try the ignition fuse first since you say that works, so that will be a test of your test light (always good idea to test your tester before thinking something else is bad).

Tell us more what you find.

Does sound like there is an problem with ignition swtich, but it comes and goes. And maybe someone has rewired stuff to try to get around this problem, so things arent normal either. (kinda like what you said you also did).

Try this:
Undo your temperary splice.
Pull headlight fuse.
Pull instrukment light fuse (maybe labled "brake").
Then put key to that Park position (all way to right). SHould get the tail light and tail light only. IF you get the headlight and/or instrument lights, then you will know someone has rewired things.
Put key to on position,
see if have power to headlight fuse, instrument fuse, and ignition fuse. If have power on any of them then ignition swtich okay. IF power on one but not others then problem with fuse block itself. If no power on any of the three, then test for power on the orange wire comming into the connector.

Dave.

OH, I sent you scehamitc of 82 GK. Now i see that there is a difference on teh shematic for 83-84 GK in the area of the ignition swtich.
82 schem shows 4 wires, and the 83-84 shows 6 wires. THe extra 2 wires (and extra position) is for switching the "accessory" on/off.

,