1981 GS850GL no power when ignition switch it turned on.

[Transam79301]

Hi y'all. My name is Jimmy.

So I have a 1981 GS850GL that I replaced the stator and r/r on last week. It ran fine for a week then on my way home one day it just died and wouldn't restart. All the lights were dead and turning the key to the on position does nothing. I thought it might be a fuse so I checked them all out and they were all way over amped. So I replaced all of them with the correct fuses but I still have no power.

I tested with a voltmeter that I have power coming in and going out of the main fuse when the key is in the on position and I have power coming to the red wire to the r/r as well.

I'm guessing my problem might be ignition switch related? Not sure but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[JTGS850GL]

Check the voltages at the other fuses with the ignition on. Also verify that your ground wires from the battery are properly connected. I had the same issues when I forgot to tighten the ground after replacing the R/R on my GS1000.

[Guest]

If you have a voltmeter, I'd start by checking to see if your battery negative post has continuity with ground points. If it's good then start checking down the line for voltage starting with the battery cable to solenoid and working your way through the harness at every access point to see where you have voltage and where it ends.

[Transam79301]

I will check the voltages at the other fuses tomorrow. I just ran the ground for the r/r to the negative post on the battery so I think that is good.

What do you mean by continuity from the negative post to the grounds, how do you check that as in what am I looking for? I know i have power to the starter solenoid because if I short the posts it will crank the engine.

[Steve]

Running your extra ground wire will ensure continuity from the negative post to the R/R, you need to make sure that there is a similar wire from the battery to the chassis, so you have a good ground point on the chassis.

To check for power, use a voltmeter or even just a test light (easier, much quicker). Connect the black lead of the voltmeter (or the ground clip of a test light) to battery negative. Check for power at both sides of the MAIN fuse. Don't just look at the fuse, actually check for power at both ends. With the key OFF, check for power at the other three fuses, you should NOT have any. Turn the key ON, check again for power at the three fuses. If you don't see power there, the problem is in the switch. If you DO see power, check both ends of all three fuses. The third fuse (the one next to the MAIN fuse) is the IGNITION fuse. If you don't have power at both ends, you have a bad fuse.

Top fuse is LIGHTS. Obviously powers the lights, but not all of them. Headlight, tail light and instrument lights.
Second fuse is SIGNALS. Turn signals, horns, brake light and the warning lights for oil pressure and side stand.
Third fuse is IGNTION. Powers the coils and ignitor.
Fourth fuse is MAIN. Before the engine is running, it powers the entire bike. After the bike is running, current that is charging the battery flows through it.
Fifth fuse is AUX. Only powers the terminals at the bottom of the fuse box, note that they are live all the time.

.

[Guest]

What Steve said, but what I like to see is if I put my black lead from my meter on the negative post, I can go around the bike an touch most any bare metal parts and bolts and get continuity. The negative side of the battery is grounded to the engine on most of the bikes I've worked on. The engine is almost always bolted directly to the frame, which provides the ground to the frame, but like Steve mentioned it doesn't hurt to have a ground wire from the battery directly to the frame, especially if the frame has been powder coated and wasn't scraped off to bare metal.

[Transam79301]

I went and tested my fuses here is what I got.

Key Off
0 Lights 0
0 Signals 0
0 Ignition 0
13.06 Main 13.06
13.06 AUX 13.06

Key On
0 Lights 0
0 Signals 0
0 Ignition 0
13.06 Main 13.06
13.06 AUX 13.06

So from what you said my ignition is bad? Do I need to replace the whole lock cylinder or what? Also my kill switch has been finicky since I bought it, could that be related?

Also when checking for continuity what should my meter be reading? Should i have it in resistance mode or am I looking for a volt reading?

Thanks for all the help! This forum is great.

Jimmy

[Transam79301]

Just an update. Replaced the Ignition switch and everything kicked on. Thanks for all the help!

[Transam79301]

New Problem. Rode fine this morning but I got on this afternoon and it is dead again. I thought it might have been a fuse but they all look good and I even replaced the main just to be sure. I have power to the main fuse and the AUX but nothing else even when the key is turned on.

Is it possible that they sent me a dud ignition switch? Is it possible to overload them? What could my problem be?

Thanks,
Jimmy

[850 Combat]

Have you checked the power to the ignition switch, and from the ignition switch?

I suspect a bad connection somewhere near the switch, which you temporarily corrected when you changed the switch.