Overheating?

[bradleymaynar]

Hey all!! Just to give a heads up, today is the hottest it's been in nearly a decade (upper 90's), and it's the first time I've ridden the 1100 in this kind of heat.

Today as I was heading home the bike just cut out. I still had electrical power, but the bike just quit while I was running around 45. I pushed the bike for nearly a mile, stopping occasionally to try and get it to restart, when I noticed that I was getting no draw on the battery when I pushed the starter button. So, I pulled apart the switch and thought I had found the problem (the copper button wast not sitting where it was supposed to below the spring). I got it back together and the bike started. I got home and let the bike sit for about an hour and left the house and made it only a few miles when it did the same thing. So I tried the same thing immediately, but had no results this time. I was fortunate enough to have my pastor and his family happen upon me and give me a ride back home. So, I went back to the bike a short while later, got it started and booked for the house, only to have the bike die a few blocks from home. (I left it sitting there for now). My question is this common on very hot days? Or do I have a new challenge waiting for me this weekend?

Thanks,
Brad tt

[chrissinc]

I'm not sure about your model but my 84 GS750EF I run everyday into hot, stop and go traffic with no probs at all. I can only guess that the heat maybe affecting the ignition coils. I've hear some of the older coils can fail with extreme heat. Do you have a spark when the bike "dies"? Could be just a coincidence, might be a worn wire shorting out. It sounds electrical. Next time it "dies" pull off the spark plugs and see if you have a spark. Maybe also pull off the tank and have a quick look over of the electrics to see if you can see anything wrong.

[jimcor]

Longshot, skreemer is having cutout problems too, I'll tell you what I told him. Check your fuses. Take them out of the holders and make sure there is no visible solder in the glass tube and the end caps are still secure. Better yet throw 'em away and get some new ones if they've been in your bike for a while. The fuses get hot because of poor connections or high load. And the solder melts, when they cool down, the solder solidifies and they work till they get hot again. Longshot, but check it out. Shop service manager told me about it, he nailed it. Hope it's this simple for you.

[bradleymaynar]

I'm not sure about your model but my 84 GS750EF I run everyday into hot, stop and go traffic with no probs at all. I can only guess that the heat maybe affecting the ignition coils. I've hear some of the older coils can fail with extreme heat. Do you have a spark when the bike "dies"? Could be just a coincidence, might be a worn wire shorting out. It sounds electrical. Next time it "dies" pull off the spark plugs and see if you have a spark. Maybe also pull off the tank and have a quick look over of the electrics to see if you can see anything wrong.

There is no firing when it dies. I push the starter button and get no response. All the other electrics work, headlight, turn signals, check panel, just no response from the starter (no dimming of the lights when I push the button). But if I come back after a short while (usually 30 minutes or more) the bike will fire right up without hesitation.

Jim, the fuses seemed okay when I checked them, but I'll replace them anyway.

Thanks again,
Brad tt

[rgierer]

I would want to see if it would turn over from the solenoid before I went to something else. I think the counsel of checking out the coils is sound.

Rgierer

[jonr]

Brad,

I agree with Robin. If the solenoid is weak, it may not be working in the hot temperatures. The mechanism that closes the relay on the inside may be sticking due to the heat.

If it ends up being the solenoid, goto Lowes or Home Depot and get a briggs and straton solenoid that goes on a lawnmower. $13 sure beats the $50+ that the dealer wants.

-Jon

[bradleymaynar]

Well, I went and replaced all the fuses (4 10amp, 1 15amp) and now NOTHING works!! The bike isn't home, yet, so I haven't looked at the battery connections. I'll try the solenoid next, since this only started being a problem when the temp was real high today.

Brad tt

[Joe Nardy]

Well, I went and replaced all the fuses (4 10amp, 1 15amp) and now NOTHING works!! The bike isn't home, yet, so I haven't looked at the battery connections. I'll try the solenoid next, since this only started being a problem when the temp was real high today.

Brad tt

Brad,

This sounds electrical. The heat could be causing a poor electrical connection to overheat and lose connectivity. I would go through EVERY electrical connector on the bike and spray them with some cleaner. I've used Caig Laboratories Deoxit 5 with good results. Also take a very close look at the fuse box. You can open it up to see the inside. This is a very common point of failure on these bikes. The contacts get corroded and will overheat.

Good Luck,
Joe

[jimcor]

Brad, if you replaced the fuses and now there is no power to anything it seems like you've got a bad connection somehere in the fusebox or the wiring to/from it. I've got to go with Joe and say clean those fuse box connections!

[bradleymaynar]

Brad, if you replaced the fuses and now there is no power to anything it seems like you've got a bad connection somehere in the fusebox or the wiring to/from it. I've got to go with Joe and say clean those fuse box connections!

Well, I went to go push it home this morning, and lo and behold, the lights came back on and it started. I've got it sitting on the charger for now. I'll probably start digging into it this week.

Brad tt

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Yeah. I'd do as Joe describes. Definitely sounds like a poor connection.

[bradleymaynar]

I did have this theory, thought of it this morning, the bike must've died because the battery lost enough power to not keep the coils powered. The bike died but the lights still worked. It took all day yesterday to recharge the battery (on a tender, not a charger).

I do have this question, though. If the starter relay is the problem, could it draw enough current to drain the battery and cause the bike to die? If so, I'm probably going to go jonr's route and replace the relay.

Thanks
Brad tt

[KEITH KRAUSE]

You may have a problem with the starter relay, but the problem of the bike dying while running would be related to a bad connection, most likely at the fuse block, based on your earlier posts.
I think the first time you took the switch apart and aligned the "copper button", it was really the bike cooling off that allowed it to re-start and had nothing to do with you playing with the switch.

[bradleymaynar]

You may have a problem with the starter relay, but the problem of the bike dying while running would be related to a bad connection, most likely at the fuse block, based on your earlier posts.

Cool, I'll start there!

Brad tt

[jimcor]

I did have this theory, thought of it this morning, the bike must've died because the battery lost enough power to not keep the coils powered. The bike died but the lights still worked. It took all day yesterday to recharge the battery (on a tender, not a charger).

I do have this question, though. If the starter relay is the problem, could it draw enough current to drain the battery and cause the bike to die? If so, I'm probably going to go jonr's route and replace the relay.

Thanks
Brad tt

Don't think so. Your bike will run on a darn near totally dead battery if the lights are turned off. Lights draw a lot more current than your ignition system.

BTW. I'm in the same boat. I thought I had starter failure. Looks like that is not the problem and the faulty system is...the friggin' charging system.

Battery is on the charger and I'm cleaning contacts and checking wiring. Put the meter on it tomorrow. I don't want to see the results. The current stator and r/r have about 30 grand on them so...