starter motor gets no powerAfter spending months and several

[Anonymous]

After spending months and several thousand dollars rebuilding a 1982 GS 650 GL...my wait was over...I got an answer to my question about the carbs on gsresources and hooked everything up. Then..a horrible thing happened.....whatyou ask? nothing. the headlights turn on but i cant get power to the starter. I pulled the starter and hooked it up to my battery charger and it spins great. All wiring looks to be connected properly. Are there any relays that can go bad that would make this happen? Any ideas would be appreciated!!!!
ok.. ive tried replacing the silinoid relay for the starter. $60 later...same thing...ive checked the start button..its fine...I double checked the red kill switch. bhind the battery, there is a thin, black box with 2 different wiring harnesses going in. One harness has 2 wires..the other has about 5 or 6. I used a circuit tester and couldnt find any "hot" wires on it...could this be the problem? Anyone else have a sugguestion? besides beating it with a bat...kidding
there is no clicking or anything..its just dead...on both silinoids ive tried...the post thet hooks up tp the battery is obviously "hot" but the other post that hooks up to the starter acts like a ground even when the start button is pushed.
thanks
-camaroman

[Anonymous]

You've got two thick wires on the starter relay. One goes to the battery positive, that's always got power on it. The other big wire goes to the starter, it should have power on it when the relay pulls in. It sounds like the relay isn't pulling in though, since you have power on the one big wire like you should. The relay is "turned on", if you will, by the smaller yellow wire with a green tracer that comes eventually from the handlebar. At least on the 1100 it's yellow/green, that's the diagram I have in front of me. The relay needs juice to come in from the yellow/green wire and it needs a ground. So see if there's juice on that wire when you push the starter button. Also check the ground there.


Also try putting juice to the post where the yellow/green wire goes, directly from the battery, as a test, that'll bypass all the switches. Unplug the yellow/green wire first so in case it's going to ground somewhere.

Oh by the way, did you replace the fuse....

[silverhorse47]

Hi camero,

I pulled the stator cover on my gs750e '83 for inspection purposes, and put it back on with gasket goo and no gasket. It turns out the gasket is necessary to provide correct clearance for the starter to engage and disengage correctly. Of course I rebuilt the starter, replaced the relay and rebuilt the wiring before I discovered this.
In any case...if you don't have the gasket installed...I suggest you put it in. :?

[Anonymous]

did you check the clutch switch

[earlfor]

Yep, most likely is that little switch on the underside of the clutch lever. Had the same problem and that was the culprit. :-)

Earl

did you check the clutch switch

[Anonymous]

i've tried bypassing the clutch switch by twisting the wires together. no luck...the only thing i can figure is i got a bad relay. how often does the nutral sensor go bad?

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to tell you, you can bypass ALL the switches and put power directly to the relay, where the yellow/green wire is. Make a little piece of wire and touch between the battery positive terminal and the post on the relay where the yellow/green wire is (at least it shows yellow/green on the diagram for the '82 1100). The relay should click on when you touch it. If it doesn't you have a bad relay or a bad ground--the relay must have a ground. You can check for a ground with an ohmeter.

This is not rocket science, this whole troubleshooting deal should not have taken more than a few minutes! Do you have a manual with a schematic? (sorry if I sound exasperated)

Do you have an understanding of how the relay and switches work? The Clymer's has a fairly good explanation, with simple diagrams. Methodically check for power before and after each switch. Check for grounds and continuity in the wiring.

[Anonymous]

No reason to be nasty Bill, Ive already tried your suggestion...no click...I was just trying to exaust all other possibilities and ideas form everyone else before I spent another $60 on a relay...Just wanted to see if I really had to spend a weeks pay on this problem...since I am in school that is how far my salary goes these days.
-camaroman

[moto_dan]

Check that the starter relay is properly grounded. Some relays will have a wire soldered to the case for the ground while others are grounded through the mounting screws/bolts. If you have done as Nashville suggested then it is not getting a good ground. IMO

[Anonymous]

Sorry to come across as nasty, it's been one of those weeks...sigh...

You said you had changed the relay already? It seems unlikely you would have two bad relays in a row, so I would suspect a bad ground. My relay on my 1000 has a black/white wire that grounds the relay case.

You could do this: pull the relay off the bike, ground the case of the relay directly to the battery negative, then touch your jumper wire from the battery positive to the post where the yellow/green wire was. You should hear a click. That will tell you if the relay's good or bad.

If the relay tests good, it's gotta be a bad ground. (if the jumper directly from the battery to the yellow/green post didn't cause anything.)

[Anonymous]

Bill,
thanks...you were right, it was a bad ground on the relay. Now it clicks. The motor was turning and everything...then the starter stopped...I pulled the casing apart and the wire has come off the terminal inside...hopefully I can just solder (sp) it back and it will work again. Also now that the relay is working...it will only click if I manually touch the possitive...so the button must be bad too. Well worse comes to worse... there is a motorcycle graveyard down the street... I will get a used one. thanks for everyones help... Also ... this will be the first time starting since the rebuild... Will it pop and fart a lot when I start it up or should it start smooth? Just wondering how far back everyone should stand from this disaster...kidding.
-camaroman

[silverhorse47]

Camaro when I replaced my starter relay I used one from a car...it fit directly on the back/inside of the black box. I had to drill out one of the existing holes on the new location, but it seems like a natural spot for it on the 83 gs750. I don't know about yours, but mine fit like it belonged there.
There is no real difference in starter relays...they are very simple switches...only the outside varies.
So if you need to replace yours again (sheesh!) you might try that.

[Anonymous]

I was going to blame the battery !!!

I recently endured the very same ordeal with my lawnmower! After testing, retesting and bypassing every possible connection and switch, fitting a new starter solenoid and stripping the starter motor twice I figured out it was a duff battery! How I laughed.

The battery read over 12V according to my multimeter and my battery charger. I happened to have the starter motor out and clamped it in a vice and hooked it to the battery with jump leads in desperation, just to see if it could spin on its own, without having to spin an engine. No. But I could hear the battery boiling just like it shouldn't. The starter worked when connected to a healthy bike battery. I had the original battery tested later and sure enough, it was scrap with one failed cell.

Posted in the hope someone may find it useful ...