Electric drains when on ride or does it?

[Anonymous]

Hi really great sight.

I have a small problem with my gs1000L, i have been running it around to sort the carbs out, but when i got back from a run around the block and went to start it again, it would act like it was dead.

When depressing the starter button the starter would make an electrical noise buzzing and the ignition light woud fade, only slightly though. I presumed that the bat was too flat so disconected it to put on charge, however, my charger indicates that there is more than enough charge in the battery to fire up the engine..

Im now stumped, Could it be the starter motor not working when the engine gets hot? could it be that the battery is getting drained? however when i put the lights on and rev the engine the light does get brighter, which indicates to me that the battery is being charged. If it is the starter , what is the problem with it?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated , thank you

[Anonymous]

Not sure if this is your problem, but it happened to me. I can't hear the noise you hear, so I am not sure it is the same.

I would press the start button and get a buzzing sound. It turned out that over time the insulation on the heavy black wire that goes from the starter switch to the starter itself had gotten worn through. When I hit the start button it would short out on the starter cover and make a buzzy noise when it did it. As a result the starter wasn't getting enough power to start the bike at times.

I pulled the wire loose from the starter, cut of about 2 or 3 inches, just enough to get past the worn spot, added the connector back to the wire, reattatched it. Problem solved.

Like I said I can't be sure this is the same problem for you, but it's worth looking at.

[Anonymous]

Hi

Thanks for the input. I have checked the starter motor out and it seems fine.
However i went out for a ride today , after having the battery on charge, i rode for about 40miles. ocasionally stopping. When i got home i turned off the engine , open the garage, and went to start the engine, oopps whats going on, ? The ignition neutrel light dimmed , but the starter went to turn over very slowly, then not at all.!!!! bugger i thought.
Still none the wiser, could it be that the alternater decides to not give an output when the engine is hot? How do i check that it is charging correctly? Im very stumped , i cant keep charging the bat up before i go for a ride , Any ideas would be brill cheers.

[displaced]

Put the battery on charge overnight check the voltage before and after the charge and let us know what you get and see if it happens in the morning. if it still does then clean all the connections on the battery --clean the main large ground wire connection to the engne too.
after cleaning trhen see if it is ok.
Be sure to measure the voltages. iot could change the whole diagnosis and key much thought as to possibilities.
have you read the stator papers in the garage???

[Rocky]

This sounds like a stator problem.

[duaneage]

Could be the starter bushings are going bad, the starter could be repaired for less than a new one.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Before you start tearing things apart check the charging circuit IF the bike doesn't have the corect voltage it will have problems. You need to check it with a volt meter Harbor Freight had some for $3 a few weeks ago. With the battery charged you should get 12.6 volts if you do the battery should be ok Then check with the bike running at 5K rpm you should have 14 volts If not then you need to check the stator & regulator
After the charging is checked then you can work on the started if it won't work

[saaz]

A charging system check is in order. Also the battery could be just bad, even though it might seem to be chraged. Bad connections on the battery terminals are also possible, make sure they are clean and well tightened.

[displaced]

A charging system check is in order. Also the battery could be just bad, even though it might seem to be chraged. Bad connections on the battery terminals are also possible, make sure they are clean and well tightened.

Say Saaz--Isnt Canberra where the Bone family lived a while back???

[Anonymous]

Hi

I would like to thank everyone for there input , i will get straight to checking things out, and reply with the findings.
P.s I pretty sure the bat is ok as i only bought it 2 months ago.

[saaz]

Mr Displaced

Don't think so..I would have heard them! They did live only an hour or so away a few years back before disappearing further North (equivalent to moving South in the US). I joined up to thegsresources sometime during the move I think. Hopefully I will make the Australia Katana meet again this year, don't know wheter it will be on the GS1000 a yet..