Bike dying when using turn signals

[OldVet66]

I was posting late. Idle probably should be about 1,200RPM. My bike will idle at 900rpm but that is too low so I set it at about 1,100RPM. I have no experience with totally uncharted waters. I have always used a Dynajet kit to get me in the ball park. You also need to have quality pods to get consistent results. I am also familiar with the VM carburetors. Parts lookup shows CV carburetors on your bike (I didn't even know they had CV carburetors in '77) So please wait for someone else to chime in that has that experience. Your mechanic probably changed you over to pods because he was too lazy to want to fool with the air box, that can be a real PITA. I imagine you will need main jets that are two or three times larger than what you have. Too lean a fuel mix will cause the motor to run too hot and possibly cause permanent damage. You need to become your own mechanic. There are more than enough people on this site to teach you how to do it correctly. I would certainly get your old air box back if you can. They can be sealed and the boots softened if they have not been damaged and are just hard.

[mcquillr]

OldVet66, yes I am definitely trying to become my own mechanic. I am eager to learn!

[OldVet66]

You might have more luck posting this part of your post on the carburetor/exhaust forum and get the carburetor problem out of electrical where it might get buried.

[850 Combat]

I would agree with Redman. It is charging, but not enough.
I would add a ground from the battery to the R/R ground to the frame as a matter of course.

I would also consider the coil relay mod to make sure full voltage is routed to the coil. I never have used that mod, because over years, I have determined that relays, like connectors, are not my friend. I've found that improved grounds can turn a 13. something weak charging system into a 14 volt charging. That said, almost every GS I have purchased had a weak 13.0 to 13.6 volt charging system, and none exhibited any kind of problem what so ever. Without testing, I would have never known, as there were no symptoms. Look for signs of overheating at the three main stator connections and the main red wire off of the R/R. It will be there. Grounds and cleaned or eliminated connectors should help. I like solder and shrink tubing instead of overheated connectors.

[OldVet66]

On the electrical side of your problem you have already gotten good advise. I would start by cleaning and shining up the inside of your turn signal bulb sockets and coating the surfaces with dielectric grease. The turn signal switch would be next, but please disassemble it in a very clear plastic bag. There are all sorts of springs and tiny parts that can go flying and lost forever if you don't. Clean up the switch contacts and coat with dielectric grease. DeoxIT is an excellent contact cleaner. That will probably clear enough high contact resistance to keep the bike from stalling when you use the turn signals. When you can, every switch, especially ignition and kill switch, needs the same treatment along with every connector, plug, light and the fuse on the bike. Look at all your grounds. Star washers help with all those connections with ring terminals on the bike. This may cure your charging issue or at least correct all the high contact resistances that have developed over the years. The coil relay mod is not a bad idea, but is a work around for poor electrical connections. You may uncover wire terminals that need replacement but this is a good thing. Good luck!

[Brendan W]

Me too, in addition to the fusebox I would as a matter of course open and clean the ignition and kill switch contacts.
Measure the coil supply voltage before and after with the coil connected.
Half a volt below battery is tolerable. You might get a pleasant surprise at the combined effect of fusebox, switch and plug cleaning.
I'm sure nobody at Suzuki in the 70s saw these machines still running around half a century later.

[mcquillr]

Okay so I took a cursory look at the electrical system this morning (the only place I can currently work on it is out front my city row home). I cleaned off the ground where the battery is connected to (there was some grease and stuff on connections that went around the screw). I checked each turn signal bulb as well as their connectors in the accessible part of the harness: the two rear bulbs look fine but the two front bulbs look a little suspicious so I will replace those. The turn signal flasher relay also looks pretty beat (I think I changed this like 5 years ago) so I'll order another one of those. The turn signal switch removal will require a little more space so I'll have to hold off on that for now until I can find an area to work.

[OldVet66]

All of the switches have plugs so can be removed from the bike where you can work on them at your desk. This includes the ignition switch and the kill switch. They are usually combined functions so you can kill more than one bird with one stone. The worst you may have to fool with outside would be removing the gas tank and probably the headlight from it's housing. Not hard jobs but it will be an education on how the bike is put together and wire routing. Take pictures in case you forget. All of this will be part of becoming your own mechanic. There is nothing worse than breaking down in a secluded place without a clue as how to get going again.

[mcquillr]

All of the switches have plugs so can be removed from the bike where you can work on them at your desk. This includes the ignition switch and the kill switch. They are usually combined functions so you can kill more than one bird with one stone. The worst you may have to fool with outside would be removing the gas tank and probably the headlight from it's housing. Not hard jobs but it will be an education on how the bike is put together and wire routing. Take pictures in case you forget. All of this will be part of becoming your own mechanic. There is nothing worse than breaking down in a secluded place without a clue as how to get going again.

Yes I will definitely do this. I am pretty familiar with how to remove the gas tank and headlight assembly (you're right this is pretty easy to do). I did this Sunday when I was checking connections and such. After taking the bike out for a test ride again yesterday I found that it was behaving the same as before.

A cool thing is that there is a community garage near me where there is space people can rent to work on their motorcycles with someone there to teach you how to do things that you'd like to learn how to do. I brought my bike over there yesterday the guy there showed me how to re-set and adjust my air/fuel screws on my carbs (not the idle set screw). Doing this immediately allowed the bike to idle better and stronger.

However when I repeated the quick test that was previously posted, I found that the battery was constantly getting 14.0+ voltage even when the bike was idling. I guess this means the R/R is on it's way out or already gone. I also checked the resistances on the stator and found some of them to be a little higher than 2Ohms. I guess this means the stator might be on it's way out too.

I am thinking that replacing the stator and R/R is probably a good idea in the long run? Is there any modifications that need to be made to the wiring to switch from a Shunt R/R to a Series R/R?

[OldVet66]

Besides removing the headlight loop and making accommodations for direct stator connections there are no other changes except creating a single point grounding system. There is tons of information on that on this site you will find in discussions about changing over to a Series R/R. A Series R/R will not be fooled by a lack of load so the headlight loop is no longer necessary if the headlight is off or blown out, where the old Shunt system would tend to overcharge in those situations.

[mcquillr]

Besides removing the headlight loop and making accommodations for direct stator connections there are no other changes except creating a single point grounding system. There is tons of information on that on this site you will find in discussions about changing over to a Series R/R. A Series R/R will not be fooled by a lack of load so the headlight loop is no longer necessary if the headlight is off or blown out, where the old Shunt system would tend to overcharge in those situations.

Okay great, I will check out these threads!

[mcquillr]

Also, it looks like the SH775's are kind of hard to track down? I'm seeing that the knock-offs on eBay are no good. There are no used ones on eBay at this time so I guess my only option is http://roadstercycle.com/index.htm for $118?

[Rich82GS750TZ]

on ebay currently. I know it says Harley. But if you zoom in on the pic you can just make out SH775 on the top fin.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/14-17-HARLEY-DAVIDSON-STREET-XG-500-XG500-RECTIFIER-VOLTAGE-REGULATOR-VOLT-OEM/132341049200?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144

[mcquillr]

Wow awesome find, thank you!

[Cipher]

posplayer has a trhread about an ebay vendor selling compufire units for 50 bucks