1982 gs1100glz starting issue.

[bigdaddygb]

ok... i have power when i turn key to first position.. blinkers work, head light works.. high beams work...brake light... ect.. horn doesn't that is a separate issue. when i turn key to second position... (start) I lose all power. I have traced wires all day and am losing my mind.. and vision is blurry... ( white green tracer... green white tracer.. white red tracer.. ahhhhhhh) I have check rec.reg. and found incoming red wire has 12.4 volts going in... nothing coming out on other three. which run to gen. now I have some bad wiring as posted in "so i'm getting a new bike tonight" under general discussion. I am getting a new wiring harness to rectify that. can any one tell me what i should have on other three lines coming from rec./reg. if any thing at full on. I think rec/reg. is bad but want to make sure at $200+ for a new one.

Thanks,
George

 

[tom203]

Wait a minute; turn key to "on" ( first position ), everything powers up. The second position ( clockwise passed the "on" ) justs turns on rear taillight, unless your bike has unique ignition switch.

 

[bigdaddygb]

well when i turn key to first position it has power for most things including lights nothing to starter switch, horn ect. then the second position according to wiring diagram should be all on power. first position is like accessory , i figured. Why would you have to go past ON just to turn on lights, when they come on in first position? either way when i hit second position i lose all power.. no lights no nothing.

 

[Guest]

ok... i have power when i turn key to first position.. blinkers work, head light works.. high beams work...brake light... ect.. horn doesn't that is a separate issue. when i turn key to second position... (start) I lose all power. I have traced wires all day and am losing my mind.. and vision is blurry... ( white green tracer... green white tracer.. white red tracer.. ahhhhhhh) I have check rec.reg. and found incoming red wire has 12.4 volts going in... nothing coming out on other three. which run to gen. now I have some bad wiring as posted in "so i'm getting a new bike tonight" under general discussion. I am getting a new wiring harness to rectify that. can any one tell me what i should have on other three lines coming from rec./reg. if any thing at full on. I think rec/reg. is bad but want to make sure at $200+ for a new one.

Thanks,
George

It sounds like one you are trying to start it like a car , it don't work that way, turn key to first position, pull clutch in and press little button under kill switch on right handle bar, second position is for parking light only. First bike? Also you really need to read your Mega welcome there is more information in there than you know

 

[bigdaddygb]

first street bike.
ok.. i tried that and still nothing starting.. I have been trying all day...

 

[bigdaddygb]

and yes battery is fully charged.

 

[Guest]

first street bike.
ok.. i tried that and still nothing starting.. I have been trying all day...

Is this the same bike that was purchased with the starter problem?

 

[Guest]

have you tried jumping out the solenoid for the starter and make sure that it works.

 

[tom203]

well when i turn key to first position it has power for most things including lights nothing to starter switch, horn ect. then the second position according to wiring diagram should be all on power. first position is like accessory , i figured. Why would you have to go past ON just to turn on lights, when they come on in first position? either way when i hit second position i lose all power.. no lights no nothing.

Your ignition switch is behaving as designed- it's not a car. I strongly suggest you find someone (a biker) to explain what you have to do to get a bike started. You have to be familiar with much more complicated stuff before you venture out on the road. Think safety course.

 

[bigdaddygb]

Is this the same bike that was purchased with the starter problem?

Yes starter is fixed and works fine. reinstalled but i got nothing.

 

[bigdaddygb]

Your ignition switch is behaving as designed- it's not a car. I strongly suggest you find someone (a biker) to explain what you have to do to get a bike started. You have to be familiar with much more complicated stuff before you venture out on the road. Think safety course.

not trying to sound like a smart :-\\\ ...... but i figured out that after you said you only need to turn to first position I'd do just that. I did lights came on.. kick stand is up... it is in neutral... clutch was in and i put switch to run and PUSHED the button... it's not rocket science... i have no power to starter. either it's not making it to the switch or the switch is bad or something else.

 

[Guest]

not trying to sound like a smart :-\\\ ...... but i figured out that after you said you only need to turn to first position I'd do just that. I did lights came on.. kick stand is up... it is in neutral... clutch was in and i put switch to run and PUSHED the button... it's not rocket science... i have no power to starter. either it's not making it to the switch or the switch is bad or something else.

Ok , so now to test the starter to see if it will turn a load [the motor, some times they will bench test but not turn a motor over] for the sake of argument cross the 2 large terminals on the starter solenoid and see if it will turn the engine over. use a screwdriver or something

 

[bigdaddygb]

jumped it and motor turns over. i will lok more tomorrow if the wind dies down some.

 

[Guest]

jumped it and motor turns over. i will lok more tomorrow if the wind dies down some.

OK we have established that , now you need to go to Basscliffs site and look up the wiring harness for your bike and trace and test the circuit's. The clutch switch could be the culprit, and if you trace the wires into the head light you can just unplug the 2 switch wire and plug the wire that they plug into together and try it, not sure but I think that whole circuit 's wiring colors are yellow / green strip wire and it switches to orange and red at the kill switch. Also you can test you starter solenoid by unplugging the y/g wire and run a jumper wire from the positive batt to the y/g on the solenoid, caution don't make a solid connection because you will know immediately if it is good or not

 

[Guest]

Make sure you pull the clutch lever back, it's a safety switch that opens the ground circuit to the starter relay if the clutch lever isn't pulled back, turn your ignition switch to the first position, where you got all your lights, etc. Make sure your switch above the starter button is set to run and hit the starter switch, engine should turn over. Try that and see if your engine turns over.

 

[bigdaddygb]

ok i'll try both of those tomorrow. thanks for the help.
By the way i have been using the wiring diagram all day ... guy i bought bike from had a "friend" fix his wiring harness when he left the wires hanging down and they got burnt by the motor.. so i got lots of splices in there. that's why i am getting a new wiring harness.. but for now i'd like to at least be able to start it.

Thanks again.

 

[Guest]

Had same problem last Monday on my '79 GS1000E, turned out to be a open connection in the headlight bucket that completes the circuit from the starter button to the
starter relay. Yellow wire with green stripe pulled free. To find it I checked
continuity from starter relay to clutch safety switch, which was good, then I stuck a needle through yellow wire with green stripe to the starter button and checked continuity to the other side of clutch safety switch, I got nothing. I took off the headlight and immediately saw where the wire pulled free from the splice connector inside the headlight bucket. To check starter button I checked continuity from yellow wire with green stripe near starter button with one lead and the other lead to handlebar (ground), I got no continuity until I pushed in starter button. You can basically do the same thing, but I'd check continuity between the starter button and starter relay first, and you will have to pull in the clutch lever (twist ties work well since you need both hands for checking continuity). Warning, if you take apart that clutch safety switch there are some very tiny parts that seem to vanish in thin air, like a copper U, a small post it fits on and a very, very tiny spring. I spent an hour and a half looking for that spring on a freshly swept garage floor only to find it sitting on the engine case in front of the starter cover. I was very lucky to have found it at all. Hopefully the problem will be as easy to find as mine was.

 

[bigdaddygb]

ok here is more info i just found out... guy i bought bike from stopped by this morning. had a few extra parts for me such as the clutch safety switch.... apparently he took it off because he didn't like having to hold the clutch in to start the bike.. which much like a car.. if you have it in gear is going to lurch out from under you.. or sheer of teeth in your starter. So i asked how he bypassed it and we took off head light to find he took both wires and attached a resister inline between them. now i checked this for continuity and found it was fine. wire was fine all the way back to the starter relay. so that is ok. now i have 1 wire that comes back from the ignition switch (keyed switch) and runs back almost all the way to the battery where it splits off into two ( more hacking) one wire goes down to the fuse block the other goes to the reg/rec.. this wire got separated last night while i was checking to see if it was the reg/rec. and since it was getting dark i left it loose. i went ot check to see that starter was infact turning over engine and not just free spining (pulled spark plug and check to see piston moving up and down) and it did some how i hit the other red loose wire and must have sent power back up to the switch and have nothing now. no matter where i turn the key i have no power. i pulled the plug in the head light bucket and check cont. and yes wire is fine to plug.. it's good up to switch... after that.. nothing.. i think i shorted out switch. since i am buying land end of this month i will have to wait till after that to get parts for it. I have checked all the fuses and none of them are blow.
Thanks guys.

 

[Matchless]

So i asked how he bypassed it and we took off head light to find he took both wires and attached a resister inline between them.

A resistor to replace a switch?
There should be no resistor in series with the wire. Just plug them together.
That is the path that supplies the battery +12v to the solenoid via the ignition switch, killswitch and starter button and a resistor (depending on the value) could cause the solenoid not to operate and not swing your starter.

 

[Guest]

A resistor to replace a switch?
There should be no resistor in series with the wire. Just plug them together.
That is the path that supplies the battery +12v to the solenoid via the ignition switch, killswitch and starter button and a resistor (depending on the value) could cause the solenoid not to operate and not swing your starter.

Agreed, go back and read the post #14 that I posted last night, it will walk you right through that particular circuit on the bike . it is very basic. hook wires directly no resistors, a switch is not a resistor. Also have you tested the function of the solenoid with the jumper wire to be sure it is good? I realize the you jumped posts to test starter, now you have to test solenoid.