charging continued

[Johnny K]

Thanks guys. I replaced every connector/cleaned and greased. I did have to strip a wire to connect to my 16-guage to a female/male connector. I think that is called jumping. Not sure. But I had to do that to a couple of wires that connect to the stator. Made sure they had continuity. But tomorrow I am going to make sure my new battery is fully charged. After I rode it for a 1/2 hour, I got home and went to start it again and it was completely dead. The idle is off, but it could be the carbs. Around 2000 it is okay, but if I idle it around 1500, it will slowly start to just stall after about a min or less. Last I took it for a ride, when ever I pulled the clutch in, it would rev really high about 1000rpm higher for 20-30 seconds, go to idle and then about a min would start to stall. Also letting the clutch out in 1st is really boggy til about 3000. After that, the bike runs decent. Just iffy all around, but first I have to solve this electrical thing with my bike, then will attack whatever it is about the idle. I am going to start off with a fully charged battery and go through the stator tests again. I did make a wire with a circle connector going from the solinoid with "green" wire from the RR, and the "black/white" wire coming from the same screw/bolt. From there the other circle connector went to the negative terminal circle connector. The RR wire wasn't long enough to connect to the negative terminal connector. I did not want to jump the green wire with another wire just to lengthen that wire to connect with the negative terminal. Any suggestions about that RR wire, or is that okay to do?

 

[Guest]

Buy a solder gun and heat shrink connectors.
And do the Stator papers for sure.
Is your airbox sealed and the o-rings behind the intake boots replaced?

 

[Johnny K]

I happen to check my connectors and found that the starter wire to the connector had slipped off with a slight tug. So I had solder that to the circle clip. I took off the fuse box and my top fuse, called the "main" I think, actually melted a little bit into the box. So on top of everything, I have to get a new fuse box because i fixed where the fuse goes into by taking the back off and cleaning it and now its held together by 2 zip ties. My fully charged battery was around 12.4V at idle and when reved to 4000rpm, it went to 12.8V. I couldn't go any further because the stator wires, RR wires and now the top of the fuse box was getting really warm/hot at this point and after making sure every connection was in tact, I lost interest in this whole electrical situation. So i will prolly need to get a new fuse box and try to figure out what is going on. Sticking with this, but so frustrating.

 

[Johnny K]

The top fuse on the fuse box is called the "head" fuse that was slightly melted that in turn melted the plastic of the fuse. The fuse did not pop, which was weird because it melted and the middle of the fuse was still intact. I unscrewed my headlight and went into the jungle of wires in there. I found a pretty good 6 wire melted connector block. I cannot seperate the two because it is really melted together. I want to snip the connector so that the wires are free and strip each wire and jump it with the other wire that matched up in the block. Not put a spade connector on, but just a jumper that would connect the two wires and then put some 3m electrical tape over it. I would do that for all 6 wires. What do you guys think of that?

 

[rustybronco]

Not put a spade connector on, but just a jumper that would connect the two wires and then put some 3m electrical tape over it. I would do that for all 6 wires. What do you guys think of that?

Shrink tube over the wire, twist the wires and solder them, slide tube over the soldered connection, shrink the tube, then wrap with electrical tape.

 

[bonanzadave]

Chances are your fuse box had enough corrosion in it that it caused resistance which you might think of as electrical friction. Friction is heat and thats why your fuse box is melting. Same thing with any other connector on the Bike.

As far as doing the "jumper" thing I would do as Chef & Rusty say. Solder and heat shrink. If you do use a butt splice make sure its not a cheap plastic automotive type and use a quality crimper.

 

[Matchless]

I would give this another thought if I was you. The multiplug in the headlamp could be the plug going to your ignition switch. If you cut the male and female plug out and bridge the wires permanently by soldering together and ever need to remove something you will have to cut the wires again.
I would suggest soldering in some male and insulated female blade connectors that will allow you to unplug the wires if you need to remove the ignition switch or the headlamp shroud.
If that connector plug melted as well as the main fuse, then your ignition switch may be damaged as well, hopefully not.
If you want to do this the right way, purchase two new connectors, male and female with the same amount of pins, but that uses the blade type connectors as pins. Solder them to the wires and push them into the connector and your repair is done.:idea:

 

[Guest]

I'll second the "two new connectors" suggestion. If you EVER want to take it apart, you'll be very glad you did. There's a reason Suzuki put that connector in there. It will also be more compact than a wad of twisted wire and tape.

The connector doesn't need to be OEM; any good multi-conductor connector will do.

In general, sit down, take it slow, and make sure you understand where the electricity is expected to flow (this means using a wiring diagram). Then check to make sure it is indeed flowing as you expect (Separating wire runs and then checking voltage level or continuity of the runs is a basic technique). If you've got melted connectors, there's something in there that made them melt. Keep looking until you find it.

 

[tkent02]

Shrink tube over the wire, twist the wires and solder them, slide tube over the soldered connection, shrink the tube, then wrap with electrical tape.

Why the electrical tape? It's just a mess of goo waiting to happen.

 

[Johnny K]

It was the top fuse which is the "head" one. I took the black fuse box apart because when I went to put another 10 amp in there, the right female side of the fuse box had no juice when I turned the lights on and so forth. I took it apart and cleaned that part of the fuse slot. It is held by 2 zip ties. The fuse is nice and snug and works. Should I be looking for another fuse box? There is a wire that goes from one slot to another slot on the same side of the connector. Meaning it looks like a small "U" shape wire. While every other wire just goes in one slot. So on the left side there is 4 wires and then the "U" wire making 6 total. On the other side of the connector is 6 wires. Ive never done any crimping on a big connector like the 6 wire one on mine. How would I go about crimping and connecting wires?? Thanks.

 

[Matchless]

Not sure if I understand you correctly, but I assume you are talking about a seperate 6 pin connector than the fuse box? Is that the one in the headlamp?
If so then a photo, model and year may help a bit to give more acurate advice. The loop of wire is usually just a bridge on the one side that connects two wires to each other when plugged in. It would be usefull knowing which plug this is, exactly going where and coming from where. Can you find it on your wiring diagram?

If you need to replace this connector, first purchase a 6 way male and female connector that can plug into one another with blank pins which come uninstalled. Try to find one that uses the brass blade type male and female pins. These have a little nub on the back, so you terminate them to the wire first (solder and/or crimp) and then push them into the connector so this nub locks in and the pin sits there firmly and can only be removed by bending it flat with a small watchmakes screwdriver.

 

[doctorgonzo]

If you're going to replace the fuse block, no way I'd put an OEM one in there, replace with a modern ATC fuse block.

 

[Johnny K]

The 6 pin connector is in the headlight housing along with prolly a 100 wires all electrically taped together. I will eventually buy a modern fuse block. I honestly dont think a wiring diagram for my bike could be useful because of the owner before me and his fixings on wire issues. In the headlight housing I have 3 bullet female connectors with no males connected and there are no male bullet connectors just hanging freely. I will take pics for you guys tomorrow morning of the fuse box and headlight housing wiring. Just really frustrated as it seems I buy something to fix a problem and then another problem arises. I know it happens and just have to adjust.

 

[Matchless]

You can download the full manual for a GS850 and wiring diagram from Mr BassCliff's site. It is really worthwhile even if the wiring has been messed around a bit. Usually the colours will also help sorting out a problem. Its really easy to understand as well.
Here is a picture of the aftermaket fuse block i fitted to replace the old one:

 

[Johnny K]

Thanks for the pic. I also am not sure if I hooked up the solenoid correctly. I was wondering if anyone had a pic of an 82' 850GS solenoid and where the wires that have circle connectors are with other wires. The wiring diagrams that I have looked at are a bit confusing as I have the 3 wires that they mention I think in the right places, then I have the black/white wire with the green wire from the RR to a bolt that is below the solenoid. I also ran a seperate 16 guage circle connector from the solenoid to the negative terminal of the battery. Would it better to splice and jump a longer wire to the negative terminal or leave it as a 2nd wire? The black/white, RR and now that new wire to the negative terminal all stem off that bolt under the solenoid. Just wondering if that is correct.

 

[Matchless]

Thanks for the pic. I also am not sure if I hooked up the solenoid correctly. I was wondering if anyone had a pic of an 82' 850GS solenoid and where the wires that have circle connectors are with other wires. The wiring diagrams that I have looked at are a bit confusing as I have the 3 wires that they mention I think in the right places, then I have the black/white wire with the green wire from the RR to a bolt that is below the solenoid. I also ran a seperate 16 guage circle connector from the solenoid to the negative terminal of the battery. Would it better to splice and jump a longer wire to the negative terminal or leave it as a 2nd wire? The black/white, RR and now that new wire to the negative terminal all stem off that bolt under the solenoid. Just wondering if that is correct.

Basically,
The bolt under the solenoid is in fact your chassis earth/ground connection. Your wire from there to the negative terminal is correct, but should preferably be a heavier guage than the normal wires. The main chassis ground runs with a heavy wire from the negative terminal on the battery to the back of the engine. It is a good idea to make sure that both these earth wires have clean terminals on both sides.
The negative or earth wire from the R/R, OEM black/white should be connected with a connector under the same screw. It will not matter if you have 2 or 3 connectors under the same screw. In actual fact I have used the bolt that holds the ignitor below the solenoid for this and the two bolts that hold the solenoid for the black/white wires going into the loom. If they are all properly cleaned and terminated any connection to that part of the frame should be a "good" earth.
If you have a green wire from th R/R you most likely have a Honda unit installed see here http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=128558
Just to recap, after this what is not working at this moment?

 

[Johnny K]

Thanks for the explanation. Well I bought recently a electrosport stator, duneage RR and a battery. I have cleaned all connections and battery still does not charge. At idle is around 12.4V. And when revved up to 4000rpm it is around 12.8V. The stator and RR wires get hot. I really havent been able to test the stator because of the issue of the wires and now the fuse and connector in the headlight housing. And just recently I opened my fuse box and the "head" fuse melted but no pop or break in the middle of the fuse. Checked my headlight housing and there is a 6 pin connector that is kinda melted and I can see some copper showing out of some of the wires coming from that. I have to get another 6 pin connector and a new fuse box.

 

[Matchless]

Johnny K,
OK, the first test should really be on the three yellow wires from the stator. A new stator can be faulty or a wire can get pinched when installing or the original fault could damage the new stator. I am just giving the following in case you have not done this yet.
A static resistance test between any two yellow wires about 2-4 ohms for all three configurations. Then test between the yelooe wires and the frame to make sure that there is no shorting to earth. this is actually an earth leakage test done with a special meter, but test with a normal multitester using the high resistance scale.
Then a test of the AC output between any two of the 3 yellows with the motor running and the 3 yellows disconnected. You should get about 40-70 Volts AC in all three configurations.
If you installed the Duaneage R/R it would be a Honda type and the green wire is the earth/ground and the black wire is the sensing one. The black need to be connected to the ignition on hot wire, which usually is the wire. This wire must have 12 volt Positive on it and represents the battery voltage to the R/R which then puts out a voltage and thus current accordingly to the battery. On bikes with bad wiring ther can be voltage misssing on that feed or a voltage drop via the fuses and ignition switch and maybe bad connectors. With the bike not running, but ignition switch on, test this voltage by using the negative battery terminal and the spot where you connected the black wire. Note the voltage and then just move the positive test probe to the positive terminal on the battery and compare the readings. there should be a slight difference, but not more than about 1/2 volt.
Just have a look it this as a guide an maybe I can help you a bit more.

 

[Johnny K]

Ok Matchless, tomorrow morning I will follow and test what you suggest. But going back to the "head" fuse and how it melted. Wouldn't I want to fix that and try to find a 6 pin connector to replace mine that is slightly melted and some copper of the wires exposed. Nothing else in the headlight harness seems to be melted or anything and took each connector apart and spray cleaned, greased and then put together. All is fine except that one connector. Just thinking that I should fix that before I start testing again? But I could be wrong.

 

[Johnny K]

Just another question. My green wire off the RR is going to the bolt underneath the solenoid. And from that same bolt is a new 16 guage wire going from there to the negative battery terminal bolt. Should I splice the green wire and jump that with a 16 guage wire directly to the negative battery terminal bolt? Or just stay with the 2 wire from the solenoid to the negative terminal?