Electrical gremlins are starting to happen… I am so confused.

[Jacer2000]

I have a 1982 Suzuki gs1100g that I’ve been riding and enjoying for a few months now. I’ve heard that the electrical system on these bikes are a bit outdated? Recently, in quick succession I’ve gotten these electrical with my motorcycle.

1. Neutral light stopped working
2. brake light won’t shine when pressing in
3. Tachometer is dead
4. headlight is dead
5. blinkers were working but flasher seems to of stopped working.
6. The blue bright light on dash is not working

As you can see im having multiple electrical problems and am wondering where should I even start? I’m a complete noob to electrics on motorcycles so im a bit scared (all I’ve done is check fuses and they are looking good). Any advice will help because I want to ride so badly again.. thank you!

 

[tom203]

Have no fear, you’ll soon be an electrical genius thanks to Suzuki.
you’ve been riding , so what failed first?
is this bike new to you?
what maintenance have you done?

here’s a wiring diagram to whet your appetite.
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/GS1100G_1982_wiring.jpg​

 

[Jacer2000]

Have no fear, you’ll soon be an electrical genius thanks to Suzuki.
you’ve been riding , so what failed first?
is this bike new to you?
what maintenance have you done?

here’s a wiring diagram to whet your appetite.
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/GS1100G_1982_wiring.jpg​

Hey! The first thing that went on my bike would be the neutral light! It one time just stopped but came back but finally is not working now. After that the tachometer. I’ve had my Suzuki for about 3 months. And what I’ve done to it:

1. replaced starter solenoid
2. new starter
3. carb rebuild
4. airbox rebuild
5. New tire
6. rear brake pads
7. new battery

i haven’t really dealt with any electrical problems yet but I always hear about R/R failure! I haven’t thought about it being the R/R yet because my battery is starting up all the time and im not having any problems with it! (I did measure the battery with key on and it was at 11.54 V)

 

[rphillips]

I wouldn't have thought it would start with less than 12V... I'm no electrician.

 

[tom203]

Charging issues are real common….do the Quick Test in this link and see how yours is behaving. This offers clues to turn signal issues and only takes 10 minutes

https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?164993-Charging-System-QUICK-TEST

the neutral light might be just bad connection …note how wiring diagram shows that gear indicator gizmo grounds out the the individual display lights based on its position.
Does this critter still have a functioning “kickstand down” warning light? Is that the big blue light thing that you referred to?
corrosion in harness and grounds causes many issues

 

[Jacer2000]

So I just went out to try starting the bike and measured my battery with multimeter. It’s a new battery by the way! And… it tried starting a few times and now nothing is shining or turning… my battery is dead. I’m wondering if this could actually do with the R/R? What could be draining my new battery? Thanks guys’!

 

[tom203]

You need to charge the battery up and do the Quick Test.
A bad r/r could train battery, but it’s unusual, so don’t blame it just yet.
you didn’t respond to my question about kickstand switch

 

[Who Dat?]

I have never heard of a faulty kickstand switch draining a battery. Not saying it doesn't happen, just that, in 20+ years of Suzuki ownership, I have never heard of it.

Jacer, charge the battery (slowly, overnight). Check voltage. Should be over 12.6. With key ON, should still be over 12. With bike running, voltage might be about 12 at idle, but should rise to just over 14 when RPM is over about 2500. It almost sounds like you have an over-charge situation and voltage has gone (well) over 15 and fried a few components.

Now, let's address your questions:

1. Neutral light stopped working It could be dirty contacts at the selector switch near the shift lever.
CAUTION: when removing the switch cover, there are spring-loaded parts that WILL fly.
2. brake light won’t shine when pressing in When 'pressing in' on what? Could be blown bulb due to over-voltage.
3. Tachometer is dead If it's not showing engine speed, check for broken cable. If bulb is not working, look for over-voltage.
4. headlight is dead Check for dirty connections in the headlight bucket, but sounds like another result of over-voltage.
5. blinkers were working but flasher seems to of stopped working. Yet another possible result of over-voltage.
6. The blue bright light on dash is not working Yet another one?
​
Looking back on all the things that are not working, I see that many of them are fed by a single fuse. Have you checked all of them? I believe it would be the second fuse, might be labeled SIGNALS.

 

[Don R]

If you have glass fuses they can burn inside the metal cap and appear to be good visually, check for voltage on both sides of them. This can be caused by a bad connection at the fuse cap or the contact connection in the fuse box. Also we got a bad new battery recently, have the parts store check yours with a load tester. I had one go bad in my lawn tractor, it read 75% charged and 12.5 volts until it got a load then it was 0.5 volts.