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Extremely Frustrated!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter RATman
  • Start date Start date
R

RATman

Guest
I have a 1986 GS550 ES that I have had less than 2 months. About 2 and a half weeks ago, I came out from the store and it would not crank. It took me 2 weeks to find a battery for it, and now it will crank, but wont start. I tested the Ignitor unit as described in the haynes manual, and it was fine. I am not getting any spark whatsoever on any of the plugs, so its probably not the coils. Every thing in the ignition system seems to check out. What the hell is going on here????? I cannot seem to win for losing with this thing and I am considering getting rid of it if I cannot get it fixed here in the next couple weeks. And when I say get rid of it, I mean throw the whole friggin thing in the lake behind my apartment.
 
Dude, chill out, everybody get's frustrated on these bikes every now and then, but think about it. If it were EASY, everyone would have one! Now, just sit back and think about what's happening here. It was running fine, then all of a sudden, nothing. Any symptoms when it died? Any gas leaks? Any burnt smell? Sparks, strange sounds? Anything out of the ordinary? Now, when you say it's has no spark, how are you testing it? How can you be sure it's NOT the coils? It's probably a simple fix, you just need to eliminate the obvious things one by one, and eventually, you will fix the problem!
 
No, No.... not the lake ......send it to me!:-D
Honestly, elaborate a bit on the problem and the folks here will walk you through the challenge, I'm sure.
 
RATman said:
I have a 1986 GS550 ES that I have had less than 2 months. About 2 and a half weeks ago, I came out from the store and it would not crank. It took me 2 weeks to find a battery for it, and now it will crank, but wont start. I tested the Ignitor unit as described in the haynes manual, and it was fine. I am not getting any spark whatsoever on any of the plugs, so its probably not the coils. Every thing in the ignition system seems to check out. What the hell is going on here????? I cannot seem to win for losing with this thing and I am considering getting rid of it if I cannot get it fixed here in the next couple weeks. And when I say get rid of it, I mean throw the whole friggin thing in the lake behind my apartment.
Click to expand...
This might sound stupid but did you test your clutch saftey switch.Have you tried jumping it at the starter seloniod to bypass the saftey switch.The same thing happened to mine when I first got it and that was the problem.Just a thought.
 
I was exagerating a bit about throwing it in the lake. I have eliminated the clutch switch, as I have removed it completely because it went bad the day after I got it, and I have yet to find a replacement. As I said, I came out of the store, and the battery was dead. I let it sit where it was for a few days as I had no way to move it. When I got the new battery in, it would crank and crank, but not even a sputter. Even after I primed it, it would not turn over. I eventually comissioned a friend with a truck to haul it home for me (yesterday) and today I pulled each plug and tested it for spark. Nothing from any one of them, at all. The ignitor unit is testing fine, as well as the ignition fuse. Other systems on the bike work (starter, lights, horn, etc.)

The bike will sporadically not crank, and has since I got it. I usually have to walk away for a while and come back, and when I do, it cranks fine. This issue is less apparent since I got the new battery. When it does refuse to crank, there is a whining noise from the regulator. I have attributed this to overheating of the unit, and plan to have it tested on Monday (tomorrow) at my local Suzuki shop. That is the only abnormal thing I have noticed.

I find it hard to believe that both coil packs have gone out completely and at the same time. They will usually become sporadic and have weak spark first.

I truly appriciate all your guys help!
 
RATman said:
I was exagerating a bit about throwing it in the lake. I have eliminated the clutch switch, as I have removed it completely because it went bad the day after I got it, and I have yet to find a replacement. As I said, I came out of the store, and the battery was dead. I let it sit where it was for a few days as I had no way to move it. When I got the new battery in, it would crank and crank, but not even a sputter. Even after I primed it, it would not turn over. I eventually comissioned a friend with a truck to haul it home for me (yesterday) and today I pulled each plug and tested it for spark. Nothing from any one of them, at all. The ignitor unit is testing fine, as well as the ignition fuse. Other systems on the bike work (starter, lights, horn, etc.)

The bike will sporadically not crank, and has since I got it. I usually have to walk away for a while and come back, and when I do, it cranks fine. This issue is less apparent since I got the new battery. When it does refuse to crank, there is a whining noise from the regulator. I have attributed this to overheating of the unit, and plan to have it tested on Monday (tomorrow) at my local Suzuki shop. That is the only abnormal thing I have noticed.

I find it hard to believe that both coil packs have gone out completely and at the same time. They will usually become sporadic and have weak spark first.

I truly appriciate all your guys help!
Click to expand...
What about the wires from the ignition to the coils and the coils to the module?Have you check your coil connections? Just trying to help
 
I had the same problem, would crank and crank but no start. after much hair pulling and lots of frustration, I finally traced the problem to a broken wire in the kill switch. Took the switch apart and there was the problem, soldered new wire in place hit the starter button and she screamed to life begging me to get my gear and give her a badly needed workout. Hope yours is a similar easy fix.
 
If he drove to the store and then came out and the battery was dead, That would lead me to believe the wiring loom under the ignition switch has a broken wire which left an open circuit. When he turned the bars to the lock position, the wire finally let go and bled off the charge of the battery. :-k
 
In any case, I would go through your wiring harness hand-over-hand with a small wire brush and some electrical contact cleaner. Clean all of your connections and look for breaks. Also, it's usually a good idea to run a dedicated ground from the battery to the frame and another dedicated ground from the solenoid to the frame. That should give you a good starting point to work from.
 
Clone said:
If he drove to the store and then came out and the battery was dead, That would lead me to believe the wiring loom under the ignition switch has a broken wire which left an open circuit. When he turned the bars to the lock position, the wire finally let go and bled off the charge of the battery. :-k
Click to expand...
i think clone nailed it one this one.Batteries dont go dead by themselves that quick.They got to have help.
 
Clone said:
If he drove to the store and then came out and the battery was dead, That would lead me to believe the wiring loom under the ignition switch has a broken wire which left an open circuit. When he turned the bars to the lock position, the wire finally let go and bled off the charge of the battery.
Click to expand...

If this were the case, wouldnt the "run" switch not function, thus not allowing me to crank the bike?
 
It would depend on which wire broke. The Honda I used to have broke a wire in this exact place, the bike would crank but not fire. If I turned the bars another way it would start, turn the bars back it died, but would crank. check this location I am pretty sure this is your issue.
 
I have a couple of dicky leads - lol - as in caps n lead taped with electrical tape lol....

if I ride hard to the shops it wont always fire up when I go to leave...

it cranks over fine but wont fire until I jiggle the suspect lead....


just a thought.... mebe why you dont see any spark.....

wtf am i doing in the tech thread - soz for that....:shock:
 
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