I belive the worst that could happen has...

[Jedz123]

So today I picked up a sweet little GS550L For $500 It ran great started up nicely, Carbs were perfect has all it's side covers, chrome in good shape... All the lights worked, tranny solid chain needed a little lube but the sprockets were good. Just an awesome find for $500!

Well I needed to drive it back to my house which was 80 miles away. Previous owner said it was no problem for the bike to run that leg home for he ran it all last summer with no issues.

Well it ran awesome till about mile 70 and then the battery died out on me.. I know of the Dreaded Stator and R&R issues with these guys and as I pushed the bike to the local parts shop(Mile away) that kept popping up in the back of my mind... well after an hour on the charge the battery was charged back up and thought well it's only 9 miles home I can make it on this charge... well 3 miles out from my house the bike just dies.... Asll the lgiths that were on are now burnt out, No spark, the bike was in 6th gear and the 6th gear indicator bulb is now blown out too. I had to push the bike again to the nearest rest area and now I'm waiting for a tow truck to come and pick it up. As I pushed the bike all I could smell was the smell of hot burnt dead electronics... I know something catastrophic happened... I checked the Fuses they are all fine but some of the power wires are pretty singed over. The bike does turn over(starter works thank goodness) BUt all the other electrical components that were running when the bike died are now dead...

I'm thinking complete R&R Failure occurred. I have to say though even it's current state that bike is that nice to even fix... Or is it worth my time?

Here's what it looked like... For $500 I couldn't say no.

 

[Blastr2783]

It's a beauty, i'd fix it.

 

[Jedz123]

Yeah I really want to keep it. bike is a solid runner, just not sure what I need to replace other then the charging circuit... Anyone can tell me what I can expect for damages? lol

 

[Steve]

R/R is most-likely fried, and its demise caused other problems.

You could replace the R/R and do some troubleshooting,
or you can simply connect the bike to your car with jumper cables
(car NOT running, of course) and do the same troubleshooting.

It's possible that the voltage went through the roof when the R/R died,
taking out anything that was ON, like the lights and possibly the ignitor.

.

 

[Blastr2783]

If its your rectifier it's around 80 bucks, plus whatever else is fried

 

[Jedz123]

I've done the R&R upgrade and installed high output Stators on all my other GSs as a precautionary measures. It was on the list to do's when I got it to my garage.. Didn't quite make it...

 

[tom203]

It's a nice looking find...and the lessons are 1/ don't believe PO and 2/ bring multimeter for quick check on charging before that initial long ride- maybe duct tape it to gas tank, so you can watch for fun stuff!

 

[Jedz123]

I think it's time to invest in a truck... LOL thanks for the input guys1

 

[7981GS]

I have a '80 GS550E parts bike.
If you can use any of these parts from it, how does less than half price with shipping sound?

Eric

 

[Jedz123]

PMing you now! I'm compiling a list of what I need. The junction box is toast melted right out... The smell is just bad.

 

[7981GS]

Don't forget to send pic's please.
I just checked out the wiring harness and it has not been buggered with and shows no signs of melting/cutting anywhere.
If you can use some or all of it, $20 plus whatever else you need.

Eric

 

[koolaid_kid]

I would say with 98% certainty, this is what happened:
Your rectifier/regulator stopped regulating but continued to rectify. This will cause a system designed to handle up to 14.5V to be subjected to up to 20V.
If this occurred, the following will most likely happen:
Bulbs will burn out. Connectors will melt. Wires will fry. The stator may fry itself. A good hint is the scent of burned insulation, always a bad sign.

A cost-free investigation would be to start examining the wiring harness and all connectors, both under the seat and in the headlight shell. Any melting/burning would be quite evident.
If you could post the results of this investigation we can advise the next step(s).

 

[Jedz123]

I did a brief look at the wire loom under the seat. Definite signs of scorching esspecially to the power leads.. Didn't look in the bucket for I had to hit the road but Its looking I should replace the harness. Deffinate smell of insulation. The bike reeks like dead electrics.

Eric add the harness to the list.

You guys are awesome!

 

[Jedz123]

Well I'm going to keep this thread alive just in case someone needs this information. I plan on posting the whole repair process with pictures so the information can help others.

So....
Game plan is to swap the entire electrical system out, replace the Stator, replace all the electrical components that were damaged and change out all the bulbs. 7981GS (Eric) is helping me out big time here and supplying me with a solid Loom, Stator and all the electric components for the GS550. So Big Kudos go out to him! I'll utilize the R&R from the parts 550 (FOR NOW) as long as it puts our good numbers. I need to get the voltmeter out for this project. I plan on Ordering a R&R from an 03 Suzuki GSX-R 600 and installing that (once I get some more funds). Beefier unit then the stock GS550. I will post pictures of my progress and of any damage that occurred.

I'm in NY visiting family for the next couple of days. Once I'm back I plan on starting to tear down the 550...

I also plan on giving the bike a detail clean and polish with all the components out of it. I'm hoping she will be running on her own steam in a couple of weeks.

Special thanks to Eric! Couldn't start this without him!

 

[Jedz123]

Assesment of Damage

Assesment of Damage

Ok guys So I finally tore the GS down and finally went over the damages... I think I found the culprit of the failure.

Obviously first thing to do is to tear it down to just frame and wires. I started to go over the possible damage to the harness I found this most peculiar 4 wires fused directly together like this...

These are the wires from the R&R, 3 input wires and the red output wire... Obviously someone replaced the R&R before and used heavy insulated connectors to attach the wires. The plastic bits are melted and fused together with evidence of heavy Scorching to these 4 wires. The red wire goes into the main fuse that's in the fuse box. I quickly went over the PO wiring of the R&R and found a fatal flaw to the bike... Look where the ground goes for the R&R

Yeah He attached it directly to the positive end of the battery terminal.. So in essence here the R&R wasn't even functioning correctly. My theory is this; the R&R wasn't even working for it had no ground. this caused the Stator wires to arc with the main power lead from the R&R and the Stator essentially started putting it's full charge directly into the main power lead.
Here's what it did to the Main Fuse Box

So the Main fuse got Fried, Hard! As you can see the top of the Fuse box melted and started to burn and the top fuse popped but it still must have drawn a current. Totally fried out the Main Fuse Box.

Not a total loss though for I took a look in the bucket and there is no sign of wire damage. In fact the wires are in really good shape!

I pulled out the headlight bulb (both Elements blown to smithereens). And installed an H4 and the lighting circuit still works! The head light works both low and High however the high beam indicator light on the Tach is blown out...

Some pics of the bloiwn bulbs (Crazy)
Headlight

Front Right Directional

Front Left

Rear Right

Rear Left!

As you can see the Element was blown off the contacts... And the rear Left just exploded from the surge... I'm pretty sure that my CDI Took this same brunt and is totally dead, I'm only hoping my Coils and CDI pickup were spared. The Horn is blown now, however the lights that do work still work and the bike still cranks over just fine. So it doesn't look be a total electrical loss.

Plan on replacing; Stator, R&R, CDI, Main Fuse Junction, Positive power leads to R&R and battery, all the fuses and all the light bulbs.

I will then try to see if she will spark after these fixes... if she doesn't I plan on getting Coils, and CDI pick ups.

So that's where I'm at thus far. Just waiting on parts so I can start to fix!

 

[Guest]

Wired up that way with the ground to the positive side of the battery I'm surprised you made it as far as you did with out problems.

 

[Squadman33]

Fried wiring

Fried wiring

Too bad dude !! Prior to buying my 81 850 GS, I found and restored a 78 Kawa KZ 750 Twin, on inspection, I found the ground wire coming out of the R/R was held by ONE thread !! and the stator wires brittle and cracked. My 2 cents...After your sad story and my experiences, Trace and Inspect all wiring components on an older bike before riding it. When you start the bike for the first time, put a multitester across the + and - on the battery to check for voltage/ charging. It should run over 14 volts or so. A LOT of wiring problems can be traced to bad or poor ground. Ride safe.

 

[duaneage]

Check the fuses, they probably put 30 amp or more fuses in there. If that is the case, then a fast one was pulled.

 

[Guest]

Man, what a bummer, faulty maintenance by the former PO.
At least you found what caused the problem and now it's just a matter of straightening it out. You can make it better than it was before! I'm really surprised it didn't happen sooner, had it not had a meltdown, it could've taken a while to troubleshoot to that fault.

 

[Jedz123]

Thanks Guys.
YEah a WTF goes to the PO on the wiring job... I'm sure if the R&R was grounded this whole fiasco wouldn’t have happened.
I'm currently back on the market for a volt meter, mine is broken but I do have a test light. All the Fuses are 30 amp... So yeah Not cool with that either... I pulled all the tape off the main harness and have been looking for scorched or frail wires; it’s looking to be in pretty good shape!
Eric's care package arrived today! I plan on pulling out the old stator this Sunday. I also am replacing all the relays and Junction boxes then too. I hooked in the CDI but am having issues. It’s from an 80 GS550E and I have an 82 GS550L... Checked over the wiring Diagrams and the wires are the same colors going into it but some go to different places. I did however get a pulse with the test light on the right ignition coil Harness. Coil is fried though no spark at all. Left igniter harness is weird for I get the power off the orange white power wire but no ground and no pulse under crank. I'm guessing the wiring for the CDI box is off or the pick up is damaged. I ordered new used coils specific to my year and model. Also have a new R&R in the mail…
I think I’ll be able to fix this guy right up no problem… Also been grinding all the rust off and polishing up all the chrome and aluminum I can with the bike stripped out…
Keep you all posted!