No Power/ No start. All Elec. Verified.

[MiahSlays6332]

Hello all; thanks for letting me join/discuss/learn! I recently picked up my ‘82 650L and got it in running order. Went to start it a couple days later and it acted dead (neut/oil lights only, no headlights/tail lights, and does no click with start button). Verified all applicable safety switches/interlocks were good. Found a broken-off ground from frame-to-battery neg but I fixed that and problem is the same. Battery is fully charged each time and is brand-new, and fuses are all still good. I pulled the entire main harness off the bike and shot every wire to where it’s going; verifying good continuity and no shorts to gnd. Verified starter relay, ignition, fuses again, safety interlocks, and lead polarity. I’m gonna try putting it back together and starting it tonight when I get off work but if anyone has any input I would pleeeease ask of it; this bike has me in dire straits; was told it rode and ran fine before I got my hands on it but now it’s a money-pit of problems that’s making my first motorcycle look like it may be my last. TIA!!!!

 

[Big T]

Your symptoms point to a fuse panel issue.

I'm assuming your tests yielded 0 ohms and 12.5 DCV, where applicable

Did you load test the battery?

 

[rphillips]

Well would certainly take a good look at that ground to be sure repair is good. No doubt running one day, ground was good, nothing 2 days later and ground is broke off, got to think that ground was, and possibly still is a problem... Also you said neutral/oil lights only, no headlights/tail lights and no click with start button. I'd have never thought neutral/oil lights only with a broken off ground wire.... Oh, Sorry I forgot... Welcome, you're at about the best place I could imagine for GS help.

 

[MiahSlays6332]

Hello guys; sorry for the long delay. I went ahead and carefully reassembled the machine just now (after work lol) and it’s now operating correctly again. I brass-brushed (by hand) all grounds and terminals one good time with just a little 99% isopropyl alcohol and now the power is getting everywhere that it should (I’m assuming one of the grounding points was just barely over the “legal limit” as far as old stuck-on crud is concerned). I can’t thank yall enough, and I look forward to learning more with yall! Maybe This bike will stick around a while longer.

 

[rphillips]

Congrats, always good to hear things are good

 

[MarcusRolla75]

Hello all; thanks for letting me join/discuss/learn! I recently picked up my ‘82 650L and got it in running order. Went to start it a couple days later and it acted dead (neut/oil lights only, no headlights/tail lights, and does no click with start button). Verified all applicable safety switches/interlocks were good. Found a broken-off ground from frame-to-battery neg but I fixed that and problem is the same. Battery is fully charged each time and is brand-new, and fuses are all still good. I pulled the entire main harness off the bike and shot every wire to where it’s going; verifying good continuity and no shorts to gnd. Verified starter relay, ignition, fuses again, safety interlocks, and lead polarity. I’m gonna try putting it back together and starting it tonight when I get off work but if anyone has any input I would pleeeease ask of it; this bike has me in dire straits; was told it rode and ran fine before I got my hands on it but now it’s a money-pit of problems that’s making my first motorcycle look like it may be my last. TIA!!!!

That sounds frustrating, man. Electrical gremlins can be the hardest to pin down on these older bikes. Since you’ve already checked continuity, fuses, safety switches, ignition, and the relay, you’ve done more homework than most people would at this point. A couple of things that come to mind from similar issues on my old Yamaha:

• Double check the main ground strap from battery to frame and also engine case. Sometimes continuity “tests good” but under load it doesn’t pass enough current. I had to sand both contact points bare and bolt them down tight before it would crank.
• Look closely at the starter relay wiring harness plug – corrosion inside the plug can mimic a dead starter button.
• Try jumping the starter solenoid directly with a screwdriver to see if it turns over. If it cranks that way, the issue is upstream in the switch/relay/kill circuit.
• Don’t rule out a bad ignition switch even if it “feels fine.” The internals wear out and cause no-headlight/no-starter symptoms.

I know it feels like a money pit, but honestly you’ve already learned a ton just tracing that harness. Once you find the weak link, it’ll probably be a small fix that makes the whole thing come alive again.

Would you like me to suggest a step-by-step test order you could follow when you reassemble tonight so you don’t have to shotgun parts/checks all over again?Lightroom Mod APK
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[argonsagas]

Two responses on this one.

First, I am glad to see that it worked out for you.

Second....your experience reminded me of TWO similar experiences, with two different bikes.

The GS1100G had exactly the same symptoms and I also checked out everything before giving up in utter frustration because everything looked perfect, I drove the car instead.

When I returned home later I turned the key and pushed the starter.....it started and ran instantly.


Another strange moment with the same bike:



I was accelerating hard away from a traffic light on a highway and, just after I got above the speed limit, the engine quit.

Just like that.

I immediately grabbed the clutch and then hought it felt like someone had switched off the ignition.

When I looked down at the key ....it actually had been turned to the OFF position.!!

I merely had to turn the key back to :ON, release the clutch,and it started instantly.......just as I was coasting past a radar trap.

..

How it happened I do not know,.



A couple of years passed and I bought a GS 1100GK

Then the GK gave me an identical situation when I tried to start it one morning..

After a couple of minutes of checking, and no problem found, I recalled the earlier instance with the G so I did the same thing.....put the bike away and drove the car for the day.


When I returned home in the evening I did nothing more than insert the key and push the button.......It started immediately.

Kept the GK for another five years and it never had that problem again.


Maybe the bikes knew something I did not know.........:indecisiveness:


EDIT EDIT....


WELCOME TO GSR!!


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