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Stupid mistake left one spark plug cap off when trouble shooting now nothing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Big Red
  • Start date Start date
B

Big Red

Guest
Hey folks, been a awhile since i needed to post on here.

Just got it going for the season now that the snow is gone here and it is starting to get warm enough.

Recently took starter out and cleaned it up and reinstalled so now starter is working great no more just click then hit with a hammer....

replaced the valve gasket as there was a oil leak from the old gasket....

So after all that it took it out for a few small rides no issues. yesterday went for a 20 KM ride ran great. stopped at my parents place to say high put it on the side stand and serious leak started. noticed it was coming out of the airbox connected to the carbs. bike would not start seemed like to much pressure built up.

finally got a good push start ran fine for another 2 km to home.

when i got home no more leak. so i believe the petcock was not set right after the starter removal. while looking bike over i noticed that the RHS spark plug cap had some liquid on it so i pulled it off to see what it was just a bit or oil not sure what from so cleaned it off and kept checking bike (did not put it back on) did not see any more leak (on centre stand) went to start turned over a couple of times then heard something from the fuse box area then nothing.....

after the key is turned i do not even get lights on the dash at first then the oil and neutral light become faint. Walked away for the night and put it on the charger.\\

today charger and battery show full charge. turn key faint lights again got one click from the solenoid but then nothing. turn engine switch to off light go full but in run faint lights. but nothing from the starter. no headlight no nothing. i have checked all fuses then are intact. do not see any bad connections.

I do not know where to start m trouble shooting? just took my rear tire off as i am getting a new one installed tomorrow and it is a cold rainy day today so a great day to work on the bike in a heated garage.

Thanks for any ideas.....:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

1980 GS550L
 
If you were into the starter I would check it again.
Especially if there is no bad connections or fuses

Check the grounds again you may have over looked it
 
Big Red said:
.

when i got home no more leak. so i believe the petcock was not set right after the starter removal


today charger and battery show full charge. turn key faint lights again got one click from the solenoid but then nothing. turn engine switch to off light go full but in run faint lights. but nothing from the starter. no headlight no nothing. i have checked all fuses then are intact. do not see any bad connections.

I do not know where to start m trouble shooting?



Thanks for any ideas.....:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

1980 GS550L
Click to expand...

do you mean you had the petcock on prime?

Do you have a multimeter? If so set it at dc scale and put the probes across the battery poles to see what voltage you get after charging it note the reading turn on ignition try to start it then take the reading and post both on here.
Also try checking your earth connections
 
Make sure your battery connections are clean and tight first of all.
 
Ok so back tire is back on so i looked into the the electrical a bit more. took the battery out and gave it a charge 12V and staying around there cleaned battery connections and reinstalled. When i connect it i get normal readings. get the same voltage at the front of the solenoid. When i turn the key battery reading drops to 5.6V at both the battery and solenoid. when i hit the starter it goes to nothing but i get a click or two out of the solenoid.

that is where i am at now. going hunting for the weekend but will pull the carbs next week to get the starter back out to inspect it. I would rather not do that if anyone has another option? all connections look good.

the petcock was still on prime that is why it was leaking so i have corrected that, the fuel went to the airbox over flow and not the engine so the oil was not effected. thankfully.

thanks folks
Gobble gobble time

Big Red
 
I don’t get why you want to go thru the hassle to pull carbs to get to the starter when you’re clearly aren’t getting enough voltage to turn the starter. As suggested, check your connections, especially grounds. If your battery is only reaching 12v, it’s done. If you can get the bike running, do the quick test (link in my sig) and report all 6 numbers.
 
Did you have the battery tested? It may seem like it's charged but under a load shows it's no good. Most auto parts stores can test it under a load for you.
 
There's no point testing a battery's resting voltage right after you charge it. That's a "surface charge" for lack of a better term and it takes any crappy or good battery awhile to show it's true capacity. A Bad battery will self discharge an amount. Leave it Overnight or turn the bike key on on for a minute without starting it will probably do.

An automatic charger will successfully charge a crappy battery to a certain voltage which even a crappy battery will reach, but it's still a crappy battery. If it tests after a "rest" to less than 12.2 volts or less, its Capacity is reduced to 1/2 OR less. A decent battery will be 12.5 or higher while anything above 12.6-12.7 or so is surface charge on any acid-type battery.

I don't trust the auto-shop load tests all that much. I've had some experience with them. (I really miss hydrometers )

i have to agree with Rich82GS750TZ Try to limit your post to things that are related.
[h=2]Stupid mistake left one spark plug cap off when trouble shooting now nothing is an odd post title when it's no where else mentioned...
[/h]
 
Last edited:
Just ordered a new battery. Will update when I get it installed to see what is going on. Put it on the charger out of the bike and only getting 10.5 I agree the battery must be the issue... Thanks will update when I get one.

Thanks Rich that was the direction I needed.

Caleb
 
New battery and everything seems fine now just need to complete one other thing to get it back together fully so i can run it. but it looks like the battery was the issue.

Thanks as always.

Caleb
 
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