where to begin?

[raider1093]

Hello, Im new to this site because I just bought an 82 gs550 for $85.00 and cant wait to start my new bobber project... I also have a 2005 Yamaha Roadstar but I wanted a project so I bought it without seeing it run, but was told that it turns over. No battery, and it needs a new ignition switch I was told. I bought a new battery and pulled apart the ignition switch. the plastic disc that the wires connect to and the key actually turns is still there so i thought with a battery I might be able to turn that switch and get the headlight to come on, maybe try and kick her over...but I put in my new, freshly charged battery, and nothing..... no lights, no horn, no nothing. any ideas as to where to begin? all the wiring all the way back looks like it is connected. I am planning to pull this bike completely apart and rebuild it as my first bobber project, but would like to see it actually turn over before I do. any thoughts? could it possibly be as simple as the ignition switch?

[donny662]

First, check the fuses Then, try bypassing the ignition switch since that was a known problem. If that doesn't work, get out the multimeter.

$85.00 bucks is an awesome deal!!! I hope that wasn't a typo You could definitely get more than that out of it if you had to part it out.

[raider1093]

nope not a typo. I thought it was too when I found it. I will give it a try. thanks.

[womper]

$85 wow...

first thing i would do is go get the manual for it.
then it would be easy to trace the wires and you could check at the connectors with a multimeter if the wiring is all good going through fuses, etc.

i looked online quickly for a pdf of the manual but couldn't find it...

[womper]

looks like i found a manual... from what the interweb says, the 550 and 750 were pretty much the same bike 'cept the motor..

manual for the 750... huge file... 80 megs..
http://www.manualz.info/Manuals_pdf/SUZUKI/GS750.pdf

[raider1093]

how would I bypass the ignition switch?

[2005GZ250]

If the fuses are good check the wiring harness where it makes the bend around the steering head, had the same problem with my GT750. The main power wire had broken inside the rubber insulation, the way I found it was with the key on I pulled, pushed & wiggled all the wires/connectors until the lights came on.

[raider1093]

trouble is, all i have to go by for the ignition switch is the little plastic disc that the wires connect to. so Im not sure what position it is in, or if it will even work in that condition.

[womper]

look at the above post for the service manual link of the gs750... it's the same as the gs550 i believe

with that you bypass all the switches and jump the starter with the battery and bike should come to life...

[raider1093]

now we are getting somewhere......forgive me, this is pretty much all new to me. I have done all the bolt on stuff for my brand new roadstar, and thought I had an idea of what I was doing when it comes to bikes....well, let me be the first to say that I dont know nearly as much as I thought I did. Building a bike is much more difficult than prettying up or adding your own touches to an already mint one. so, that said, I jumped the starter from post to post and she jumped right to it. the motor wanted to turn over like she were brand new. but no lights. so now Im assuming that it is maybe a fuse issue. although all the fuses are good, there are two panels right behind the starter relay with fuses in them. one has four fuses. the wiring looks good on that one. the other has one fuse, which I believe is the main fuse. the red wire is connected, but then there is a + and a - screw with no wires going to or from them. Im gonna guess thats not right. any thoughts?

[Aussie Steve]

Try the following. Main fuse/relay. Ground cable to battery. Go over all ground connections with a multimeter to check for continuity. Ignition switch may be still faulty so connect directly to battery using bannana clips. I wouls also get hold of a wiring diagram so you can isloate the ignition circuitry.....is this a points machine because this can cause problems too!


Good luck

[raider1093]

I was able to bypass the ignition switch and get it to turn over, but still nothing with the switch. I checked the fuses and they are all still good. The main fuse has the red wire going to it from the battery, but there is a + and - screw on it with no wires to or from them. Im thinking thisw might be part of the problem.

[womper]

cool... btw, i have NO CLUE what i'm doing on bikes

i doubt it's the main fuse, you got current to the starter...
i suspect a bad connection somewhere, most probably along the switches...

wiring is a pain in the ass, but a good multimeter and manual should be able to help out quite a bit.
i'd bet that there's a bad connection to one of the devices that starts the bike...
killswitch, on switch, start switch. these usually all have to be 'on' (shorted out) to get the bike started.
not sure if the lights come on with the on switch, but if so, i'd say that would be the culprit (on switch being the key on on position)

[raider1093]

Ill keep looking...thanks a lot.

[raider1093]

Ok, so using my test light I figured out that the start button wire was cut in the wiring harness. I reconnected it and hit the start button. the starter relay clicks, but no start. when I bypassed the starter relay the bike turns over. does that mean that the starter relay is junk?

[Clint]

Threads merged. Please do not post multiple instances of the same topic.

[donny662]

Originally Posted by raider1093

Ok, so using my test light I figured out that the start button wire was cut in the wiring harness. I reconnected it and hit the start button. the starter relay clicks, but no start. when I bypassed the starter relay the bike turns over. does that mean that the starter relay is junk?

Is there anything between the relay and the starter that may be bad (wire, connection, etc.)?

[Aussie Steve]

Usually if the starter relay just clicks it indicates a low battery voltage...but you may be on the right track. The relay needs to be connected to get the ignition to run so bypassing it will cut out the ignition circuit.

[womper]

remember what a relay does folks...

you use a little voltage to turn on the relay to get big voltage going

whatever is on the other side of the relay needs a lot of juice.
you really need a multimeter to see if both sides of the relay have any potential on the leads.
w/o a multimeter, i wouldn't even attempt at troubleshooting this stuff.

[raider1093]

Im going to guess at this point, but i dont think there is anything bad between the relay and starter because when I bypass the relay it turns over. I guess my next step is a multimeter.