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still no power with the key twist. i think something is missing in the way of a connection or component with regard to a past owner attempt to bypass the RESERVE LIGHTING UNIT

not holding water either but, that i have a handle on.

time to get back to work......

Even with the RLU unplugged there are some wires in that plug that need to be jumped. The process is in the Clymer manual. I believe Randakk also has it on his site.

On the dripping. Where is it coming from? Could be a loose hose clamp. It is also easy to pinch the o-ring on the water pump cover that the lower radiator hose goes to.

pretty much it's leaking in several places. but, i've got that handled. one of the hoses just needed tightening. i may have seated the thermostat somehow with no gasket...... then there is the cover itself/this is probably the gasket to which your message addressed. finally the weep hole itself is cryin bloody murder.

so, i rebuilt my waterpump and in the process it was put together and taken apart multiple times. i got to where i was sealing a certain part with high temp silicon and it seems the last time i forgot that step and decided to go for it. well, suffer myself the past 48 hours bc i was the fool that went for it. ah, well.....i'll give er hell one last time then consider a replacement. so, regardless of the water issue, the electrical must be tackled and the bike won't be complete without either. So, i have to fully understand the Bypass of the Reserve Lighting Unit and reverse the problems with the previous owner's attempts there. Also, my own attempts with the water pump rebuild need revisiting......

BigDub wrote: still no power with the key twist. i think something is missing in the way of a connection or component with regard to a past owner attempt to bypass the RESERVE LIGHTING UNIT

not holding water either but, that i have a handle on.

time to get back to work......

Still not sure about the Reserve Lighting Bypass wiring......read thru Randakk's info here: http://www.randakksblog.com/headlight-t ... #more-1141

and also reviewed the Clymer manual. Both seem to correlate with correct wiring. It looks like the jumpers are the correct ones.

so, there are 2 yellow wires with "eye" connectors that make it appear as though it should connect to a fuse.......idk about this yet. One of the yellow wires in question leaves the voltage converter just forward of the missing Reserve Lighting Unit.

I think I should uninstall and inspect the ignition just because there is zero electrical function when turning the key.

So, my next goals.

Disassemble inspect the ignition and reassemble or replace.
Disassemble the lower front end, inspect, and reassemble with repaired water pump seals for the water side of the weep hole under the water pump.

"bought it now"

What does bought now mean?

Here is how I jumped the RLU on the 77 bike: http://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic. ... &start=225

Hope this helps.

BigDub wrote: I think I should uninstall and inspect the ignition just because there is zero electrical function when turning the key.

Disassemble inspect the ignition and reassemble or replace.

I had to pull mine apart. It was really easy. I just cleaned it up and slapped some dielectric grease in there. Presto. Switch works like new.

Lefty wrote:What does bought now mean?

RLU aka Reserve lighting unit- BOUGHT IT NOW. I went to eBay and clicked the Buy It Now...

I get it now. No you bought it you get it now. Who's on third.

http://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic. ... &start=225

Hope this helps.[/quote]
thank you! i reviewed the link. now.....
thanks again. that gives me another route to think about seeing how yours was done successfully. And no problems with "no power" after connecting the wires this way? I've switched out several ignition modules all.....kind of raggedy. i checked and grounded the battery negative to the frame in a different location directly touching the frame. mind you, both the connector and the frame metal had grind work to give a metal to metal ground. The rear signal lights aren't connected to the bike but, my understanding is that I should still get lights to the signals/dial indicators with zero contacts to the rear turn signals. correct?

i'm baffled. i believe the wires were routed correctly when the PO removed the RLU and used the jumpers. They just retracted the male ends from the plastic connectors and sodered them together. i put up a video earlier in the thread if you want....it's here-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faptZKc_ ... aptZKc_kY8[/youtube] there, i show the colors and how the circuits are jumped in three places with a free wire being the BLUE with black stripe (i believe it was formerly the wire connected in the three prong male connector coming from the main harness.

nevertheless, i'm going to attempt to revert to "true" stock with functioning RLU as soon as I get mine in the mail next week. I'm looking for a good close-up photo of 1975 colors of the wiring going towards the RLU connectors from the main harness. There is an 8 prong male and a 3 prong male connector. It' would be great to know exactly the coloring to mate in the wires so that I can do a plug and play test the sooner the package arrives the better.

So who has a 35 year old RLU still installed on a bike used weekly? All folks I ride with have had to bypass them.

Fred Camper wrote:So who has a 35 year old RLU still installed on a bike used weekly? All folks I ride with have had to bypass them.

great point.....would appreciate anyone riding a GL1000 with a successfully bypassed/disconnected RLU to review the following 37second video and respond with guidance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faptZKc_kY8

i would embed but it's failing to accept the coding today.....

thank you all in advance.....

just read PeteyBugs' post about switch cleaning http://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 6&start=15

will go take a look at that too.

problem was with the wiring at the starter solenoid........

power has been restored captain.

now to seal the lower end once and for now.......

i wish there were only some way to track down the dufus that installed it that way......oh well.