1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

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alwing17
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#46

Post by alwing17 »

[quote="shieldsm"]I put in a inline 30 amp fuse which looks much cleaner. Question. In the pics and my old setup I see the red/white wire going to the starter relay along with the other end of the fuse (they are joined together with a terminal which are connected to the relay). Could I instead just make two seperate terminals instead of both these wires connected together?

Yes,that's what I do with mine...

So basically now on one side of the relay I have the positive battery cable, one fuse end, and the red/white wire that I believe goes to the ignition. On the other side of the relay is the wire going to the starter. The other end of the fuse is connected to the red wire that was next to the red/white wire.

You got it right action1
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1997 GL 1500 Pearl Sapphire Black
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shieldsm
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#47

Post by shieldsm »

Did some quick carb cleaning today to prep for the initial start up. Used Octane's "lazy carb cleaning method". Will be doing a full rebuild later. Pretty straight foward but getting to the drain plugs on the carbs was a pain in the but. I could not get one moved. I used Sea Foam to clean the pistons and vacumn tubs. Not too dirty but looking inside the carb it is pretty gummy. Poured a bunch of sea foam in there as well. Drained the old gas. Inside of the tank looks pretty good. Should I worry about some of the sea foam still in the carb bowls when starting? It will probably sit in there for a couple more days intil I am ready to start. Just don't want to ruin and seals, but again I am just trying to get this thing safely started and then I will do a total carb rebuild later.

Need to put the radiator back on (and clean), do the ignition timing, and double check valve timing and new belts I put on and then I should be ready to start. Randaak says to let the starter turn the engine a couple times before changing the old oil. Since I changed the timing belts and have turned the engine multiple times by hand, would it be better to just change the oil now before starting? He mentions to fill with cheap 30W oil, let run for 5 min, drain, and then fill 50 oil/50 MWO next. Wondering if I should just go straight to the 50 oil/50 MWO first. Don't want to shortchange anything here..
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shieldsm
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#48

Post by shieldsm »

Rechecked the timing belts and valve clearances once again. I feel really good about where this is at. Installed new plugs. The area where the plugs seat were full of carbon and gunk. Did a quick cleaning; used vacumn attachment to get her good. Will hit reinstalling the radiator tonight.
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#49

Post by shieldsm »

Okay,

Went to the local NAPA and bought a 12V relay for a riding lawn mower. $15 dollars! Mine was shot. They also had a similar one for an old ford but it was a tad big. It has the two binding posts as well as the two connectors for the green and yellow wires. Set it all up and works like a charm. Will have to be creative on how to mount insulate it.

Now I attempted to start the bike finally. Still having electrical issues. Seems that the starter is very sluggish. I did some initial checking with the multimeter and it seems not enough juice is going to the starter (only about 8V) Will have to troubleshoot. I have yet to check my ignition timing. If it was WAY off, could this be an issue? I have the old Dyna III so need to look at how to retime (I already did the belts and valve clearances). Also, I have a full tank of gas but wondering if my float bowls are empty. Could this also be a starting issue? Like I said, I suspect its the lack of power going to the starter. The battery is fresh and showing 12.4V.

Help!
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#50

Post by Andyb »

The sluggish starter could be bad brushes. You can get a rebuild kit at http://www.stockerstarters.com
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shieldsm
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#51

Post by shieldsm »

Took the multimeter to the starter components to see what the deal is. I am getting 12V on the battery but as soon as I hit the starter it dips below 9V. I assume its the battery even though I have a new one (Bought it at Wally World). Not sure what else it would be that would cause the battery to dip so low.
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#52

Post by winston »

I've used Energizer bike batteries from Walmart before and they're as good as any other lead acid battery IMO.

As others have said, it's probably your starter. GL1100's eat starters...you can either replace the brushes and get a couple of years out of it again, buy a good used one here on NGW from Rebel or Psycho Cycle, buy a chinese new starter on eBay ( I did that last year and it broke within a month), buy a good aftermarket one for about half the price of OEM, or buy OEM for big dollars.

Or you can bump start the bike...I did that last year for a week while waiting for my new Chinese starter to arrive. :)
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#53

Post by rcmatt007 »

I am surprised by "1100's eat starters" It really isn't any different than the 1000's and I still have the OEM starter on my 78

what starters do not like (nor does any motor) is putting a load on it with insufficent power
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#54

Post by winston »

Hmmm...maybe it's just that simple, people don't keep the batteries on their Wings fully charged.

I do know that the oldwings around here eat starters, not just on my bikes...and to quote from Steve Saunders:
Starter motors can give trouble on all the four-cylinder Goldwings and what usually happens is that the starter operates fine when the engine is cold but when warm the starter turns slowly and the owner thinks his battery is going flat. What happens is that the bushes (usually the one in the starter end plate) that support the armature wear out and allow the armature coils (which expand slightly with the heat from the engine) to short off the motor housing.
I always thought it was a common issue.

Then again...I've never been one for using a trickle charger and I'll betcha lotsa people don't use one...
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#55

Post by rcmatt007 »

it is really hard to say. I am sure there are a lot of 30 y/o bikes with starters starting to go bad just from age. Also, I bet there are aftermarket starters out there that are a POS. But I would bet the problems are more related to corroded connectors, weak batterys and corroded connectors. I recall changine a switch in the clutch lever because of starting issues.... The problem went away however, when I cleaned up some bullet connectors in the system.

A lot of folks buy their toy, and it sits long amounts of time in the garage between usage, and then blame the problems on the "whatever", but not their poor maintenance and lack of use. I commonly see both my newer wing friends and my HOG friends whose only idea of maintenance is to "take it to the shop".
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#56

Post by robin1731 »

rcmatt007 wrote: what starters do not like (nor does any motor) is putting a load on it with insufficent power
Rodger is right. One of the worst things you can do to a starter motor is use an undercharged battery on it. That will eat them up quicker than just about anything.
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#57

Post by rcmatt007 »

I just see broad statements made on forums at times as if they are "facts". and so they make me wonder. I so, a guess it is a doctor thing, I end up asking, what is the evidence, and if something is happening, why is it happening (which may not be the obvious).

Granted, my bike is only a study of "one" and since I have owned it since the beginning, I do not abuse I have given it.

It is funny, I know a couple of folks in our HOG group that are glad they bought the extended warrenty, have the shop maintain their bike, and have had "failures". Local-yokely ole me, maintains his own bikes, have about 55k on my HD and other than having to tighten loose-shaken free-bolts It runs great.
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#58

Post by shieldsm »

Ughhh.

Tried a different battery with same results. 12Volts, than less than 7V when hitting the starter. Checked, checked, checked all connections once more. Unhooked starter cable from starter and after hitting the starter I am recieving full 12V to the starter cable. Upon unhooking the starter cable, it was corroded on the bolt, not that goes into the starter. Cleaned, brushed all parts but have not yet reinstalled. Maybe...maybe this is the problem. If not, I assume its the starter but still unsure what I get such a dramatic voltage drop when everything is hooked up. At a standstill here...
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#59

Post by Roady »

Do all the simple stuff first.

Might even want to replace the ground and pos+ cables before diving into the starter.
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Re: 1978 GL 1000 "The Tank" Resoration Project

#60

Post by shieldsm »

This is where I am at....besides being really FRUSTRATED!

Tried new wires. I even entertained the thought of a locked engine. Pulled plugs ran starter. Still sluggish and nothing came shooting out of the pistons. Plugs were clean.

I took a look at the ignition switch and noticed the ballast resister where it connects on the top to the wire was barely on the resister itself. Looked like it pulled away from the silicone where the coil/spring lies inside. Looks like inside those coils are super corroded. I have not had a chance to pull from the ignition coils for a closer look.

Could this possible be the issue (not getting spark to the plugs). I noticed when I tried pushing the starter with the caps off and upside down, there was no spark.

Call me a dumbbell, but could this be it?
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