79 GL1000 New battery, dies with Start Depressed

[dshipton88]

Hi! New member here! I'd appreciate any help, this has been quite fun.

So! I bought the bike back in April and didn't register it so it sat in parking for a couple months. I went and started it a couple times but eventually it needed jumped to start. Registered now so ready to roll.

Went and got a new battery (from Walmart EverStart ES50N18LA3) charged it up and went to put it in. Turn the key, lights all good. When pressing the start switch it would start up but as soon as I released the switch it would kill the bike. Did not have this problem before the new battery, but I'm also wondering if I fried something jumping it with a car.



Reading through the forms I've seen a lot about ballast resistor and the measurements you're supposed to find. I know how to use a fluke, but I don't know what I'm looking for in there? Tomorrow going out to check voltages on the battery and hopefully on this whole resistor thing. I'd appreciate the help identifying what I'm looking for. And see how this all goes.

[dshipton88]

Trying to attach a picture of close up of battery and I know the ballast is one of the things to the right but having an SQL Error? Did the attachments upload and "place inline"

[spiralout]

You attached the image correctly, seems pic attachments aren't working at the moment.
The ballast resistor is mounted on your coil brackets. There's a pic of one in this post viewtopic.php?t=3308#p12211

[aussiegold]

sounds like the ballast resistor has failed. when you press the start button, the ballast is bypassed. let the button go and the power runs
through the ballast to run the bike.
the reason the ballast is bypassed when you start the bike is so the coils receive full power.
an easy way to see if it is the ballast, is to unplug it and join those two wires together. it wont hurt to run it for a short time like that.

[dshipton88]

Alrighty, went with the fluke and checked the battery, a little over 12Vs. Disconnected the ballast and wired the 2 together.. still same thing. Looks like a previous owner had messed with the ballast resistor before, it was taped up. When i took the tape off no fuse on the inside and they had done a bar across to bypass it. On to the next step?

[aussiegold]

sounds like you are looking at the main fuse near the battery. there is no fuse on the ballast. the ballast is bolted on to the coils and is a white ceramic block. one black wire and one black wire with brown band. if i remember right.
i try to attach a pic yesterday. no go.

Coils%25201[1][1].jpg

keep getting error. pm me your email address and i will send a pic of the coil and start set up on the US models.