Good evening to the group,
Its been quite some time since I have been on the forum and more then a year since I have been able to ride my bike. I trust everyone had a good new years and all are doing well waiting for the riding season.
I have a 2000-1500se wing and recently purchased a new battery, after installing it I started the bike and took it around the neighbor hood a couple times after servicing the tires checking oil Etc. First thing I noticed was that I had no LCD screen and no radio. I left it for a month, I didn't have the time to mess with it. The key was left in the ignition but in full off position and the handle bars locked. Battery was dead when I went to start the bike, two days ago, Hmmm!
I recharged the battery and when I pressed the end of the ground wire to the battery I get a good spark like something was on. It never did this before. Is there any chance the LCD screen and or instrument cluster is shorted internally and somehow bypassing the ignition switch with some kind of always on memory?
In my mind it doesn't seem likely as the ignition should shut everything down. I am starting to lean toward a bad ignition switch. Not sure where to start trouble shooting. As always any thoughts and suggestions are always appreciated.
Stan the man, Orlando Fl.
Key is off getting spark from ground terminal.
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Stantheman55
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Sat May 13, 2017 3:10 pm
- Location: Orlando Florida
- Motorcycle: 2000 Honda Gl 1500SE
1985 Yamaha FJ1100
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Rambozo
- Posts: 2881
- Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2018 8:36 pm
- Location: Disneyland
- Motorcycle: 1992 GL1500 Aspencade
Ducati Monster
Re: Key is off getting spark from ground terminal.
Several things.
Yes there is parasitic drain on the battery with the key off. Dead battery in just a month seems a little excessive, though.
When hooking up a battery on a bike that was dead, there is often some inrush current charging capacitors. The spark should only happen once. If you disconnect the battery and hook it back up within a short time there should be no spark. If there is, something is wrong.
Check the fuses to see if that is why there is no LCD.
As with all things GoldWing electrical, check any aftermarket accessories or lights added by the PO.
The ignition switch doesn't shut everything down. It does have several outputs that you can test. They are not known for going bad very often.
Yes there is parasitic drain on the battery with the key off. Dead battery in just a month seems a little excessive, though.
When hooking up a battery on a bike that was dead, there is often some inrush current charging capacitors. The spark should only happen once. If you disconnect the battery and hook it back up within a short time there should be no spark. If there is, something is wrong.
Check the fuses to see if that is why there is no LCD.
As with all things GoldWing electrical, check any aftermarket accessories or lights added by the PO.
The ignition switch doesn't shut everything down. It does have several outputs that you can test. They are not known for going bad very often.
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Stantheman55
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Sat May 13, 2017 3:10 pm
- Location: Orlando Florida
- Motorcycle: 2000 Honda Gl 1500SE
1985 Yamaha FJ1100
Re: Key is off getting spark from ground terminal.
Thank you for your thoughts I’ll start checking fuses and get back with what I found.
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MaineStreet
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:42 pm
- Location: New Gloucester, Maine
- Motorcycle: 1999 Gold Wing GL1500 SE
2014 Yamaha Super Tenere ES
2004 BMW R1150R
Re: Key is off getting spark from ground terminal.
Hello - maybe this is what you mean by 'checking fuses', but if not you might find this useful.
If there is a parasitic drain on the battery, you can measure the current draw with a decent (not super expensive) volt ohm meter (VOM). With the ground cable disconnected from the battery and the VOM set to measure mA, put the negative VOM probe on the ground cable and the positive probe to the battery ground post. I'm not sure about the GW, but many vehicles do draw current when off to maintain clock, radio presets, etc., but that current draw is very low - like 10 to 20 mA.
If your meter is reading a higher amperage draw, you have a parasitic drain. If so, then with the meter set up as described above (may need a 3rd or 4th hand), pull one fuse at a time. If that fuse circuit is not the circuit with the parasitic drain, the amperage draw will stay the same. However, if you pull a fuse and the amperage draw falls significantly, you've found the circuit that is culprit. Now you know where to focus your efforts.
Good luck.
If there is a parasitic drain on the battery, you can measure the current draw with a decent (not super expensive) volt ohm meter (VOM). With the ground cable disconnected from the battery and the VOM set to measure mA, put the negative VOM probe on the ground cable and the positive probe to the battery ground post. I'm not sure about the GW, but many vehicles do draw current when off to maintain clock, radio presets, etc., but that current draw is very low - like 10 to 20 mA.
If your meter is reading a higher amperage draw, you have a parasitic drain. If so, then with the meter set up as described above (may need a 3rd or 4th hand), pull one fuse at a time. If that fuse circuit is not the circuit with the parasitic drain, the amperage draw will stay the same. However, if you pull a fuse and the amperage draw falls significantly, you've found the circuit that is culprit. Now you know where to focus your efforts.
Good luck.