[AndyB]

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So, the kids are off to camp this week and the wife and I decided to go out for something to eat. We rode about 15 miles up the road, ate and then headed to the store to grab a bottle of wine. So far, so good. We left the liquor store and headed to a coffee shop to get a mug before heading home. When I pulled into the lot, the radio went off, the dash lights went off, the headlight went out and I had a big drop in power like it was only running on a couple of cylinders. The voltmeter dropped to about 8 or 9 volts. Then, it kicked back on and off a couple of more times within about 10 seconds.

When I got it parked, I checked the stator wires and they were not hot and not melted. I still have the plug installed but I cleaned it good about 2 months ago and stuffed it full of di-electric grease. The voltage regulator was hot to the touch, but not too hot to keep my fingers on it.

We decided to head home and see how she ran. She started right up and ran great the whole way home on the interstate (about 12 miles). The voltmeter stayed right around 14.0-14.3 while on the interstate.

When we pulled off the interstate, it did the same thing again at the top of the ramp. I pulled in a gas station, shut it down, restarted it and once again, it ran fine. We made it another 3 miles to the house with no problems.

Oh, yeah, one more thing. Both times that it happened was right after a right turn. May be coincidence but I thought I would throw that out there. But, I made other right turns that had no affect.

What say you?

 

[Hatchetman]

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I say.... you might have a crappy dog bone fuse, you might have a loose connection on one of your main power wires. I dont see any costly failing parts happening here, just a loose connection. Time to start wiggling wires until you find the culprit!

 

[Gofastandfalldown]

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1. Ignition switch
2. Main fuse

Do the easy one first--fuse. Then have a closer look at the ignition switch. I'm thinking that since it appears to only happen after right hand turns, that the wiring harness is somehow pulling on the ignition switch and aggravating an already flakey ignition switch.

 

[AndyB]

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By main fuse, are you referring to the dogbone fuse?

 

[Shooter]

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I believe they are refering to the dog-bone. You could also put the Wing on the center-stand and start cranking the bars to left and right limits while the engine is running.



Not too up on the 1100's, make sure all of your battery connections are secure,while doing the wire check-out. :gunhead:

 

[Conley]

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Gofastandfalldown wrote:

1. Ignition switch
2. Main fuse

Do the easy one first--fuse. Then have a closer look at the ignition switch. I'm thinking that since it appears to only happen after right hand turns, that the wiring harness is somehow pulling on the ignition switch and aggravating an already flakey ignition switch.

I know there are problems with the 84 GL1200 and the ignition switch. I had the same thing happen to me, but not after right turns. I replaced the switch and have had no further issues.



I would look at your switch and the fuse as suggested here. I would lean toward the switch since you said something about the right turn.



good luck. let us know what happens.

 

[chris in va]

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Dogbone fuse. Mine was making intermittant contact and randomly shut the bike off one day. When I took the fuse out, it was like paper and disintegrated.

Autozone, etc has the fuse holder and is a very simple thing to fix. Try that first before you delve into other wiring issues.

 

[AndyB]

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I will take a look at the dogbone tonight. The previous owner had some in one of the pockets so I can switch it out if necessary.

 

[AndyB]

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I don't know if I fixed it but I pulled the battery, scrubbed the posts and the cables, replaced the dogbone (it was brittle) and slathered everything with di-electric grease. While I had it apart, I also pulled the 4 pin connector that is on the the starter relay and it was full of gunk. It looked like it had started to melt at some point and stopped. I cleaned it up as well and stuffed some di-electric grease there, too. When I fired it up, it had never cranked over so fast. I may just be a bit too over enthusiastic, but I swear the neutral light was even brighter.

So, time will tell whether or not that was the issue.

 

[Shooter]

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That four pin connector was probably making a bad connection and not allowing full battery voltage to the solenoid. Keep an eye on it... :gunhead: