Bike doesn't start / loose wiring from crash

[Turkina]

Being as this is my first time posting, I have many questions to ask!  But I will keep it to one at a time so others can sort things out if they have similar questions

I bought my '96 GS in April and managed to lowside it in May I'm just learning, and I lost confidence while turning and went down.  Me, I'm mostly okay, but a long shirt and jeans do not cut it when you and your bike part ways!  (Don't ask about the jacket incident, still ticks me off)  I haven't really been able to ride since, due to unrelated medical stuff, but I have been able to fix things up now that it doesn't rain every day!

What happened?
Broke both left hand turn signals, mirror
Shattered fairing, dented headlight ring, smashed gauge casing and bent gauge plate
Put some ugly scratches in LHS crankcase cover
Scratched tank, plastic side piece, bent gearshift and footpeg (hammer time!)
Fed chain and sprockets an unhealthy meal of sand
Only starts some of the time

Along with a much needed carb cleaning, most stuff has been taken care of, except for the scratches, and runs really nice when it starts.

Now for my question:
I need some help in narrowing down a loose or broken wire.  The lights and instrument lights work fine with the key in the ignition (neutral & oil lights on) Nothing happens with handlebar switch on 'run' and start pressed.  Nothing is getting to the starter.  If I wiggle the handlebars enough, a connection is made and it fires right up.   Actually, before I poked around inside the headlight shell, the oil light wasn't lit before starting, and the bike would start sometimes if I moved the ignition switch wiring and the oil light went back on.  The Haynes repair manual I have... I guess I'm better at electronics than troubleshooting electrical systems I don't know the proper readings for.
Any ideas/opinions on where the problem may lie and what should be done?  Thanks!

[pantablo]

since you damaged the left side youshould check the clutch perch-there's a kill switch (for lack of better term) that won't let you start bike without clutch in. you may have damaged the connection there, or the unit itself.

I'd start there based on your description of how it starts.

[texasengr]

Wow, perfect timing for me.  You guys are talking about an issue I am having............

I just bought a '97 from a guy locally, and had been riding it for several days until one afternoon it just plain wouldn't start.  Imagine my astonishment when I noticed a bunch of duct tape holding two wires together.  (I can't believe this escaped me while I was looking at it prior to purchase.)  Apparently, these wires came loose, and after I re-taped teh wires (with electrical tape this time) she started-no problem.  I guessed there was some kind of kill switch or saftey mechanism to keep you from starting the bike with it in gear that these wires were supposed to be connected to.

However, I was thumbing through my Clymer manual and can't find anything about this switch.  Not a picture showing where it is supposed to go or hook up or anything.  I suppose I can order a new switch, and guess where it goes, but would like to have a bit more to go on.  

You guys know anything about this part?

[nsoccer3097]

if you're referring to the same thing pantablo is, all it is is an "idiot switch" so that you don't try to start the bike without the clutch engaged or neutral.  when i messed up my clutch perch (don't ask) i couldn't find one from a gs, so i was somewhat lazy and used one from a bandit and connected the two wires instead of trying get it to work with the bandit perch.  all you need to do is make sure you see the green light before you hit the starter.

[texasengr]

I am afraid that is what I will wind up doing.  The part is probably going to cost more than I am willing to spend anyhow.  I suppose I will just solder the wires together and affix them securely out of the way.  Still, the engineer in me wants to do it right...my wallet says 'do it cheap'.

[nsoccer3097]

don't really think it matters how you connect them as long as they stay connected.  i think all i did was connect them with some type of electrical connector and tape the crap out of so the chance of it coming loose and touching something is less.  i hid mine in the headlight with all the other wiring.  i cut the wire off at the perch itself and left the remainder of the wire as it was so that if i were to get a gs perch i could still put it back to "normal"

[Afterburner]

My son dropped mine the first time he rode it, breaking the clutch handle. When I put the new one in, I couldn't get that darned safety switch in there right, and broke it trying, so now my wires are permanently connected also.  

If your problem is NOT the clutch switch, check the sidestand safety switch -- the one that kills the engine if you put it in gear with the stand down.  It might have gotten bent in the fall too, somehow.

[Turkina]

The bike starts now The clutch lever switch was the culprit.  There's a break somewhere along the line after checking it with a multimeter.

I took a look inside the headlight shell and noticed that the wire connectors for the clutch switch are one male and one female.  So instead of cutting/soldering, etc those switch wires, put those connectors together and complete the circuit.  Unscrew the little plate holding the switch to the clutch lever, and remove the entire wire from your bike until you decide to fix it right.  No unsightly things hanging out.

I don't feel too bad about removing the wire, since the pre '97 UK bikes supposedly lack this switch, thus the reason for the one male, one female connectors.  Sorry texasegr, maybe the '97 wiring is different.

Thanks Pablo!

[mmcdermand]

My thanks to each person who contributed to this thread, you guys are life (and money) savers!  Why?  Well let me tell you....

To set the scene we have myself (not a motorcycle rider; took the class, crashed the training bike, realized I liked my life to much to take up a hobby that would more than likely kill me) and we have my girlfriend (took the same class, passed with flying colors, had done some dirt bike riding as a kid, always wanted to ride).  Along with these two unlikely stars we have a '01 GS500, 5000 miles, great condition, just purchased from a co-worker and long time friend a grand total of 6 hours ago.  The girlfriend (Cindy for our purposes) had driven the bike home and everything was looking good.  Now the evening is upon us and Cindy is about to go out for a little spin.  Before heading out we have decided to work on putting the bike up on the center stand.  In my never ending wisdom and brilliance I had Cindy engage in this endeavor while straddling the bike.  As all of you long time riders no doubt know, this is not the best approach for center stand mounting...

Cindy steps on the center stand, pulls back on the handle bars, leans back.... and over balances to the right, dropping herself and the bike to the pavement.  Fortunately she got out from under the bike as it went down and only minor damage seemed to have been done to the bike itself (the end of the break lever snapped off).  So we stood the bike back up, said to hell with the center stand, and Cindy hopped on, ready to go for her drive.  And this would have been the end of an almost funny center stand story, had the bike started.

Clutch in, neutral light on, ignition set, cut off switch set to run, starter button depressed: and not a d*mn thing happens.  No noise, no clicks, no nuthin.  So we try the basics: wait a while, try again, check the switches, try again, check the fuel switch, try again....  nothing works.  No reaction, no clicking noises, no start, no results, nada.  So off I go to the PC to test my working theory that every problem has been encountered by someone else and more than likely discussed and solved on the web.  Guess where I ended up?  

After reading through this post and a few others I conclude that the problem is electrical and decide to attempt multimeter madness the next morning.  {Cut to morning} Multimeter in hand the search for technical manuals and wiring diagrams begins.  As it turns out not a single store in all of San Jose has the manuals we need (it was a Sunday, but we had to try) so again off to the web I go.  Results? http://www.bikepower.net/gs500e-power/gs500e-power.htm

Wiring diagram and schematics in hand the tracing, testing and checking begins.  Starter switch checks out ok (and that was the side we fell on so it seemed a likely candidate) and a screwdriver across the starter relays fires the engine right up.  On to the side stand sensor and clutch sensor I go.  Open head lamp assembly, check clutch cut off switch... No Continuity!!  We have a winner ladies and gentlemen!!  Paper clip? Check! Electrical tape? Check! Bridge gap and tape paper clip? Check! Engine start? VVVVVRRRROOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!  CHECK!!!!

And so our heroin drives off into the sunset, less one clutch cut-off switch, plus one running motorcycle.  And we owe it all to the people who helped in these forums.  So to you each and all our thanks and appreciation for what you here maintain.

Cheers.
Michael & Cindy

[fuzzymemory]

check clutch cut off switch... No Continuity!!  We have a winner ladies and gentlemen!!  Paper clip? Check! Electrical tape? Check! Bridge gap and tape paper clip? Check! Engine start? VVVVVRRRROOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!  CHECK!!!!

Paper-clip trick is awsome, eh?  The same thing happened on my SV the other week and all it took to fix it was a papercip and some electric tape.  I also used a zip tie to keep it tidy and out of harm's way.
Props to the technical folks on the board!