Is the black electrical cable from the starter relay to the starter motor supposed to be energized all the time or only when the starter button is pressed?
Only when the starter button is pressed.
:cheers:
My virago did this few weeks ago ... turns out it was this freaking crapola contraption called a diode (I call it a blind plug) ... its a bunch of wires, that plug into the wiring harness and in ~3 inches they end in a rubber blind plug. On top os=f that rubber plug there is a rubber sleeve of sorts. Mine was loose and the rubber plug was worn on 1 side and the wire that was encased was contacting with metal and activating the oil light and the starter. I burnt the starter but everythign else suprisingly was fine. I also ended up tearing the hole in the case where the starter nose sits (different mechanism than a GS) but the bendix type clutch it has, the second stage engagement device (solenoid - a real one not the switch type one the GS has) etc helped minimise the freaking thing from turning into a pile of shredded metal. I machined the starter nose a shade and fit a oil light bushing in the case and slapped it all back together. Seems to have worked AFAIK after ~700 miles.
Cool.
Srinath.