Hi,

I bought my used Gs500 last june (2009). I has about 11k miles on it. When i put my key in and try to start the bike, the bike makes a clicking sound. the clicking sound is coming from the same area that the battery is in. if i take the seat off, i can hear the clicking coming from the battery area.  battery is charged. the lights work fine, brights, blinkers, etc. what is wrong? any ideas? i'd rather work on it myself if anyone can give me pointers.

If the battery is good ... and that is a big IF ... then it can be a bad starter, a bad starter clutch ... a bad motor - one that wont turn over cos its stuck/seized.

Cool.
Buddha.

kill switch engaged? kickstand up?

Your battery may work, along with all of the electricals, but I'd throw it on the charge and charge it all the way back up before you rule out the battery as the problem.  My bike's been to the point where the headlight, all signals, and lights would function, but the bike itself would not start.  I threw it on the trickle charger until it charged up, and in 20ºF weather, it fired right up.

So long story short, charge it up, then try again.  If it still doesn't work, check what Buddha suggested.

Clicking can be a weak battery or poor connection.  The click is coming from the starter solenoid which is located on the right side of the bike near the battery.  As others have said, try charging the battery but also make sure the terminals area clean and tight (10mm bolt).  Really hot water and a wire brush are great for removing corrosion.  Good luck 

-Jessie

do you know that the engine isnt seized? when was the last the crank would turn? most likely though Id guess 1. battery not fully charged or 2. starter needs to be cleaned.  Pretty easy process, just pull that black cover off right underneath the carbs, and theres two bolt hold the starting in place.  take those out and slide the starter towards the right side of the bike until you can pull it straight up.  Then there two long bolts that hold the starter motor together. once those are out you pull the cap off the motor on both ends and pull the center out of the shell. It might be kinda tough if its really dirty, or gunked up, and it will feel like its on a spring due to the magnetic forces, but once you get the center out, sand around with some 220 grit, give or take a little bit.  and also at the bottom of the center peice you took out, there is the actual contact point made of copper. make sure this is clean and youll see two little rectangular peices on springs in the end of the cap.  these press against the copper that i just mentioned. make sure those are clean as well.

Again, starter is my 2. guess.  Dont go pull this out if it was just used recently, as this doesnt just get dirty or go bad overnight.  So make sure your battery is good first.

Quote from: BaltimoreGS on January 23, 2010, 03:58:37 PM
Clicking cn be a weak battery or poor connection.  The click is coming from the starter solenoid which is located on the right side of the bike near the battery.

+1

But the poor connection is in the solenoid itself.  The click are the contacts coming together.  If the contacts are fried one of the pair can be prevented from touching and no juice.   Pry it apart and sand them smooth or just remove & replace new.  No biggie 9 out of 10x.    

Occam's razor- "the simplest explanation or strategy tends to be the best one"

Before you go tearing anything apart make sure it is not just a discharged or weak battery, most likely that is the cause of your problem.  Have you tried jump starting it from a car battery?  If not, try that.  Note: Leave the car turned off and make sure the positive cable doesn't contact any metal part of the bike or it will arc. 

-Jessie

also with a good battery, skip over the solenoid and see if it will crank. disconnect the wires to the solenoid and connect them to each other. then try to start it.  if it cranks then your solenoid is bad.  if it doenst crank, your starter is bad.  This is assuming that the engine is for sure not seized, and the battery is for sure good.

Quote from: gregvhen on January 23, 2010, 08:40:16 PM
also with a good battery, skip over the solenoid and see if it will crank. disconnect the wires to the solenoid and connect them to each other. then try to start it.  if it cranks then your solenoid is bad.  if it doenst crank, your starter is bad.  This is assuming that the engine is for sure not seized, and the battery is for sure good.

Or take the lazy approach and bridge the solenoid terminals with a screwdriver.

i finally went out to the garage today and tore the bike's electrical apart. starter is good. i tore it out and connected it to my truck's battery. turns right over, no problems. after doing some critical thinking, i decided on the following:

the starter switch is good
the ignition switch is good
the kickstand circuit is good
the main fuse is good (i did physically check this one)

the above have to be good because the solenoid is receiving power and clicking when i attempt to start the bike. if the above were faulty, the solenoid would not receive power. the only thing left is the solenoid itself. i figure the solenoid is not making a connection between the two terminals in it's inner working. so to test this, i took the last guy's advice: "Or take the lazy approach and bridge the solenoid terminals with a screwdriver."   

worked like a charm. bike started right up.

thanks for all of your help, guys. i did some brief searching for the part online. i'm not coming up with anything except the 2000 and older model bike, which is a slightly different solenoid. anyone know where i can find one online?

could also be loose terminal connection on the battery or loose connection on the solenoid/starter/frame(ground cable)

The lights only take a few amps, the starter takes approx 80. Your battery needs a load-test to ensure its capable of delivering enough current to power it. Static voltages and the fact bulbs will light are no idication of how the battery will perform when demands are being made on it. The fact you are getting the clicking sound suggests to me it isnt fully charged or holding a full charge.

What happens is this..........

You press the starter, solenoid pulls in, starter energises and draws big amps but there is not enough current there to spin it, battery voltage falls and the solenoid drops out, starter is now out of circuit so current demand from the battery falls to zero, the voltage across the solenoid rises and it pulls back in, starter becomes energised and the whole cycle repeats..and repeats..and repeats etc!

Take it to a shop, they will have the gear to do the test.

Quote from: black and silver twin on February 27, 2010, 07:49:44 PM
could also be loose terminal connection on the battery or loose connection on the solenoid/starter/frame(ground cable)

i'll bet on a corroded battery wire. under the insulation. just like mine was.

it's possible to wiggle the wire and get a start out of it, or wiggle it and get a clickity click out of it. either way, replace the heavy leads for $8 at autozone. i doubt the solenoid is bad. or the starter switch (handlebar) or the side/clutch interlock switches.

easier fixes are betterer.

not to be rude, but did you read my last post in it's entirety? the solenoid is bad. the bike starts fine with its own battery. i shorted the solenoid circuit and the bike fires right up. battery is fine and the cable connectors are great. i need a new solenoid.

I did read your post all the way through 

But something is being overlooked and this something often causes people to believe the solenoid is toast when in actual fact it could be sevicable.

In normal operation both the solenoid coil and the starter motor will draw current from the battery, if you short out the solenoid, the solenoid coil will draw no current leaving all thats in the battery for the starter. If your battery is on the edge it may not have the capacity to power both the starter and the solenoid coil but may have enough to power the starter on it own.

A new solenoid is about 60-70  dollars, a battery load test will probably be free.......your call 

ok, gotcha. when the bike first had the problem, i took someone's suggestion on here and plugged the bike into my truck's battery using jumper cables. i even disconnected the bike's battery and connected the jumpers cables directly to the bike's neg and pos lead cables. same symptom. if the bike's battery has any chance of being dead, my truck's battery is 100% good.

  Good for you, humangod.   Nothing wrong with your battery or your brain.      

got the new part yesterday. put it in last night and the bike started.  went for my first ride today in like 4 months  . Oh how i missed it!