Heya Guys.

What a lovely community you guys have here! I just got a gs500 a few months ago and I am thrilled to see a forum like this exist!

I was hoping I could tap into some of your guys knowledge for a sec.

The last few days my GS500 has been giving me some grief. It will refuse to crank when I press ignition. No sound at all. But then a couple hours later it will work.

I legit had the bike cranking, then turned the handlebars to the right, then it wouldn't crank, then turned them back to the left and wouldn't crank again.

I am assuming it's some electrical issue? But it's weird it's so intermittent like that. Works one sec and doesn't the next. I figure if the starter or solenoid broke, it would just stay broke

I did put handlebar risers on a few weeks ago, so I thought maybe they were causing a issue by putting strain or stretching a cable, but I removed it today and put the handbags back to default and it's still not cranking.

I'm kind of at my witts end here. Very hard to diagnose when the issue is intermittent. But has left me stranded and needed to be trailered home twice this week.

I could use any suggestions you gents can offer.

Look for a short where the wiring loom goes through the "U shaped" loom holder by stem behind the headlight and just before going under the top frame - frequent rubbing from loom movement when turning can cause wear/breaking of wiring here and subsequent intermittent shorting. Happened to me and was utterly baffling because the wear was hidden until very closely examined. 

Suzuki have a sidestand interlock that prevents starting, after many years the switch gets dodgy. A multimeter is your friend.

If the routing of the cables is bad, around the stem the cables could get strangled around the steering stops.
I reinforced it whit a flexible cable management strip that goes around the cable.

It happened to me once, the cable that goes to the kill switch was torn.

Handle bar commands(right)
You could technically test it with a multimeter and moving it but I wouldn't have peace of mind If I can't inspect it totally.

I had to cut the outer sheath, dismantled the connector, removed the sheath sliding it and then I used heatshrink tube to fill the gap of the cut.

If you open the handlebar switches there is no need to cut the sheath. a cable tie holds it from the inside of the switch box. You will need to disassemble the connector terminals so take pictures!

In my bike sidestand switch only cuts the starter if I am in gear. On neutral I can start with side stand down so I don't think the switch could be the issue.

Side stand relay is clicking (engaging)with ignition ON?
Side stand relay is crucial,look the wiring diagram.

Quote from: gruntle on April 17, 2023, 02:38:14 AMLook for a short where the wiring loom goes through the "U shaped" loom holder by stem behind the headlight and just before going under the top frame - frequent rubbing from loom movement when turning can cause wear/breaking of wiring here and subsequent intermittent shorting. Happened to me and was utterly baffling because the wear was hidden until very closely examined. 

Funny enough I thought I had found it yesterday!

I opened the rubber housing holding the wires from the starter switch that go into the headlamp. Full of water!

I drained it, dried it. retaped everything. And it worked!

But today I got stranded again and the issue is back. Cut open the tape, and the area is dry. Now that may have been the issue, or since has been intermittent, it could have just been a fluke

So sadly still lost . I will have to take a closer look at that area you suggested and see if any damage to a wire. Thanks for the suggestion!

Quote from: herennow on April 18, 2023, 12:28:28 PMSuzuki have a sidestand interlock that prevents starting, after many years the switch gets dodgy. A multimeter is your friend.

Thats a good thought. But I cant start it when its in neutral. Switch can start if the stand is up or down when i think, so might not be that

Quote from: Armandorf on April 18, 2023, 11:51:18 PMIf the routing of the cables is bad, around the stem the cables could get strangled around the steering stops.
I reinforced it whit a flexible cable management strip that goes around the cable.

It happened to me once, the cable that goes to the kill switch was torn.

Handle bar commands(right)
You could technically test it with a multimeter and moving it but I wouldn't have peace of mind If I can't inspect it totally.

I had to cut the outer sheath, dismantled the connector, removed the sheath sliding it and then I used heatshrink tube to fill the gap of the cut.

If you open the handlebar switches there is no need to cut the sheath. a cable tie holds it from the inside of the switch box. You will need to disassemble the connector terminals so take pictures!

In my bike sidestand switch only cuts the starter if I am in gear. On neutral I can start with side stand down so I don't think the switch could be the issue.

Side stand relay is clicking (engaging)with ignition ON?
Side stand relay is crucial,look the wiring diagram.

Hmmm. I will take a look at those wires! I tired opening the handlebar switch, but I couldn't figure out how to get in there. I was doing it at night, so I will have to give it another look, Maybe I missed somehting.

Oh geeze. I didnt even know that a side stand relay thing existed. I will give that a looksie.

I replaced my starter solenoid yesterday just because it was a $10 fix, but no luck.

Here's the thing - wire was broken but couldn't see any external damage. Only jiggling wire & trying starter did I realise what prob was. Look VERY closely. All the best of luck. 

Buy a cheap multimeter before buying parts you don't know are the problem.
With the wiring diagram and a multimeter and patience you will definitely fix it. We will help you from here.

Quote from: Armandorf on April 22, 2023, 12:32:07 AMBuy a cheap multimeter before buying parts you don't know are the problem.
With the wiring diagram and a multimeter and patience you will definitely fix it. We will help you from here.

This right here.

The problem could be a broken wire or bad switch. It could be in any number of different places. Heck, it could be a loose battery terminal.

You'll only solve the issue with a multimeter and the wiring diagram.

You can get a cheapo multimeter for $25 from Harbor Freight or Amazon. It will work perfectly for this (and lots of other stuff).

Thank you everyone for your help! Its been solved.

I used a multimeter and the bikes wiring diagram to diagnose that there was a switch in the clutch lever, and that was a problem.

A f%$king spider made a nest or something in there. A quick blow out of it and it works like a charm.

Great, thanks for closing the loop

Quote from: Ryguy on May 04, 2023, 05:29:18 AMThank you everyone for your help! Its been solved.

I used a multimeter and the bikes wiring diagram to diagnose that there was a switch in the clutch lever, and that was a problem.

A f%$king spider made a nest or something in there. A quick blow out of it and it works like a charm.

Nice work finding the issue! 

Nice,
if you are feeling fancy, dielectric grease potects the electrical "hole", against water and rustiness.

most switches have a gap to force air/fluids, with contact cleaner i revived my front brake switch that was sticking. isopropyl alcohol works too.