1975 GL1000 project, first Goldwing

[ericheath]

Here, better than I’ll write up:
http://www.randakksblog.com/7-volt-regulator-problems/

[robin1731]

Thanks for the diagram... that's not in my Clymer. I don't have a new temp guage just yet. I'm using the original cluster for now. When the engine is cold, it will slowly climb to the operating range of the gauge, stop for a bit then continue to climb until I kill it. I have my shop fan pointed at the bike and I give it some time and try again and it will climb much quicker.

Did the fan on the bike come on?

.

[brewer013]

Did the fan on the bike come on?

.

The fan came on when I had it running a few days ago before the pinched o-ring gave out. Since draining and replacing that o-ring, it hasn't.

[brewer013]

So, are you sure it’s hot. The other quirk to these old bikes is the temp gauge and fuel gauge are run through a seven volt regulator. When the regulator fails the readings are high and the gauge responds by showing it hotter than it actually is. You should notice the fuel gauge pegging as well. If your tank is full, you won’t know. You can check the voltage in and out of the regulator which is under the side cover near the flasher. I’ll find a pic.

I had thought about a false indication last night but have not explored that yet. I do not have the fuel gauge installed, I am still prepping all the body panels and plastics for paint. I'll look into that tonight. It does seem to climb quite rapidly.

[brewer013]

FWIW, I filled with distilled water only 'til I got the leaks solved. Lots of draining and refilling - much less messy and less expensive.

Good job though. I like the engine color.

The rear shaft splines do need moly grease on them. My GL1500 left me stranded when the last of the splines were gone. No fixing that on the road. Mind you it took about 140,000 miles to wear them out. I had no idea this was a maintenance item. There's a very slight back and forth movement as the swingarm moves up and down and it'll eventually wear out those splines.

Thanks and that's a good tip as well. I fully understand the need for the grease on the splines. The PO had stuffed almost twice as much in there as the book called for however so I was stuck cleaning all that out so I could look it all over.

[robin1731]

Did the fan on the bike come on?

.

The fan came on when I had it running a few days ago before the pinched o-ring gave out. Since draining and replacing that o-ring, it hasn't.

Then go back and check you didn't disturb the wiring for the fan/fan switch. No reason it should not work now if it did before.

To make sure run a jumper on the fan plug and see if it runs then.

.

[rcmatt007]

if you removed the fan switch boot it is possible it is not connected back, or that you broke the old wires

[brewer013]

So I just got home and hooked up the fuel gauge. Started the bike and the temp gauge seemed to be working fine. The temp rose gradually and the fan kicked on about when it should so no more overheating indication.

The fuel gauge seems to be erratic however. The fuel level is just above the petcock so less then half a tank I suppose. The gauge shows 3/4 tank with just the key turned on but once the bike is running, it pegged above full then slowly dropped back down to empty

[rcmatt007]

the fuel gauge…. ah.... methinks it has a mind of its own

[ericheath]

Better check that seven volt regulator. Sounds like it could be going south.

[brewer013]

Better check that seven volt regulator. Sounds like it could be going south.

You might be right. Even though the overheating indication issue went away when I plugged in then fuel gauge, the fuel indication is still erratic. I ran it a few times this evening and it never appeared to overheat. The fan came on each time when needed. I guess the last few nights I was just dealing with a false indication with the fuel gauge not in the system.

Thanks for the help everyone. I think I really only have the front brakes, headlight brackets, turn signals, mufflers, timing, and carb sync left to do besides body panel paint. I should have my seat back from the upholstery shop next week and my brake lines tomorrow.

[brewer013]

Looks like I need a 7v regulator so I'll order that. All the leaks are corrected, plastic are off to the paint shop, still waiting on my seat, headlight brackets, and mufflers. My throttle seems to be sticking so that's something I need to look at next.

20190113_132418.jpg (167.63 KiB) Viewed 186 times

[ericheath]

Make your own for cheap. Posts on Shoptalk. Someone here did a nice job gutting the old seven-volt case and installing a smaller version in so it looks original. I’ll remember his name in a few days or weeks.

I got mine from Digikey for $0.29. It cost more for the connectors. (My daughter was working there at the time and got them for me at employee price) I think they’re minimum of five for $4-5 now. Last I saw new was $80. Still works ten years later.

[brewer013]

Make your own for cheap. Posts on Shoptalk.

I saw that on the shop talk, I saved it but haven't gone back to read it.

Anything special to the GL that I should look at for the throttle binding? The twist grip is pretty tight and doesn't bounce back. A couple times when I was just running the motor, it slowly started to increase RPM and I had to jiggle the linkage to get it to stop. The cables and handle are new and oiled. When I cleaned the carbs, I didn't pull the butterflys out, just separated the carbs.

[ericheath]

First make sure you tightened the four rubber boots connecting carbs to runners. Lots of us forget them. Seems I always forget one side.

If you haven’t synchronized them yet, try that. Valve adjust? I think you did that.

If you had the carbs off, did you bench synch them? Lots of guys use something very small to get all four throttle plates at the same opening at idle. Do number three first. I just eyeball them based on 1/2 of one hole of the three small holes by the throttle plate showing. Others use feeler gauges or small wires. Carb rebuilders report that they get sets where people torque down too much using wires and end up cutting a groove in the plate or bending it. I think you should do #3 first which is only adjusted by the throttle stop screw. If you can’t get it to close down loosen the synch adjuster at #1 to free it up. Then set 1 the same as three, then 4 and 2 together using the middle synch adjuster. Then 1-3 the same as 2-4 using the adjuster to the rear of number 4. That’s the same order as you’d synch with gauges or tubes. They can be bench synchd on the bike, just remove the four intake runners so you can see the plates.

Do you know how they come off? Heat and muscle. Recommendations are to pull up and down and get them free of the locating tab before turning them. If you use a heat gun, it really helps.

If three is set too high at the start, then all the others will be high and you end up with a high idle.

There are other things to check for for sticking throttle: having it routed properly is number one.

Using an unlit propane torch around the runners will tell you if you have a pinched or cut o-ring. (It happens) They will also check the rubber connectors. Just wave the open propane around each area. If it’s leaking, you’ll hear the rpm go up. Others use carb spray or wd40. I had two fires using that. Luckily I’m a blow bag and blew them out before they found gasoline, nonetheless it was almost Texas chili trouser time.

If these don’t remedy it there’s another fix that involves altering the starting point of one carb, but check the rest off first.