Ignition Relay problems, need help PLEASE

Hi,
I have a problem I hope you some of you electrical gurus can help me out with. I recently decided to power the coils on my 82 GPZ 550 with a new relay circuit since they were currently only getting 9.5V. I bought one of the 30a relays and wired it as follows: #85 to engine ground, #30 power to relay starter bolt w/inline fuse, #87 yellow/red wire from kill switch, #86 power to coils. Now instead of getting 9.5v to the coils I am getting 0v. I am wondering if the relay is bad since I am getting battery voltage into the relay(checked with a voltmeter probe where the power comes in at #30) but nothing coming out any of the other prongs of the relay. I originally had it grounded to the case where the battery ground is, then I switched it to a cleaned spot on the frame thinking that may make a difference but to no avail. The bike has a dyna S ignition on it. The red wire from the dyna is now connected to the wire coming from #86 and going to the coils. Is it possible the relay could be bad even though it is brand new? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Dan

Look at these two websites on relays, I suspect you may have the wiring wrong, or possibly got a relay that's not energized at 12 volts D.C. Relays are light light bulbs; either thay work, or don't.

www.the12volt.com/relays/relays.asp
www.2carpros.com/how_to/how_do_i_check_a_relay.htm

I believe you have 86 and 87 switched. According to the diagram I have (too late to go and check the bike today) the relay is connected like this:

- 86 : Red/yellow from kill switch (relay trigger wire).
- 85 : Ground (frame).
- 30 (or 36 on some relays): Power from battery or starter relay bolt).
- 87 : Power to coils.


Btw, even if you install the relay and it seems to fix the problem, it's still a good idea to check all wiring, connections and switches related to the coils - there's a reason you're only seeing 9.5V.
Also if you only had 9.5V to the coils before you will only have 9.5V on the relay trigger wire (red/yellow), it may or may not be enough to thrigger the relay.

Thanks Mike, I think you may be right about the relay not being energized, there is power coming in but nothing coming out. I just can't figure out why. The way I have it wired looks correct, but apparently can't be since it's not working. The relay is a sealed one from eastern beaver motorsports so it should be appropriate for the application.

Dan, I was just editing when you posted, not sure if you could see my post then, still believe you mixed up 86 and 87.

I just went outside and switched the 86 and 87 terminals around. Still 12.88V going into the relay and 0v coming out. Now I'm starting to get really confused. I think I'll go down to the parts store tomorrow and pick up a cheap relay to try instead of the one that's on there now. Maybe that's my problem. I don't know why, but I don't think it is getting energized. Thanks for your help so far though.

If you have power to 86 and power to 30 (36) it does indeed sound like a defective relay.

Simple test: with trigger wire (red/yellow) connected to 86, ground connected to 85 and the kill switch on you should hear the relay click when you turn the ignition key to on and there should be continuity between 30 (36) and 87 - if the relay doesn't click and there's no continuity the relay is bad.

dsp wrote: Hi,
I have a problem I hope you some of you electrical gurus can help me out with. I recently decided to power the coils on my 82 GPZ 550 with a new relay circuit since they were currently only getting 9.5V. I bought one of the 30a relays and wired it as follows: #85 to engine ground, #30 power to relay starter bolt w/inline fuse, #87 yellow/red wire from kill switch, #86 power to coils. Now instead of getting 9.5v to the coils I am getting 0v. I am wondering if the relay is bad since I am getting battery voltage into the relay(checked with a voltmeter probe where the power comes in at #30) but nothing coming out any of the other prongs of the relay. I originally had it grounded to the case where the battery ground is, then I switched it to a cleaned spot on the frame thinking that may make a difference but to no avail. The bike has a dyna S ignition on it. The red wire from the dyna is now connected to the wire coming from #86 and going to the coils. Is it possible the relay could be bad even though it is brand new? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Dan

when you turn the key/ign on does the relay click? do you have #30 connected to the hot side of starter relay?

dsp wrote: Hi,
I have a problem I hope you some of you electrical gurus can help me out with. I recently decided to power the coils on my 82 GPZ 550 with a new relay circuit since they were currently only getting 9.5V. I bought one of the 30a relays and wired it as follows: #85 to engine ground, #30 power to relay starter bolt w/inline fuse, #87 yellow/red wire from kill switch, #86 power to coils. Now instead of getting 9.5v to the coils I am getting 0v. I am wondering if the relay is bad since I am getting battery voltage into the relay(checked with a voltmeter probe where the power comes in at #30) but nothing coming out any of the other prongs of the relay. I originally had it grounded to the case where the battery ground is, then I switched it to a cleaned spot on the frame thinking that may make a difference but to no avail. The bike has a dyna S ignition on it. The red wire from the dyna is now connected to the wire coming from #86 and going to the coils. Is it possible the relay could be bad even though it is brand new? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Dan

You'll have an issue with your battery overcharging with the low voltage condition. Check the connector at your regulator/ rectifier, the brown wire. If this also has a voltage drop, compared to battery voltage, you will overcharge as this is the sense wire for the R/R. Please fix your poor connections and clean your contacts on your switches so the electrical works properly. Ditch the Coil Mod.

As OnkelB said, 85 and 86 are your relay control connections. One must be grounded, the other gets 12v from the kill switch.

30 and 87 are the contact connections. One shoud get power from the battery or starter solenoid terminal. The other goes to the coils and ignition.

Because the Dyna S uses more power than the stock system, one coud make an argument for using a relay with a Dyna S system. But I would probably still prefer cleaning/replacing switches, contacts, and upgrading wires. Relays do fail, and can potentially chatter at certain RPMs, which will drop voltage but will be very difficult to diagnose.

PROBLEM SOLVED! Apparently the issue was my own stupidity. On my bike the yellow/red wire coming from the kill/starter switch is not the same yellow/red wire that powered the coils(I didn't look close enough at the factory diagram), so I was not getting any power from a switched source, just power from the battery at #30. Once I spliced into the right red/yellow wire the whole thing worked like a charm. I now get 12V at the coil instead of 9.5V. The bike definitely starts easier.
I had to switch the wiring on 86 and 87 back to the way I had it originally, it wouldn't work the other way around. Thank you guys for all your help, I feel like a real idiot for wasting your time.

Motor Head wrote:

You'll have an issue with your battery overcharging with the low voltage condition. Check the connector at your regulator/ rectifier, the brown wire. If this also has a voltage drop, compared to battery voltage, you will overcharge as this is the sense wire for the R/R. Please fix your poor connections and clean your contacts on your switches so the electrical works properly. Ditch the Coil Mod.
[/quote]

I plan on ditching the whole wiring harness. This mod was only to keep the bike running better in the short term until I finish with the new harness. I have taken apart and cleaned every connection and still have a low voltage condition. The connections really didn't appear to be corroded, but I have found numerous spots where the insulation is brittle and cracking. Old wiring can drive you insane and I would rather just get rid of it and the headaches it causes.

Dan