GEI relay gives up the ghost!

[quazi-moto]

What fun! I was on my way to the antique machinery & motorcycle show in Rhinebeck, NY when my GEI relay took a dump and left me scratching my head on the side of the road. I was an hour & a half away from home, in another state, no cellphone and one dead Guzzi. I decided to improvise, adapt and overcome by playing the shell game with my relays. I found a combination that allowed me to get the bike started, but I was now minus a headlight, stoplight and tach. I limped the old girl back to New Jersey, but by this time it was breaking up and popping as if a gorilla had pee'd in the gas tank. All of the sudden it died again. For good this time. I don't know if I roasted another relay or if something else got cooked because I rode back with no headlight. I thought I still had the original Siemens relays stashed away in a safe place, but they're nowhere to be found so I'm S.O.L. for now. I had hoped to make it back home so I could do a little substitution testing, but no such luck. I had to trailer the bike home and now I can't find my original relays. Does anyone have experience with relay upgrades for these bikes? Have a favorite relay? Bosch, Tyco, GEI or whatever? I thought that the GEI was supposed to be the baboon's keister, but now I'm not so sure.

[Guest ratchethack]

Quazi, sorry about your trouble, my friend.

 

Now I'm no electrical Whiz by any stretch, but depending on the socket(s) in which it was used, this doesn't sound to me like the GEI is necessarily at fault. AFAIK, such a failure would be a first under the symptoms you've described. Not to say it's impossible, but there could well be other causes than relays under these circumstances. Dan "The Guzzi Relay Man" Prunuske has done extensive research on the GEI relays, as well as on the others you've mentioned. (I personally run all 3 that you've mentioned, with the GEI in the START socket, and carry a Tyco as a spare -- haven't yet had an opp to use it.)

 

I don't know that there's anyone of comparable expertise to Dan who's been as focused on relays specifically used in Guzzis and the particular current and switching demands that Guzzi's put on 'em. I believe the GEI to be the best known choice for our purposes based on Dan's thorough expert analysis. Are the GEI's flawless and indestructible? Well, no. Wot electronic component is?! There's always room for improvement, and IMHO Dan's on the beam. At the moment, lacking evidence of the existence of any relay better for our needs than the GEI, he's considering manufacturing his own even higher amperage relays, per the FAQ's on his Web site.

 

I would suggest enlisting Dan's willing expertise in diagnosing this, regardless of where you've sourced your GEI relay. Dan's time is valuable and he's not always immediately available, but I'm sure he will address this to your satisfaction as promptly as his schedule allows. In my experience, he's always been ready, willing, and able to help in situations such as this. He has openly requested feedback and input. I'm sure he'd welcome an inquiry and will of course honor his guarantee if it turns out the relay failed and you bought your relay from him.

 

"Every relay we sell is guaranteed forever."

 

http://www.dpguzzi.com/relay.htm

 

Good luck, and by all means please post back with the results of your diagnosis.

[dlaing]

The GEI relay is not necessarily of the highest QUALITY.

But it is of the highest amp rating for its size that Dan or I could find.

The amp rating is only critical for the starter relay on the early V11s.

It sounds like your ECU or FI relay went bad and that you swapped it for the starter relay.EDIT Now that I think about it you probably swapped the bad to the headlight relay.

If you swap it for the kickstand relay your headlight should work and you will simply have to keep your kickstand up if you intend to run the engine.

If you send the relay back to Dan, or simply email him, he will certainly send you a replacement. (back when he was selling Bosch, he offered to replace my bad one)

In the meantime, or if you have lost faith in the mighty GEI, I am sure someone can recommend a Tyco or Radio Shack or whatever.

[Ouiji Veck]

The question is "Where do they go?"

I had 4 Siemens and 3 GEIs pack their bags

and move out in the middle of the night.

Is this how Dans getting rich?

Homing relays?

[dlaing]

The question is "Where do they go?"

I had 4 Siemens and 3 GEIs pack their bags

and move out in the middle of the night.

Is this how Dans getting rich?

Homing relays?

Las Vegas?

[quazi-moto]

I doubt very much that Dan is getting rich selling relays. In fact he has already offered to send some replacements "on the house" so it appears to me that this must be a labor of love for him. He also got whacked by a deer recently while out riding and broke his leg. There's no way I'm going to harp on Dan about these GEI relays. It could have just been a rare occurence on my bike that one (possibly two) failed. I should clarify what actually took place. I had been cruising at a steady speed approaching route 9 in Dutchess Co., NY when suddenly it felt like the kill switch cut the motor just for an instant. I pulled up to a stop for a traffic light and when the light changed I started to accelerate, but the bike was breaking up a little as I changed up through the gears. It almost seemed to clear itself up and then it totally crapped out on me so I got off the highway and rolled into a parking lot. I thought to myself that perhaps the MY15M was toast, but since I had the Optimiser connected I checked for some readings on the LCD display and everything looked pretty much kosher so I moved on to the relays. I was unaware of which relay did what so I just played musical relays until I found a combo that allowed me to get the bike started. I did notice that with certain combinations that the starter motor would not even crank. To me (non-electrical bozo that I might be) this confirmed that indeed one of the GEI relays had gone south for the summer. Had I realized that I might have been able to start the bike with the sidestand up using a different relay combo I would have proceeded back home that way. Instead I rode back (almost) home with no headlight, etc. I would tend to think that the voltage regulator should be able to cope with the added alternator output, but I'm just hoping that I didn't cook anything on the trip back (almost) home. I'm going to try Radio Shack for a few relays and see what happens. The replacement GEI's should be here later this week. I'll keep the forum posted with my results.

[GuzziMoto]

No headlight should be easier on the regulator rectifier. Sounds like you've got electron issues. Not to sound stupid, but check your basics like ground, alternator output, etc.

[Ouiji Veck]

Mmmmmm. I dunno.....ol' Dan charged me a whole $8.70 for three of 'em..

Sent those to my old address and shot another 3 out to this address.

He's gotta be rollin' in dough.

 

I'm locking these 3 in the safe. Frickin' homing relays.......

[dean rose]

Mmmmmm. I dunno.....ol' Dan charged me a whole $8.70 for three of 'em..

Sent those to my old address and shot another 3 out to this address.

He's gotta be rollin' in dough.

 

I'm locking these 3 in the safe. Frickin' homing relays.......

 

I keep a full set of the GEIs in my topcase when traveling.

[callison]

I was going to say it sounds like your regulator was bad but things pretty much kept working on your bike after switching relays around so that isn't as likely. You might want to start looking for loose connections though starting with the battery ground cable. Just a thought...

 

Homing relays. Gotta love Guzzi humor!

[Ray]

Ironically this happened to me last month, likely on the same road, as I was heading north to Albany on the Taconic Parkway in Chatham. A Bosch, the starter relay as I remember, died as I was riding, and I lost my tach and headlight. I really noticed when one cylinder cut out, and the motor shortly died. When you lose this relay, you also seem to lose your alternator, and you run straight off the battery. I charged the battery up, replaced a relay with one of Dan's GEI's, and it's been running fine. Just keep spares with you, they don't take up too much room, tape them in there if you have to... Lesson learned... I ordered a full set of five from Dan, I'll give you one this weekend if you need it pronto.

[GuzziMoto]

That's a good point. I do believe the regulator references off the head light circut.

[quazi-moto]

Ray, that would relate directly to my scenario. The battery seems to have lost a lot of juice and if I try to crank the starter I just get clicking from the relay. I'll have to pull it out and charge it up. I'm glad yours has been running well, that's a good sign. I guess I rode home with a total loss electrical system then!

 

 

BTW: Dan is sending me a new set of relays. Should be here any day now.