Blinker won't blink w/not running [resolved]

So I just arrived home today with my first bike, an '82 XJ650... The only problem I've had with it so far is the right blinker, sometimes works fine, sometimes blinks really slow, and sometimes is steady and won't blink at all. It will sometimes blink 2-6 times before going steady, leading me to believe it's not a switch problem.

I'm fairly sure it has all the correct bulbs. Is it possible the connection to the flasher from the right turn indicators is loose?

From what I've read the flasher is under the gas tank.
I'm no mechanic, I don't want to start taking off things I can't put back on...

Thanks in advance for any replies.

MotoNoob

Edit: I found what I think is the flasher,
It says "Nippondenso 12.8V 27W." When the blinker is doing it's steady no-blink and I jiggle this thing, it starts to blink again... I'm thinking at this point it's a loose electrical connection under the gas tank somewhere...

 

Re: More Turn Signal Problems

There are no right and left leads on the flasher. Check the switch on the handlebars. Use contact cleaner or whatever else you might have. Mine had same symptoms.... And spider webs, spider egg cases, and grease. All in all quite the assortment of detritus! I ultimately wound up having to bend the metal piece that the moving contact attaches to in order to align the contacts squarely and completely. They have worked ever since.

You may want to check the bullet connectors for the signals as you may need to clean them up. Add some dielectric grease to corrosion proof the connectors. Also check to make certain you have solid ground connections to the frame. Did you check to make sure the correct bulbs are installed? The circuit relies on adequate current draw to work.

Good luck! This was a slight PITA to troubleshoot.

 

Re: More Turn Signal Problems

Just came back in from the garage, I moved the gas tank to get at the flasher... I removed the case from the flasher to get a look at the inside... When the light is steady, one tiny little tap on the relay will cause it to click/blink once.. I'm thinking this is a sign to get a new flasher?

I tried taking the switch apart again and bent the contacts, it got me excited when it worked 6 times in a row but it was a fluke...

As for the bulbs, the left front one seems to have a ground attached directly to it, none of the rest do. All appear to be the same size and shape, however the right front has 2 filaments (only one lights up).

And where might I find the bullet connectors?

******Edit: Just took it out for a ride, it doesn't seem to happen when the bike is running... hopefully it will stay this way.******** Thanks for your input wamaxim.

 

Re: More Turn Signal Problems

Bandit, I too recently had signal problems. I also noticed that if I tapped the flasher unit it would occasionally blink.

After a bit of fiddling around, however, I discovered that the right signal would not reliably flash if the bike was not running. Start the bike up, and it begins to flash, although a bit slowly. If I brought the idle up to about 2000-2500 rpms, the signal would act normally.

I think the charging system just can't keep up when it is idling too slowly.

I also noticed that after installing the new fuse box, all signal problems seem to have disappeared.

Just a thought!

 

Re: More Turn Signal Problems

I have the same "problem", when the bike isn't running, there isn't enough current to flash the lights, as soon as its running, no problem. Try cleaning all the connections

 

Re: More Turn Signal Problems

Bandit, it sounds like you are really close. The bullet connectors are the male/female connectors that are single conductor connectors. One end looks kind of like a bullet and the other end looks like the exact fit for the bullet. They corrode over time. Corrosion causes added resistance which ultimately means it will pass less current. Less current means the freakin' flashers don't work.

On my bike there is a ground wire from each turn signal that comes out of the hollow stem and contacts the frame thereby completing the path for current. Checck each one to make sure that they have a reliable connection to an unpainted part of the frame. Or you can do what I did. I cut off the ring on the end of the ground wire and added a bullet connector set(m/f) and ran the other end to the negative terminal of the battery. This insures a good ground.

A little dielectric grease from an auto parts store will keep the connectors from corroding and causing more current problems.

Bending the flexure anchor point so that the contact points met across their entire surface and were flat when they touched was the final piece to the puzzle. Once the above steps were done the problems were gone. The lights flash whether the bike is running or not.

It was a tremendous relief to have reliable signals as I work the night shift and only had my "learners permit" which allowed me to operate my bike outside hours of darkness. Non-working signals are a sure way to get pulled over.

Keep after it. You're close.!

One more thing, change out that 2 conductor lamp for the proper one. The differernce in current draw could be causing problems.

Wamaxim

 

Re: More Turn Signal Problems

I'll go down tomorrow and get a #1156/1157 to replace the dual filament bulb..

In the picture is what I'm assuming to be the ground wire, that's the only signal that has one though. The others could have been modified and better hidden I would imagine, but I'll see if this new bulb works before I go following wires across the bike.

 

Re: More Turn Signal Problems

ON the 650 Seca there are two wires to each front blinker.
The grounds get plugged into a common ground connector in the head light bucket.
The other to the bucket then to the switch.