New to your ride and a blinker is not working?Check this out

So you just got a new ride and a 1 or more blinkers are not lighting up or blinking. Take a breath and check a few things before you tear apart the wiring and flasher relay. These simple tips may not fix your problem, but don't tear you bike apart for no reason just yet...

A ) Make sure all the bulbs are present, not burnt out or loose

B ) Make sure all the bulbs are the same and/or correct type

C ) Feel free to do a quick check for loose wires, damaged wires and/or blown fuses.

I would like to touch on point B which was my and several other owner's issue. When purchased my rear right lit up but did not blink and the front right did not light up at all. After doing A & C i figured out the long & hard way I had the wrong type of blinker assembly (a variation of tip B above).

The PO (previous owner) had replaced the front right blinker with an aftermarket-OEM-looking blinker assembly and installed it quickly to sell the bike.

Originally my ride came with single filament (1156 bulbs with a single metal contact on the bottom of the bulb). The PO replaced it with an assembly using more a modern dual filament (1157 bulb with two contacts on the bottom). [These are used on modern/rewired bikes to give front amber running lights as well as blinkers - if wired/grounded properly this shouldn't be a problem].

My solution was to replace the "guts" of the blinker socket. The guts consist of the wires connected to the round base inside the bulb socket and the spring. To replace the guts I went to an auto store and bought a replacement single filament bulb assembly and took out the guts.

Whether it be 1156 or 1157 bulb sockets, they need to be grounded (I think but definitely for 1156). The ground (typically black on our XJs) should be soldered to the base of the blinkers bulb socket somewhere. As a temporary fix, I wrapped several inches of exposed ground wire around and thru the base of the bulb.

This simple but annoying rigging, happened to fix my and other member's problems.

My fix and the suggestions I made above may not fix your non-blinking non-led bulbs but it's a good start before you totally tear apart your wiring or buy a new flasher relay.

When I fix another one or properly ground the socket, I can attach pictures of the guts and my repair.

EDIT: To clarify and simplify what I needed to do... My PO installed an 1157 aftermarket blinker assembly). He connected one wire to the front blinking wire and one to the ground. (The cheap/basic bulb assembly assumed you'd get ground via the frame mounting). I removed the guts and installed an 1156 assembly inside the light housing and wired and ground it properly. There is nothing wrong with and 1157 blinker assembly as long as you wire it correctly!!).

 

Minor Update:

To clarify my as-purchased non-blinking front right blinker was wired incorrectly and NOT grounded. (Hot and ground were connected to one of each of the bulb's filaments but no grounding).

Check to see if you dual filament blinker is ground and wired for blinking.

I'm a bigger fan of actual grounds vs. JUST grounding off the lights mountings. What if the frame/mount point are painted or insulated in some other manner? Well guess what no ground.

 

8O

 

Re: New to your ride and a blinker is not working?Check this

your right metal bob on the grounds if the bulb is good always check the grounds and connections before anything else. if you have duel filament bulbs front running lights when you put that blinker on and the whole bulb goes out until you turn the flasher off its a bad ground. had alout of customers come to me scratching their heads on that one

 

Re: New to your ride and a blinker is not working?Check this

i had the same problem with my xj550 max and is was a lead that came un-sodderd in the control cluster on the bars.

 

Re: New to your ride and a blinker is not working?Check this

My xj750 had a problem with the right turn sig not blinking. Cleaned sockets and fresh bulbs. Everything worked just right for 2 whole days :x

I pulled the seat off and found the PO had put inline fuses (glass tubes) with bullet connectors.

I opened every connector, inspected and reseated each. Now my blinker works dandy.

 

I'm having this issue now also on an xj 550 I just bought. The blinkers worked when I bought it, adjusted handlebars, then only the left worked. Wiggle turn signal wires about six inches below controls, usually toward handle bars, and they worked. Used electric tape to fasten them up to the bars and they worked until I took my tank off and replace the choke cable. Now I can't get them to work at all. Opened signal switch, some grime, rust, cobwebs in there. Not sure if it's something in the switch (hence the moving of wires to work) or if the wire has a short somewhere in it's length. Fuses appear good still. Them working previously makes me think the bulbs and grounds at the bulbs are ok. Any thoughts?

 

original fuse boxes can "look" good and still cause gremlins.

if you wiggled wires and they worked, that could be a bad/broken/loose wire.

if you took apart controls/moved you may have lost the ground. Most of these bikes get ground to the controls thru the handle bar. Make sure the handlebar is still grounded at the connection as well as the controls (ie no paint over connections).

recheck the bulbs, make sure they didn't blow.

try running the bike. you battery might be low = no blink

 

Thanks for the information Metal_Bob, when moving the wire toward and touching the handlebars, it did go through my mind that maybe it was getting a ground that way, so now I have a better idea of where to look. Thanks!

Mac