How do I test a turn signal relay?

My turn signals don't flash, how do I test my turn signal relay? The main thing, I need to get the bike ready to pass inspection but I am 350 miles away. I have the relay and cancel relay with me to test, I want to be sure that when I go home I can just plug in the correct part working part without buying new unneeded parts.

 

I don't know how to test the cancel relay off hand cuz I don't have my schematic.. I hooked up my flasher (3 prong) to 12v dc to see if it clicks over.. I put a ground on "C" and touched the positive to "L" and "B"... it was clicking over... I had to tap it several times to jar it loose.. so I opened it up and took a acid brush with isopropyl alcohol and cleaned it and the connections. There's a big Capacitor, Resistor, and the wire winding to create a magnetic field to make the relay click over.... the cap will charge and discharge... creating the on/off for the lights.. DO NOT touch the capacitor with bare hands.. That thing looks big enough to kill you... especially if it crosses your heart.. if you don't understand electricity then just leave it alone and try it without taking it apart... you'll hear it click

 

When it was on the bike I heard the initial click when I turned the lights on, should it do anything else? I took it apart and the metal arm thing moves fine and everything looks nice and clean.

 

make sure that your light bulbs are the correct ones. If they don't draw enough current, your relay will not cycle. Also, common culprits are dirty contacts in the bulb sockets, or the turning signal switch.

if all else fails.. a while ago I posted a message about tweaking the relay a bit to make it work in some cases:

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=6951/highlight=relay.html#57125

 

I wondered if my new universal turn signals might be the problem so I plugged in my old ones that worked before and had the same problem. The old signals did give me the same problem for one day last year but then started working again on their own.

Oh, mine is the capacitor relay.

 

I had one that worked and one that didn't... I'm using after market lights.. no issue.. I tore the one that didn't work apart. What was happening is the cap would charge and click the relay over... however, it was not grounding and discharging the cap... therefore leaving my lights on full time.. I unsoldered one lead of the resistor to ohm it out.. ohmed fine at 150 ohms.. therefore the problem with mine lies in the windings.. there are small ones under the big windings that are lined with some kind of old spray on insulation.. these were shorted out and not providing a ground for the cap to discharge.. the cap is fine because I hooked it up to a huntron tracker ( i work in an electronics testing facility)... anyway, I was hoping it was the resistor cuz you can get that at radioshack.. so.. I just threw it away... long story short... when you hook it up.... it should click on and off

 

I remember it clicking once :lol: Do you think I can test it with a battery off the bike since I don't have the bike here?

 

sure... just be careful man.. 12v batterys have unlimited amounts of current that can kill... it's not the voltage, but the current that kills....

 

I'm sorry man!! I was wrong.. i thought that it would click on and off (it physically looks like an oscillating tank circuit) if hooked up to a battery... I hooked up my good one and it just clicks on.. Now looking at the schematic and there's a lot more to all of this with the flash cancel unit and the actual switch.. Can you mail the thing to where the bike is and have someone test it for you? I carry extras because these relays aren't sealed and exposed to the elements

 

I can send it home and have my dad test it but this is the unit off the bike so already now what the outcome will be. I pulled the flasher relay and brought it back to college with me (along with my 2 spare cancel relays).

I would like to test the signal relay and replace it if it is bad, then have my dad test the bike with the new relay. If the relay tests good then I want to test the cancel unit (although what’s the chance that both my extra one are bad as well?).

Maybe I will just buy a known good used one, plug it in and go from there.