Indicator light - troubleshooting..

Hi,

Quick intro, I'm Johannes from Norway. Have owned a few bikes over the years (the previous one being a Honda Blackbird) but just got myself an 1983 XJ900 after a few years without a bike.

The bike is in pretty decent shape, but on a bike this old there is always something to fix or improve..

Right now I'm struggling a bit with the indicator lights. The bike is fitted with a clever but completely useless "self canceling" system which I'm not familiar with.

Here's the problem. The LEFT indicators are OK. When I use the RIGHT indicator, 8 times out of 10 nothing happens.

However if I turn on the LEFT indicators, and then immediately flick the switch over to the RIGHT position, they work every time. So I don't think there is a poor connection or a fault with the switch itself.

I guess the fault either lies with the self cancelling module or with the indicator relay.. Any suggestions as to what I should look for? Is this a common problem?

Cheers!

 

Start with the basics. Check bulbs/ connections, clean contacts in switch and make sure connections are tight there as well. Make sure you have the correct bulbs also.

 

Thanks for the answer.

The bike is 100% stock. I figured that if there was a poor connection somewhere, the indicators would only work now and then. However the RIGHT indicators work every single time with no exception, as long as I momentarily flick the switch to LEFT first.

It's almost as if the indicator relay gets "charged up" when I use the LEFT blinkers. And once charged, the RIGHT blinkers are fine. Very strange!

I will of course do a check of the basics first, but my gut feeling says that this has to do with the special self cancelling feature..

 

You are suffering from a common signal failure issue, and it is called "operator error".................you are NOT supposed to go directly from left to right (or vice-versa) blinker position with the thumb lever. The proper procedure is to after engaging (either side), then allow the handle to return to center, and, if you wish to cancel the blinker, push straight in (forward) on the thumb lever. Even if the signal self-cancels (during normal riding), you should push it straight in before selecting the next left or right signaling event.

The straight-in push of the lever releases the spring "catch" inside the sliding terminal bar within the control switch. Although you can move the lever without releasing this catch, it puts undue strain on the catch mechanism, and can cause the somewhat-fragile "leaf" or "finger" copper terminals to get "all bent out of shape", with the results that you are having.

Solution 1: open up the control switch and observe/gently bend the copper "finger" terminals back into their proper orientation.

Solution 2: get in the HABIT of ALWAYS pressing straight-in on the thumb lever BEFORE selecting left or right signal position. The inward push releases the spring-loaded catch, and now the slider is ready for left or right engagement. PUSH-IN >>> RELEASE >>> SELECT LEFT or PUSH-IN >>> RELEASE >>> SELECT RIGHT


Having to hold the lever fully over to the left or right position is an indication that the internal contacts (within the switch housing) may be wonky. There is a "two-armed" contact that can get bent, or, the slider contacts may have gotten dirty and/or the solder connections to the slider contacts have broken or become loose:

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/turn-signal-switch-question-w-photo.61051/#post-453580

and

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/electrical-challenges.53983/page-2

The first link above has a good image of the copper contact "arms" that can get bent, and will thus no longer make contact with the brass "button" contact on the bottom of the pivoting lever arm (one button contact on each side of the lever arm), while the second link has some good images of the slider assembly.

 

It doesn't

Open the control (screws are on the botom) and clean the swich with electrical contact cleaner.

 

Thanks for the input guys. Haven't had a chance to open and clean up the switch assy yet, but hopefully this will solve the problem.

Not buying the "operator error" explanation though. I've had 6 bikes prior to the XJ (so I know how to use the indicator switch) and I never had any issues with the indicators on any previous bikes..
However since I'm unfamiliar with the self-cancelling mechanism I followed the advice of "cancelling" the indicators a few seconds before flicking the switch over to the right side. Didn't help much..

Anyway, I'll clean her up and look for copper conductors that are bent out of shape!