Turn Signals give me turbo?

1981 xj650H Maxim. The bike runs quite boggy, slowly climbing to 55, 60 max. I hit the turn signal though and it gets a boost of speed/power and almost feels like it "should". Major boost with the left one flashing, boosting when on, going to sucky(technical term) when off, boost on, sucky off, rinse and repeat.. The right turn does the same, but not as noticeable, not always flashing, usually just stuck in the lit position. The horn, again, the same, but way less noticeable. The power boost only seems to occur when actually powering forward also. When sitting there idle there is not any difference when turns are on or off...

There is obviously some sort of electrical issue, but what could it be? Anyone else have the same or similar problem?

Update, was nto noticeable in day light, but now that it is dark, the neutral light also faintly flashes in conjunction with the left turn. Just barely enough to notice at in dark.

So, bad ground? anyone know of a good starting point?

Duane

 

mine looses power and slows way down when the brake light comes on

 

so you also have an electrical issue... but it loses when it is ON, so it must be a short somewhere along the brake cable. I've never seen a short when a light lights, actually adding power...

In your case I would check the brake light harness and make sure there are not any breaks in the line, cracking or corroded connections/grounds.

Another question for you, is the brake light full brightness, or is it obviously dim?

My turns are on full brightness when they activate...

Duane

 

ha ha. :mrgreen:

 

Hahaha. I did not click. He DID say loses power and not speed though. Was that intended to be a joke? because if so it would have been better with LOSES SPEED... )

Scratch that. he does also say speed. Polock, you sarcastic sob. )

 

No ideas?

 

sorry guy sometimes i just can't help it
kidding aside , first look for some mods someone made to the wiring, electrical tape is a clue, the headlight bucket is a good place to start
while your in there unplug and replug all the connectors a few times, and get some electrical joint compound (EJC) in them
look under the tank for tape and do those connectors
check where the wires bend by the steering neck, cables too
sooner or later your going to want to change the fuse panel (everyone happy now)
theres some connectors around the air box/battery and the tci/voltage regulator check them and grease them
should be a ground strap from the engine to the frame
if you get frisky and get in the controls on the bars watch for tiny parts jumping out
do you have a wiring diagram ? i think your going to need one

 

definitely get a wiring diagram. Sounds like you have a short that is shorting out one of your coils, then when you hit your signals the coil kicks in.

 

Clever... Very clever indeed.

Actually this sounds suspiciously like a grounding problem.

 

OK. Tested the coils. low side(small wire side) is showing resistance of 3.0-3.1 and 24.95 on the high side(plug wire side), within range. The temp is 80F(26C).

There has been a rigged plug wire on the left side coil(spliced with an electrical connector) and I pulled the plug boot off of one and found the evil green corrosion inside the wire, not a lot, copper is still copper colored...

So, have both coils gone out equally on the low side? or is it something else? If it is a bad ground, where would I begin?

I would hate to buy new coils and have them not be the source... Getting pricey and wondering how much more money I can dump...

Suggestions?

 

Began going through the connections and other mods, thanks Pollock. As you can see above I have tested the coils, what do ya think Phil?

I am gonna try to finish the wire checking tomorrow. How should repairs be made? Should I be replacing the entire section if something is corroded? or just connectors?

I have wiring diagrams, but I am no engineer. ) They are total greek to me.

Duane

 

And be careful with the factory wiring diagrams, too......they're not always as pure as driven snow.

Actually......your coils are OUT-of-spec on the primary side....max is 2.75 ohms (spec calls for 2.5 ohms +/- 10%)

On the secondary side, if you tested the resistance WITH the plug end caps still on, then you're possibly in spec. If you tested them with the plug wire caps OFF, those coils should be outta there! (spec is 11K +/- 20%)

Of course, you would still need to test the plug cap boots separate and individually and see whether they are in spec, too. (5K +/- 15% I think........).

 

When I replaced my wiring harness the only ground connections I recall were two eye terminals that were under the bolts holding the coils to the frame. Another obvious thing to check would be the ignition module. I believe the CD and/or manual has a procedure for testing. Good luck

Oh yeah just for grins try unplugging the flasher relay and canceler to see if that helps.