Turn Signals Won't Stay On

Greetings all.
Think I know the answer to this one, but since I'm on vacation with the bike I don't want to spend any more time messing with it than I have to. The turn signals will only work if the switch is held either right or left of center. If you hold the switch to either side, the signals will happily blink away. Until you let the switch go. Then they go out.

So, am I looking at the turn signal unit, which I can't fix on the road, or some gunk in the handlebar switch, which I can look at?

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

Paul

 

crud ect in the switch i guess , one can pull it apart and relube it [it has a off center notch in it]

 

Get yourself a cheap can of WD40 and pull the switch apart. Douse internals heavily, scub with cheap hotel toothbrush, rinse and blot off excess with hotel lounge cocktail napkin. Reassemble. Thats all I got for you if your on the road. Sorry buddy.

 

Hoonz & Robert,

Thanks, that pretty much parallels my thinking. Fortunately for me, I'm in Vancouver with family about, so I have access to more resources. Will be taking the switch apart and see if I can clean it up a bit.

Take care,
Paul

 

You may find that the switch is in fact broken, I'd be scouting for a replacement unit first thing just in case.

 

Could this possibly be the self-cancelling unit? I am not certain what bike you have but it seems plausible that the s/c unit could be cancelling your signal prematurely. A quick test would be to unplug it and try the signals - on my bike the s/c unit is mounted under the tank.

Rob

 

Good call Fraps! Very possible, pity I'm short sighted, thanks.

 

I think Tupper runs an XJ1100 from memory.

 

Fraps and Hired_Goon

The bike in question is and 81 XJ650, but I do run an 80 XS1100 myself. The Maxim is being ridden by my daughter. It could well be the self cancelling unit, and I had to move it to install the accel coils before I left Cincinnati. Could be that I didn't get something re-connected correctly, or the unit doesn't like being where it is.

Since I can't do much about the unit while I'm gone, I'll try working on the switch.

One last bit of weirdness: Tonight as I was ferrying the bike around Vancouver, I held the switch to the left for quite a while, I'd guess in excess of 30 seconds. The turn signals flashed as they should, but when I let the switch go to make my turn, then continued to flash, and then self cancelled as they should. Things that make you go Hmmmmmm.

Thanks all!

 

Sounds like a corrosion issue. By holding the contact closed for an extended period of time and getting the circuit to perform as advertised tells us that the circuit is sound. I'd suggest pulling the switch apart and clean the gunk out of the switch (but I already said that so I feel silly at this point).

 

The very small circuit board inside the handswitch has three wires soldered into copper contacts. Several of us have had the corrosion eat the solder out and the wires are just sitting inside the contact covered with grayish-white dust. They will pull right out. We removed the wires (take a picture on a digital camera with an LCD playback screen) cleaned them up with some flux, and resoldered them back in place. A soldering gun & rosin core solder (and some electronics soldering flux if you have it) can be found locally. If this can't be done where you are, you can use hand signals to get you home (or to a local electonics repair shop where they may either let you borrow the tools, or solder it for a few bucks.)