Lights questions

[Milo_357]

I realize that to put "electrical questions" is to make a lot of people run away as fast as they can, but I want to try and hunt down an answer to this problem. Well, two problems...

1) My turn signal lights are on all the time.  They brink when I hit the signal, but they burn steady all the time.

2) When I hit my high beam, all my instruments go out except the high beam light.

Any thoughts?  The guy before me monkeyed with the wiring to add some stuff (crap), and I am steadily removing and rebuilding.

Any ideas what up with the lights??

Dell

[Bob_Roller]

Your turn signals sound like they may have an after market accessory to turn them into running lights as well  as turn signals .

Don't have a wiring diagram handy for your instrument background lighting, I'll look at it when I get home in about 5 hours or so .

[nhmaf]

It could be that the flasher relay is hosed or a wire is disconnected.   Does your turn signal indicator light on the "dash panel" light at all?   I don't think if that was burned out that it would affect the operation of the flasher relay, but it may help with diagnosis.

The high beam thing - do you mean that the headlight remains on but all the other lights, including the dash lights - go out, or are you just talking about the high beam indicator light and the other dash panel lights?

[montmil]

brink[/i] when I hit the signal, but they burn steady all the time.

Any ideas what up with the lights??  Dell

So, your rights brink, eh, Yankee Fryboy? We have ways of making you talk... [smiley=wall.gif]
Must be a Japanese electrical accessory.

If the turn signals have been acting this way since you've had the bike, a PO has obviously done some electrical mods. Only way to find out what's what will be to use a wiring diagram and start back tracking from the turn signals bulbs. Betcha find an odd one. Or two. Or three... brink, brink, brink...

Monte

[nhmaf]

Methinks Monte has had a Shiner Bock or three this evening! ;-)

[Bob_Roller]

I just checked the wiring diagram.

If the wiring hasn't been'molested' by a previous owner, the headlight switch has no control over the instrument indicator lights, it's a straight run from the fuse to the indicators .

Sounds like you have some searching to do for this one .

[montmil]

Methinks Monte has had a Shiner Bock or three this evening! ;-)

Guilty as charged, your honor-ship. But just two Lennies Summer Wheat.  [smiley=beer.gif]

[Justin B.]

Whenever I've had strange stuff like this happen on cars it's been a bad/open ground somewhere and a circuit "finding" it's ground through other bulbs/components, etc.

[Milo_357]

I just checked the wiring diagram.

If the wiring hasn't been'molested' by a previous owner, the headlight switch has no control over the instrument indicator lights, it's a straight run from the fuse to the indicators .

Sounds like you have some searching to do for this one .

I fear 'molested' may be too polite a term for what the previous owner may have done to this poor bike.  I've been slowly returning to factor specs for months now.

Bob made an interesting comment about aftermarket running lights.  That make some sense.  The PO sure liked extra lights, and there is a set of forward running lights too.

nhmaf: To clarify, when I am running in the dark, and turn on my high beams, the odometer and speedometer console lights go. The High beam light stays on, the generator light will glow occasionally (I am going to change out the brushes next weekend), and the blinkers do work. I think.

Fir what it's worth, I really like the current Sam Adams Seasonal they have out right now.  I'd buy it year round if they would make it...  

[scottyintex]

Now if just the turn signals worked as running lights...no other problems...I would leave it alone. I actually like the idea of extra lights. But then I don’t like to ride at night. I live in the rural Texas Hill country where the deer population out numbers people five to one....at least. So far I have managed to run over my five... but never on a cycle.  A dark, moonless night on a roller coaster road with lots of curves... and deer....not idea for a motorcycle. In this deep drought the deer graze the bar ditches looking for that last blade of green grass. Nothing like popping over a hill and finding a  herd of white tail in the road.

[wa1udg]

Deer are just big rodents.  The posh folks here  love Bambi ''till Bambi starts eating their expensive "plantings", then they demand "something be done".  At close range, and these big rodents aren't much afraid of people, a JHP .45 does wonders.  

I once saw a Volvo 140 which had the engine reinstalled without the engine ground strap.  The "best"  ground  path  at that point was the clutch cable.  Welded it together.  

[airhead27]

Check the blue accessory connector 81-84' under the tank, it is left disconnected by the factory and is used for aftermarket accessory lights high/ low beam, if the previous owner attached the running lights to this connector it will effect  the electrical system if not properly hooked up.

[benlawlor85]

I would just go thought everything first, trying to see if any connectors look odd are shouldnt be there. i had lots of things added to mine, a buzzer for the indicators which was wired using one of those awful connects that cuts into the wire!! That soon found the bin! Good luck.
Thinking about it could it not be the indocator switch wired wrong, so the off position is on, and the on left or right flashes it... hard to explain what i mean but i would start there. working with a wiring diagram.

[Dizerens5]

Scotty you are not alone. Plenty of people have slammed into deer in Richmond Park (in London). On a motorcycle, it hurts! A friend did it and fetched up in hospital.