indicator fault

[chris_blake]

 i have a problem with my right hand front flasher not working the rear is rapid flashing  the bulbs are good as are the connectors  does the flasher unit  work left and right seperatly or is there anything else i need to check i seem to be getting a lot of electrical problems since getting the bike  in the last 4 months ihave replaced the battery coil ht leads and plugs should i change any other parts before they let me down bike 1986 mono thanks in advance

[Bob_Roller]

Chris, you mentioned that the right rear light flashes rapidly, does the left side flash at the same rate, or is it slower ? Rapid flashing is usually a sign of high resistance in the circuit.
  I don't know your mechanical aptitude, but if you take a volt meter and measure the voltage at the center contact of the bulb socket, it is the 'hot' wire, it has 12 volts when the light flashes.
  The other wire should be brown, it is the ground connection, and contacts the metal base of the bulb. Check for continuity between the side contact of the bulb socket and a good ground somewhere on the frame, or the ground connection for the battery at the transmission.
  Have you swapped bulbs to confirm that it isn't faulty ?
  Is the tip of the bulb making contact with the center contact in the bulb holder ? I think you can pull it out a bit to make sure it hasn't been pushed in too far.

[chris_blake]

bob the left side isflashing as it should the bulbs are good  as are connectors i shall try testing tonight have to remember hand signalsagain trouble is nobody else seems to know what they mean anymore did you have any thoughts on replacing other suspect items thanks for your help who ever set up this site should get a medal cheers chris

[Justin B.]

A general rule of thumb is one side flashing fast means the "system" thinks there is a bulb out on that side, or high resistance as Bob indicated.  You have an open circuit to the front turn signal which may be caused by either a defective bulb, bad ground, socket, or associated wiring - just because a bulb may "look" good doesn't mean anything so it's time to get out the meter.  There are no "suspect" things to replace so follow Bob's troubleshooting hints and if nothing pans out then let us know.  Whichever, let us know what you find out.

[NC Steve]

Chris, I recently had the very same thing happen, one side working fine, the other side with a rear signal blinking rapidly and the front not at all. My 1st thought was a bad bulb too, but it didn't appear to have a burned-thru filament.

I opened the front lens, removed the bulb and cleaned it's connecting base, then cleaned the socket with a pencil eraser. Pulled the gas tank and then the flasher unit, wiped it off a bit and firmly reseated it, and everything's been fine since. No parts needed replacing, and I think vibration must have just knocked some electrical connection slightly out of whack.

Good luck!

[chris_blake]

nice tip with the eraser it worked saved some money i was going to order  a new flasher unit  the other question i asked  was not realy about the indicator  it was  is any other electrical item bettter off being replaced before it fails and leaves me stranded as the coil did  i am doing about 400 miles aweek of mostly motorway riding at  the monent so any tips would be great cheers chris