no turn signals

[Patrick_Krivacka]

Put my blinker on going home today, noted it was out. then noticed all four are out. What should I check first? thanks

[Bob_Roller]

I'd check the security and condition of the fuses first.

[Patrick_Krivacka]

 where are the fuses?

[Bob_Roller]

Should be under the tank on an '81 year and later bike .

They are in a small black plastic box, with a thumbscrew holding the top on .

[Patrick_Krivacka]

I found a black box with a thumb screw on the fender( remember my bike has been messed with a bit). are there really only two fuses? one white and one blue? I took them out and they seemed alright. not sure what to look for. I took some 600 grit sand paper to them and put them back in but the blinkers still don't work. other?

[Bob_Roller]

The only other major components in the system, are the switch and the relay .

Does the turn directional switch have a tight feel to it, or does it feel kind of limp ?

I'm on my second replacement switch, and both failures were small parts disintegrating inside the switch .

[Patrick_Krivacka]

the switch seems normal to me. were those the right fuses? what would I look for to determine if they were bad? could i replace them with fuses from the auto parts store, or are they a bmw thing? thanks for your fast responses Bob.

[Bob_Roller]

If the fuses aren't melted, corroded, and the holders for the fuses are gripping the fuses tightly, they probably aren't the problem .

[Patrick_Krivacka]

yeah, them seemed fine to my untrained eye. what's next, take the switch apart?

[Bob_Roller]

The switch is not user friendly to take apart .

[Aristotle]

I am just curious, but would patency of the conductors to their termination points also be a consideration in this kind of scenario considering the behaviour of 650's while they are running??....or maybe not??

[Patrick_Krivacka]

i think that's a little over my head. can someone translate?

[nhmaf]

Are you SURE that the fuses are instact (not blown) ?   Look for the little metal strip in the groove that goes from one end of the fuse to the other.
I suppose it could be the relay, but the last time my directionals ALL stopped working at once, it was a bad contact with the fuse and the "fingers" that hold it in the fusebox.   This is a weak point in all these bikes and a simple, fairly cheap upgrade to REALLY improve the reliability is to take the old fashioned fusebox out and replace it with a couple automotive style sealed blade-type fuses - which are much easier to find when on the road and a fuse happens to go.  Just a thought..

[Patrick_Krivacka]

nhmaf, could you give me some details of what kinda' fuses I should look for? I mean size or amps or whatever? I think a switch over to auto fuses is a good idea. How hard is it?

[nhmaf]

It is really quite simple and not expensive.     Monte wrote up a procedure for this with pictures in our wiki.   I highly recommend that you check out the stuff that we have in the wiki section - it is (slowly) growing and you are welcome to add to it as you come up with new ideas, too!
This is a link to the fuse change:
http://www.suraklyn.com/r65_wiki/wikka.php?wakka=BladeFuse

I've done basically the exact same thing on my bike, but with a slightly different fuse holder part#, but which also seals the fuses up from the weather very nicely and use 10A fuses.   IF you are planning to add more electrical accessories than an automotive style fusebox with extra wiring terminals and fuses may be a better options, but to simply make a more reliable replacement for what you have on the stock bike, this works well.