Turn Signal help

Hey all,

So I finally got clearance from the arm surgeon to start riding again (yay), so I decided to swap the bars on my GRiSO out, and I appear to have fixed it until it broke (boo). The swap seemed to go smoothly enough and I didn't have to unplug anything and even got heated grips installed. Now everything works fine except the right front turn signal. Left turn signal works, except it's pulsing very quickly, and the right rear turn signal works, but nothing from the front right. I swapped bulbs with the same result so it's not that. And the dash is displaying a very helpful symbol telling me that the right turn signal isn't working. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

Caleb

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Most likely one of two things. Either the connectors of the non functioning indicators to the loom have been separated or simply moved enough to break the circuit or the wires to the bulb holder in the indicator itself have pulled off.

Getting to the rear connectors is a bit of a pain as they are right up in the arse end of the tail section, front ones are much easier but you'll probably have to pop the tank off.

Pete

Check the bulb first.

Papa - I swapped the bulb first thing to check with the same result (that's about the only mechanical skill in my skillset =)

Pete - Thanks for the advice. I'll tear into it some more this weekend and see if I can trace the wires from the front right to see if they got pulled somewhere.

There has be a lack of current to one side.

IIRC the front signal connectors are up inside the instrument housing. You have to pull the dash off. Most annoying.

I thought they were behind the steering head but I haven't had to mess with indicators for ages so I can't remember!

On most bikes the turn signals work off each other on one side. I would expect one to be flashing faster than the other only to be connected to the same side-ie, if the front left hand bulb is flashing too fast, then the rear left hand bulb isn't working.

Mebbe MG is different but I doubt it.

While the system still works that way the indicators on our bikes are controlled by the dashboard and there is logic in there that causes the rapid flashing if an indicator not working. In this situation it is almost certainly a loose or disconnected connector if the globe isn't shot, (You have stuck a mm across it? The filament can look fine and it can still be OC.)

Pete

Thanks so much for all the help guys! I found the issue late last night after much swearing.

While I was tracing the wire back from the turn signal stalk up to the dash, I noticed a pretty tight kink in the rubber sheath directly behind the headlight and when I peeled the sheath back once of the two wires was crimped nearly through. Put a quick butt connector on there to test and it worked. Going to solder and heat shrink it this weekend.

I really appreciate everyone's help. You really are the most helpful forum I've ever found.

Caleb

Nice work there Caleb!

I've got a similar problem now. Last week my dash displayed a 'LEFT ARROW, X thru bulb' warning.The warning only lasts a few seconds. All of my bulbs are working fine and flash at the normal rate. They are obviously not an open circuit. I removed and cleaned the left side bulbs and sockets (the left rear socket was a little dirty) and everything worked great for two hundred miles. Half way through today's 90 mile ride the same warning reappeared six times. The warning only stays on for about 5 seconds. There aren't any stored faults in the dashboard or ECU diagnostics. I just realized the alarm never appeared while actually using the turn signals. hhmmm

If it reoccurs, you might want to check the wiring inside the taillight housing (pop the seat and it's all tucked in under there). All my blinker warnings have been caused by the birds nest of wires back there.

Thanks beetle,

I remembered I had recently stowed my Dynaplug air compressor in that small space (removed the airbox snorkel) and it's reassuring to have the tire repair on the bike full time. The turn signal alarm started occurring several weeks after I stowed the kit. I just removed the repair kit and rummaged around back there assaulting the connectors and the alarm did not come on. (A little disappointing but good to know the connections are solid) I'm thinking it might be a frayed wire like nwreed had or a lousy connection under the dash housing. I'm not looking forward to exploring those areas but looking at the parts manual to see how the dash comes apart. I have been unable to make this fault appear. It does it on its' own. Oddly, I don't mind the bulb warning as much as I despise the red triangle warning.

Bad, not a broken connector is what causes this. Hunt down all connectors, as Mark says, disconnect and reconnect them, one by one, until you find the problem child. I had similar and it was the connector on the back of the dash, where one of the wires was not fully inserted in the plug/socket on the back of the dash. PITA to find and fix.

Ha Thanks for the encouragement! We are expecting rain soon so I've got an indoor project now.

Accessing the wiring and connectors inside the dash housing will challenge your sanity. I've done it once, and hope to never go there again...

Oh Please I can't take any more encouragement! I can't wait to dig in to it. lol

I've been there around 10 times - no wonder my head's screwed. Easy to pull apart, hard to put back together again - hasten slowly, taking note of how it all fits together - take shots with your phone/camera for reference.

Ok, so despite all the horror stories, I was able to dismantle my instrument pod without too much fuss.
(It's similar to my day job.)
Unfortunately, all of my connectors seemed well connected. I checked both front turn signal cables for broken/intermittent wires. They were fine. I separated all of the connectors while I was there and sprayed all the pins and sockets with contact cleaner (Deoxit). Reconnected and reassembled everything and to my amazement everything works as intended. I don't know if I solved my occasional turn lamp warning but I now know how to get into the pod area. Did some bug splatter removal too.

Each lamp has it's own wire all the way from the dash, pins 22,23,32,33
It will show an error if the lamp is not connected even if not being used, I assume it's passing a small current through the lamp and alarms if this current is missing or the pin Voltage is high.

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Thanks Kiwi_Roy, I noticed on the schematic the wires leading back to the ECU (or maybe inside of it) and thought the problem might be there. I'm not quite ready to pull the tank just yet looking for this occasional issue. My next stop will be the rear connectors again. I'll pull them apart and clean and go from there. Went for a bumpy 40 mile ride last night and no faults. Time will tell but intermittent electrical problems are the worst.

I don't think the direction indicators go to the ECU did you mean the Dash?
Inputs 2 & 12
Outputs 22,23, 32 & 33

Thank you! You are correct. I misread the schematic. All those wires connect to the dash not the ECU.

Now I know how to access those connectors if the fault returns.