Turn Signal problems

Ive read these forums quite a bit and finally decided to join after my problem started. It seems like everyone in here shares some great knowledge. My problem began when i changed my handlebars. Everything worked fine before i changed them. I swapped them out and went for a test ride and no turn signals. Ok figured something simple I disconnected a harness or blew a fuse. Everything looks good though. Headlight works horn works brake lights are fine just no turn signals. Anyone have any ideas? I failed to mention my garage was broken into 2 weeks ago and Im still tool deficient at the moment. Im figuring first thing to replace is my tester to check for power to the switch or is there something else i can check out first.

 

What model and year xj are you riding? Mulout

 

Sorry I guess I should have started with that 81 xj 650

 

You might be suffering from corrosion. The contacts wear together after years of mated life and you pulled them apart to swap out handlebars right? Check the contacts and note that they are round pins plugging into a female socket. If the contact inserts at a position that has corrosion on it, it is as good as a broken wire. I've also found the female sockets tend to spread with age (no sniggering here gentlemen). Take a pair of pliers or like tool and gently squeeze the socket back together to renew the contact spring. I am having a similar problem with my Seca's turn signals. The connector between the relay and the handlebar cluster has an intermittent contact where it works for the first 5 minutes and fails thereafter. I'm using my mini blaster to clean the contacts and will be re crimping all of them before greasing them up and reinstalling them.

 

I had to pull my switch apart and clean it. The contacts in there had build up on them. One quick test, can you get the signals to work by jiggling the wire harness where it goes into the switch? Found mine that way, moved it around when I was adjusting the mirrors. No signals. Played with the wire. Signals. So, I tore the switch apart and cleaned everything up. Good luck!

 

Ive had the switch apart a couple of times and was actually cleaner than i had expected but i cleaned it up better. Im going to buy another tester on friday and go back through from battery to harness to make sure i have power all the way to the switch. Do the switches go bad? It looks good no broken or bare wires contacts look ok. Am I right in saying if i only had a broken wire or bad bulb i would have only lost one side instead of both. Where does the ground come from is it through the harness or is it grounded to the handlebars?

 

i had no signals working on my 81 550 and it turned out to be that all three wire had become disconnected at the switch,i had to take the whole control apart ang resolder it but it works well now....

 

trace the wires back.. could be something as simple as a pinched wire? Might have snagged just one on a clamp and that did it.

 

same thing happened to me!!

 

The same thing happened to me with the stretched out bullet connector sockets. I squeezed them together with the pliers and all of a sudden the turn signals were working perfectly. Worked so well I did it to all of the connectors i could find!

 

Ok Thanks Guys looks like tank and headlight are coming off tonight when i get home and im going to go over everything again looking through all the harnesses and wires again

 

Ok update for everyone. Never underestimate your luck or lack thereof. I got a new tester and then found a wiring diagram to start tracing power to the signals. Took out the headlight seat off tank off and started tracing. I had power to the flasher unit. I then took apart the switch and had power to the switch. So i went to the connector in in the headlight housing. No matter what position switch is in no power to the connector. So i started digging into the switch again. I didn't see it before because i never took it completely apart but the brown wire and brown/white had come loose in the very bottom of the switch. Poor solder joints from the factory and popped right off probably when i either slid the controls off or when i put them back on my new handlebars. So i soldered them back on and signals work better than new. Of course while i had it tore down i cleaned up the connectors which definitely didnt hurt anything. Now im back on the road like nothing ever happened.

 

Hey Guys,
I just replaced my steering stem bearings and started putting things back together. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the plugs inside the headlight when I tore it apart. Figured it was a no brainer, match up the colors..........eh.....

My problem is throttle side signal works. Clutch side signal comes on and stays on. won't flash. The throttle side just has a single brown wire. The clutch side has a brown and black wire. I'm not sure where the black wire goes. I've got a number of single wires that are not in use.

My bike is an 82 XJ 650. I assumed the black was maybe a ground. So I tried grounding it and still no flash. Did I miss something or.........

Sean

 

Hi Guys,
Just letting ya'll know the signal problem is solved. Seems there wasn't enough juice in the battery! All that looking around. I wouldn't have guessed since the right side flashed.

Charged the battery and all is fine!

Sean

 

Be sure about that. Sometimes the flasher won't 'flash' if the ground is bad.

 

Thanks Weslely,
Rode the heck out of it the last 6 days! Wife and kids were doing Vacation Bible School in the evenings. Gave me a ton of riding!

No problems at all with the signals. Must have been battery.

Sean

 

all the signals should have 2 wires black being the common ground

 

My flashers will only flash if the bike is running. Always been that way, new battery or old. Not all turn signals have two wires.....some are grounded simply by being bolted to the bike as a ground, and the wire is the hot lead. Others that are rubber-insulated or mounted will have a ground wire, and some may have a turn signal and parking filaments, and then either the base ground or the insulated ground wire. There are a number of different things that you can find.

YMMV,

dave fox