Turn Signal Trouble Shooting

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and have problem that I need your help on.

I purchased a 1982 XJ550 about 2 months ago for $80, and it has been a great deal. I cleaned the carbs and changed the oil and everything runs great on it. The only problem I am having is there are no turn signals at all.

I tested the wire connector to the light on all four with a battery and all 4 lit up. Next I test the signal relay and found that the one on the bike did not work very well (it sound like it was struggling to click) so I went to advanced auto and bought the EL13 hoping that would fix the problem. It click real well hooked up to a battery but nothing when it is on the bike.

I am guessing that there is a short somewhere in the line and need to know the best approach to narrow it down.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

You have to re-pin the pigtail to make it work with the EL-13 relay.

X goes to the brown wire.
L goes to the brown w/white stripe.
P goes to the yellow/green stripe.

The contacts come out of the connector pretty easy, so you don't need to cut any wires.

 

Sometimes with bikes, and cars for that matter, if both signals aren't hooked up for that side, with good bulbs, the circuit is not complete and the relay/lights don't flash properly. I start with checking to see if I have power, then connect the signals temporarily and test, then mount.

 

I'm having the same problem but all my signals come on at the same time and don't flash.I think its the way its wired as i went to lLED lights....

 

Ok, went out and checked that the wires were hooked up correctly to the relay and they are. I also used a multimeter and checked that there was 12 volts from the brown wire at the relay, and that there was 12 volts in the brown/white wire going to the switch on the handle bar. both looked great but there is no power at the signal lights, any of them.

I have the tank off the bike while doing this so a problem I might be having is this, does the bike need to be running for the signals to work? I can attach an alternate fuel source if that is the case so that I can test it without the tank.

 

Before you get heavily involved in the Troubleshooting ...

TEST Alternator Output.

You NEED to see 14.2 ~ 14.5 Volts at the Battery @ 2000 rpm's.

If the Charging System isn't putting-out ...
The Signals are the first to go.

Check Alternator Brush Length for Specs.
10mm and below = Replace Brushes

 

Thank you for the help, however when I went back to do the test the key I have for the bike broke in two. So I will continue my tests as soon as can get a duplicate made. I will post my results.

Thanks.

 

Ok I got the keys made and luckly it fit as it was broken completly in half. I tested the alternator output and it read 14.5 volts. I did not check the brush lengths as the output was right where it should be. I hope that is the rigt way to think about it.

So what would be my next step in trouble shooting this?

 

If you put on LEDs' with no load equalizer, that may explain why nothing is flashing.

 

Nope these are stock signals.

 

I had to open up the turn signal switch housing and clean years of corrosion off the contacts before my signals would work properly. I used a small brass "brush" in my Dremel tool to clean everything up and then some dielectric grease to slow future corrosion.

I did the same for the starter button.

 

Ok I opened up the turn signal switch and dug a little deeper. Down below is a switch with 3 wires connected, well two of the wires came disconnected so I have to sodder them back on. Hopefully this works.

 

It worked, all turn signals now work.

 

Way to stick thru it...Nice work.