love my bike...but i got questions

Hi fellow XJers. When I was a kid i remember lookin at one of these Maxims when they were brand new and thinkin....WOW, I want one some day! 28 yrs later...here I am, 1983 XJ750 with 29,000 kms. I'm actually a first time rider and this is my first bike. What a way to get introduced into biking, what a great bike. She runs great and can keep up to the newer cruisers like a champ. But with age comes issues, Right? The one that bothers me the most is the turn signals. At idle they just stay lit but no blinking. I rev up and they flash. Battery is good and charging system is correct. Can anybody help?

 

Give us numbers. A fully charged 12 volt battery should be about 13 volts. During cranking it should be at about 10 volts. At idle the system should be at just higher than battery at rest and at high rpm it should be about 14.5 volts.

The flasher works on a thermal principle and requires certain voltages to produce the heat to activate. If you have dirty connections or poor grounds in the circuit it will cause a voltage drop that will affect the flasher.

You need to start at the battery and then follow the circuit to each connection point and check for corrosion. This would include the ground side of the circuit as well.

 

What you ought to worry about first and foremost is ensuring the rear brake isn't going to suddenly lock up on you. Read this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html Serious business.

Pop the bulbs, check and clean all the sockets; you'll be surprised how nasty they can be and still work sometimes. That being said, unless your battery is indeed 100%, such behavior is normal. The charging system isn't doing much until you get well above 2K rpm. At idle the battery is doing all the work.

 

my battery is fine(new) charges to about 14.2 at 2000rpms....somebody told me to change the flasher to a newer one

 

Add a fusebox upgrade/replacement, inline fuel filter, rider safety course, tire date code check and a GPS !!

Welcome !!

 

fusebox fusebox fusebox...even if it isn't your problem now, it eventually will be...trust me or you'll be chasing gremlins that don't exist.

 

A Non-Blinking Signal Light very often is simply a Bulb issue.

Do you have a Burned-out Bulb on the Rear Signal?

"I rev it up, ... and they Flash" (Very common)!!

Inspect your Alternator Brushes and the "Orbit Paths" of the Alternator.
If the Brushes are 10mm or less, ... Replace!

If the Circular Paths on the Rotor are "Scorched" and very dark, ... Remove the darkened circle.

Use an Eraser.
Specifically, a "Typewriter Eraser" made from Pumice.

http://www.amazon.com/Venus-Circular-Ty ... B003KEFV02

 

bulbs are all good and yes, i've already upgraded my fuses

 

What kind of battery charger are you using on it?

 

same one as on my car but 2 amp trickle charge

 

It was actually a test question because some people think that there battery is fully charged but it really isn't and when it isn't fully charged things like this happen. This happen to me once but then I brought my battery back up to 100% and all was well again.

 

It sounds like your charging system is failing slightly.
I'd def have to side with Rick.

 

thanks guys. think i'm gonna go back to square one .......check the charging system in detail.

 

You might be a victim of age.
Resistances built-up at Bullet Splices.
It's a bit of a tedious job. A good rainy day project, ...

Open the Headlight Bucket.
Undo and re-connect the Wiring Splices.
Crimp the Barre-ends closed tighter so the Bullet fit snugly.

Check Bulb Sockets for dried-up Grease.
Clean.
Run Emory Board over Bulb Contacts.
Make sure all Grounds are good.
Test Flasher. (Tap on it ... Replace.)
Low Power in System.
Ck Battery.
Ck Alt Brushes

 

so...after a long winter i finally got to it!! i opened up all the signals one was corroded...cleaned it up added some electrical contact grease and new bulbs. i opened up the headlight bucket and cleaned all the contact connections. The one that made the biggest difference was changing the signal relay. I found a thread here about this relay that I found at a part store ,I had to switch 2 of the wires but that was the fix.

 

Glad to hear you got it worked out. Sometimes electrical issues can be so aggrevating.

 

Congrats!

BTW what is the part #/brand of the relay for the rest of us?

 

tridon part# EL13. Only thing is u lose the self canceling I found the toss up worth it though.

 

Ah. I was hoping you found one which provided the cancellation. A couple of people created their own and posted some information here, but I was never able to dig up enough info that someone as ignorant of elecronics/circuit boards as I could reproduce.