Electrical Questions from a moron...

So i feel like i can hold my own mostly at working on my bike as long as its something visual or tangible... but i'll tell you electrics are not my thing! so anyways heres my problems... they're probably easy fixes but seriously they're beyond me

Right blinker works properly, but left one does not shine at all... i can hear the flasher or relay clicking at about a million miles a minute, this doesn't happen when the right one is engaged... now i've done my tests and i found its not a burnt out bulb because that lit up just fine when i plugged it into a aux power source... so i got out my manual and made sure that the blinker was plugged in according to the schematic... no luck there it was hooked up just fine. i then pulled out my handy-dandy multimeter (purchased with hope that i could learn this stuff!) and poked around and discovered there was no power running to the wires for the blinker (odd...) anyways i can't decide whether the flasher is bad since its opening at a rate faster than my engine turns over or whether that would indicate that there is a short to ground somewhere in the circuit causing it to heat up and cool down at a very quick rate... any input would be greatly appreciated.

Next on the line, My Headlight does not feel like shining. day, night, running or not it just doesn't want to shine. i haven't figured out how to test that bulb so its very well possible it could be burned out but with some-more poking around with the multimeter i discovered there was no power running to quick connect for it... again... any input would be greatly appreciated

anyways those are my problems... thanks so much in advance.

 

This information is solely for the Turbo Seca, but may work for you.

There's a headlight relay, and headlight fuse. The Gauge lights also run off this relay and fuse, are they on?

On my headlight (it's square) you can remove the bulb from the glass part. This allowed me to visually inspect. Also, Black is ground, Yellow w/green strip is high beam, green w/red strip is low beam.

You should receive 12v to both low & high beem (respectivly). Black should also ground, you can easily check to see if it's hooked up.

You should also have a high beam indicator, this again runs off the headlight fuse.

Headlights get their power from the Brown wire off the ac generator / rectifier regurtor(i can't read it). That brown goes to the fuse, which then goes to the light switch.

On the seca turbo, it goes then into a computer module, and out to the lights, i would assume that on the maxim's it just goes from fuse to lights.

I can't actually see any light relay on the wiring diagram, but i remember it from a 'relay location' diagram.

I hope any of this information helps you and i didn't just ramble on about headlights.

as far as your left blinker, the flasher relay has 3 wires, br which is off the 'signal' fuse, Yellow w/green strip that goes to cancelling unit, and Brown w/White strip that goes to the switch. from the switch it goes to the lights.

my guess is that since the right works and left does not, there is a short in the button or wiring to the lights (either front or rear). If the left light has a short, whenever it gets +12, it'll short itself and probably cause problems.

also quick test of this fuse, if your horn works, the fuse is good.


Again i state this information is for an XJ650LJ Seca Turbo, as that's all i have and happen to know at the moment, if anything is incorrect, please correct me as I'd like to know the differences.

 

to answer your questions,

1. no the gauges don't seem to be illuminated... that leads me to think its possibly the relay like you said

2.well my headlight is not quite that easy to check since the bulb is sealed inside the bucket... but i ran an ohmeter through the different connectors and found continuity through them... i assume that means the coils are still intact and thus will shine.

after reading through your information (very helpful btw thanks so much) i've decided that my headlight isn't getting power since it seems to be a good bulb... as for the left flasher i think your on to something with saying there is a short in the system so i guess i'll just work my way back through all the wires on both of those til i get to a point where it has current flow... thanks so much again for the help

 

alright so i've been at it for a few hours and i'm still at a loss as to why the two items are not getting power... and now a strange new phenomenon has occured... my bike can be started without the key in when (and only when) the blinker fuse is in. It did not do this before but has started today since i have updated the fuse box with a modern blade fuse box.... any correlation? i'm really starting to get stressed over this stupid electrical stuff!

 

You've got something wrong at the new box. The way it should work is you have 1 20A fuse on the lead coming up from the battery. The output of that fuse goes to the ignition switch.

Then, a wire comes back from the ignition switch to provide power to the 10A fuses that feed all the other circuits.

ELECTRICAL DIAGRAMS

 

hmmm i pulled it all apart again and re-attached all the wires making sure they were to the correct fuses and corresponding power source and stuff and that seemed to do the trick... still having a problem with that dammed blinker... i've gotten the headlight to work as well as the gauge lights so that blinker is the last of my problems... how hard would it be to just wire up a whole new system with 2 separate buttons (one on either handle) for each sides turn signal? (ie:left turn on left handgrip and vice versa) i've liked the idea for some time and now that i'm having this huge issue maybe it'd just be easier to do it that way... anyone done anything at all similar to this?

 

well, if your relay / power to the signals aren't working, then you'd have to fix them before you can re-wire.

anyways congrads on getting part of it working!

 

Just a reminder.With my 550 maxim the bike has to be running for the head light to come on.

 

Signal dymanics (www.signaldynamics.com) sells a self cancelling turn signal module that is designed to work with a dual switch system like you describe.

 

If the blinker works on one side but not the other, it's not the blinker. Your description sounds like a short in the left turn-signal circuit. Pull both bulbs and the blinker indicator bulb, disconnect the flasher and check continuity to ground. If you have a grounded circuit, then you have a short. If you don't then maybe one of your new bulbs is damaged. Start reassembling the circuit one piece at a time till it's either fixed or the problem comes back. The last piece installed should be the culprit.