I just bought a 2002 Girly and my first issue is malfunctioning blinker. Both right blinkers work great. Left front works but flashes twice as fast as the other side. Left rear does not work at all. I did check and the bulb is good. I did a search and perhaps it is the flasher relay. Would a bad flasher relay cause these issues? Thanks :icon_scratch:
Hi, You say both right ones are ok then say the rear right does not??? do you mean the rear left??? if so and the lamp is ok then it could be the center sprung contact that either needs cleaning or just tweaking out a bit..
Sorry I meant left does not work. Left Front flashes very fast and back left nothing. What is the center sprung contact? Thanks for your help and sorry for the confusing original post. Jim
When you take the lamp out have a peek down the hole and you will see the sprung contact...its what one of the power cables is attached to and makes contact with the solder bit on the bottom of the lamp...try pushing the lamp in when the turn signal is on and see if that works....
I know it's rather obvious, but in case you didn't know: the front left and the indicater light on the dash! flash faster to give a signal one of the indicator lights is broken. Usually the bulb needs replacing. However a bad contact is also possible. If you haven't got a spare bulb you can always change front & rear or left & right and you know if the bulb is the culprit or not, even when it looks o.k. it doesn't always mean it is.
Quite often a topic "blinker issue" means someone has put LED blinkers on the bike without resistors or load-independant relais ;)
Thanks, I did not know about the faster blinking indicating bulb was out. That makes sense. I know the bulb is ok but it is somehow not getting juice. I will check the sprung contact and see if that is the culprit. Thanks again, I have a lot to learn about my Girly. Jim
Check the connector inside the panel, once they have been off and on a few times they get slack. Judicious "adjustment" of the contact prongs is usually enough.
Now would be a good time to put a half decent but inexpensive moving coil multi meter on Santa's wish list, if you don't already have one.
Mine did similar last week, was right side front. Turned out the wire had corroded through at the connector. Makes sense as it gets more salt than the other three.
Thanks for all of the suggestions but I am still stuck. I removed the left housing and plugged it into the right side and it worked perfectly. I tried the right housing on the left side and nothing. I don't think I am getting juice to the left side. Not sure if it is the black wire or the white one but even if I knew then what? Thanks again for everyone's help.
If you don't have a multimeter, get one. They start at a few dollars and are ideal for fault finding. You will need to learn two settings on it. First the DCV range. Set it to 20 (if theres no 20 anything above 12 will do. Now check across you battery to make sure you have the meter set right. It should read around 12v. If it does move on to the white wire you mentioned. Connect the red lead of your meter yo the white wire, the black one to the negative terminal on your battery's. You should get 12v or so on the meter when the indicator flashes, zero when it doesn't. If that's good you now need to switch the meter to ohms, anywhere will do but try the 200 ohm range. Now touch the meter leads together, it should read zero. Now check the black wire to the battery negative. It should read zero too. If not you have a grounding problem. By checking back along each wire you should eventually find your fault. And you can be proud you learned the basics of using a meter.
Of course if you know how to use one I've wasted 10 minutes of my life. I need a lie down :icon_confused:
And fill in your location in your profile please, it helps us to know where you are. We had a guy recently whose English was very poor. Turned out he didn't speak English at all and was using Google Translate.....
I had no idea how to use a multimeter but will get one and report back on the results. Thanks for the instructions, 10 minutes of you life did not go to waste. I have also filled in my location. Jim
Quote from: Dutch on October 11, 2013, 01:53:26 PM
Quite some Brits have poor english too :hat10
Are you trying to wind me up again :icon_razz: :icon_mrgreen:
+1 a $10 meter will repay the meagre investment many times over. You will learn a lot and you will feel more confident riding. I defy you not to smile the first time you find a fault.
Quote from: jch on October 11, 2013, 03:40:06 PM
I had no idea how to use a multimeter but will get one and report back on the results. Thanks for the instructions, 10 minutes of you life did not go to waste. I have also filled in my location. Jim
Good man, :thumbsup you'll find loads of uses for it once you have one; you'll wonder how you managed without.
Quote from: Bixxer Bob on October 11, 2013, 11:10:56 AM
If you don't have a multimeter, get one. They start at a few dollars and are ideal for fault finding. You will need to learn two settings on it. First the DCV range. Set it to 20 (if theres no 20 anything above 12 will do. Now check across you battery to make sure you have the meter set right. It should read around 12v. If it does move on to the white wire you mentioned. Connect the red lead of your meter yo the white wire, the black one to the negative terminal on your battery's. You should get 12v or so on the meter when the indicator flashes, zero when it doesn't. If that's good you now need to switch the meter to ohms, anywhere will do but try the 200 ohm range. Now touch the meter leads together, it should read zero. Now check the black wire to the battery negative. It should read zero too. If not you have a grounding problem. By checking back along each wire you should eventually find your fault. And you can be proud you learned the basics of using a meter.
Of course if you know how to use one I've wasted 10 minutes of my life. I need a lie down :icon_confused:
Got a multimeter. Check across battery 12.47. White wire to red lead and black lead to neg terminal -- NOTHING. Meter leads together I get zero. Black wire to battery negative I get zero.
So does that mean my problem is the white wire and if so now what? Thanks for your help!
With the ignition on and flasher switch operated, measure between the wife write and your battery negative. If you don't get a reason, pulsing the same rate as the lamp that is operating, then it suggests a fault in the wiring. Have a close look at the connector to make sure the wife has not become disconnected from the terminal. You can stick a pin through the insulation near the connector and measure from there which will help eliminate a connection fault.
Sin, your predictive text is effing hilarious; so much so I'm not even going to correct it this time :hat10
Quote from: Bixxer Bob on October 16, 2013, 05:34:26 PM
Sin, your predictive text is effing hilarious; so much so I'm not even going to correct it this time :hat10
I better get to Specsavers soon or see our mate Geof W :icon_cool: I probably make it that amusing if I actually tried
Ok, for the sake of the reader, here is the fixed version:
With the ignition on and flasher switch operated, measure between the white wire and your battery negative. If you don't get a reading, pulsing the same rate as the lamp that is operating, then it suggests a fault in the wiring. Have a close look at the connector to make sure the wire has not become disconnected from the terminal. You can stick a pin through the insulation near the connector and measure from there which will help eliminate a connection fault.
:thumbsup
I am an idiot. I just realized that when I tested the white wire I did not turn on the indicator. I did not even have the ignition on. No wonder I got nothing!! DUH. I will try again tonight and report back. If I still get nothing I will try the pin suggestion to see if it is a bad connector. Thanks, Jim
OK, I tried with the ignition on and the indicator light on and nothing from the left side white wire. I also sliced thru the white casing to get to the wire to make sure it was not the connector and still nothing. I then tried on the right side white wire and got a reading when flashing. So.. I have a bad left side white wire, now what? Thanks again for your help. Jim.
Good idea to repeat the measurement on the right hand side. That way you know your measuring is now correct an the fault is in the wiring. The left front blinks so the fault must be somewhere between the relais and the indicator itself. Just follow the yellow brick road white wire. Somewhere there will be a bad connection or a broken wire (not necessary visable as the plastic can still be intact).
I guess I will find the relay and see if I can figure out which wire is the white one going to the rear light. Can someone explain to me what the white wire does vs the black one. Also do I know that the black one is OK, based on the previous tests? If you cannot tell I am an electrical idiot. Thanks, Jim
I quickly drew up what you're trying to visualise:
The electric comes from the red terminal of the battery to the flasher unit via fuse (not shown) you don't need to know how the flasher works. It goes to the bulb via a white wire (it may change colour in the loom just to confuse you (and us). It goes into the bulb then out to the black wire. The black wire then eventually connects to the bike frame, shown in my drawing by the symbol for ground. It then goes from the frame to the battery black terminal.
Now you have established there is no volts at the white connector you need to find the flasher unit. I don't have my manual to hand so someone else will jump in and say where it is. If the wire to the indicator isn't white on the flasher unit you need to find out which one it should be. Do this with your meter just like you did to find volts on the working flasher. When you find the volts at the flasher, you then have to trace the wiring loom from their to the back of the bike where the white connector is. Where ever you find a connector, check it for volts and so on until you find the fault.
Sorry I can't be more help at the moment, if I had my manual I could tell you all the colours and it would take less time.
That man is so talented with the crayons :icon_mrgreen:
If the other side is flashing then your relay is probably OK. So now it's disengagement to the switch or the wiring in between.
Black wires, without any trace or secondary colours, are nearly always earth or 0 volts. They are normally connected to the frame which is used as a common means of return to the battery negative. In some cases the Black will run all the way back to the battery to avoid poor connections to the frame.
Checking to make sure the earth line has continuity, I.e. No breaks or poor connections is easy and a good learning experience. Switch on your meter, switch it to the resistance scale, ohms or might be marked with an infinity symbol. Touch both probes together and you should get a zero reading on the scale. Now put the black probe on the negative battery terminal (actually it doesn't matter which probe but it's good practice) then touch any Black terminal or wire and you should get zero or very near to it, you can also do the same with any point on the chaussures that's not painted or coated just to prove the point.
Quote from: Sin_Tiger on October 18, 2013, 05:26:53 PM
That man is so talented with the crayons :icon_mrgreen:
Indeed he is :notworthy
Even found a picture of BB at work:
(http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/cheetapainting.jpg)
:pottytrain2 (http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/boese/g045.gif) (http://www.cheesebuerger.de/smilie.php)
:wave I knew you would appreciate a 'typical' sense of humour :occasion14
Quote: If the other side is flashing then your relay is probably OK. So now it's disengagement to the switch or the wiring in between
I did check the relay and all is working. I tried to trace the wire from the front of the back with no luck. I seems to go into massive bundles and large connections. Can't imagine how one little wire can go bad. I guess it is time to go to the dealer to sort out as I do not like riding without one rear blinker.
Thanks for everyone's help on this, wish we could have solved the problem but I did get a new micrometer and a better understanding of my electrical system out of the pursuit. :icon_cool:
Quote from: jch on November 06, 2013, 11:14:52 PM
Thanks for everyone's help on this, wish we could have solved the problem but I did get a new micrometer and a better understanding of my electrical system out of the pursuit. :icon_cool:
:icon_scratch:
what's a micrometer got to do with electrical gremlins ?
and this might be a dumb question but did you try changing the bulb?
and if so did you try unhooking the working blinker and connect the known good lead to the non working blinker .
I'd be willing to wager the fault is at the blinker assembly .
I guess you did not read the entire thread before responding:
Quote from: jch on October 11, 2013, 04:40:21 AM
Thanks for all of the suggestions but I am still stuck. I removed the left housing and plugged it into the right side and it worked perfectly. I tried the right housing on the left side and nothing. I don't think I am getting juice to the left side. Not sure if it is the black wire or the white one but even if I knew then what? Thanks again for everyone's help.
Everything works except no juice to the white wire!
I read it ..............a month ago .
I forgot.
it's a pretty simple circuit , so yes you should give up and go to the dealer
let us know what it was ................ :ear
it's gonna be flasher relay or broken wire .
Ok, I'll bite. It is not the relay. I unplugged it, made sure it was clean and reinstalled. All the other blinkers work. I am all ears if you can help me find the broken wire so I don't have to take to the dealer for a "pretty simple circuit".
Every day is a day at school :thumbsup just a pity we couldn't get a resolution.
do you know how to use the ohms setting on your meter ?
if no than take it to the dealer
if yes we'll continue this conversation
Quote from: Mustang on November 07, 2013, 01:33:29 PM
do you know how to use the ohms setting on your meter ?
if no than take it to the dealer
if yes we'll continue this conversation
Yes :ear
alrighty then ................... check back tonite and i will have a nice guide for you with photos .
after all a picture is worth a thousand words :thumbsup
Quote from: Mustang on November 07, 2013, 04:28:47 PM
alrighty then ................... check back tonite and i will have a nice guide for you with photos .
after all a picture is worth a thousand words :thumbsup
Awesome, pictures would be great. I have a Haynes manual with the wiring diagram but it is greek to me. I have pulled the front fairing and the seat and can see a lot of wires but where to start to find the bad one is well beyond my realm of expertise. Just to summarize again, I have isolated it to the white wire in the left rear blinker. No juice. I even cut into the casing about an inch from the connector to insure the connector was not bad. I also know the black wire is good. Thanks
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee47/2uoykcuf/repairs/DSC_0822_zpsbd92ad77.jpg) (http://s231.photobucket.com/user/2uoykcuf/media/repairs/DSC_0822_zpsbd92ad77.jpg.html)
#15 is the left rear blinker and #9 is the switch at the handlebar .#4 is the flasher . the wire we don't know is good or not is the green with red stripe and it runs from the rear connector at the blinker all the way to the connector at the front (according to my schematic it's the #1 pin )that the switch assembly plugs into
BUT ....First let's make sure we have ground to the connector at the rear of bike that the blinker plugs into .
set your multi meter to ohms , I usually just use the audible setting cuz we aint concerned with the actual ohm reading , we are looking for continuity .. touch the two leads together and the reading will change from a "1" to 0. xx. In this case it's 0.05 on my meter . that shows the resistance of the two leads , it also confirms we have a closed circuit . The camera flash washed out the meter display so it's hard to see .
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee47/2uoykcuf/repairs/DSC_0824_zpsfcbfb89b.jpg) (http://s231.photobucket.com/user/2uoykcuf/media/repairs/DSC_0824_zpsfcbfb89b.jpg.html)
now touch either one of the leads to a bare spot on the frame like a bolt head or the frame itself as long as you can touch metal not paint .
with the other lead touch it to the contact pin in the plug connector in the wiring loom that is the BLACK wire , not the end from the lamp assembly .
you should see the meter change from a "1" to close to what the # was when you touched the two leads together .
this will confirm if you have ground or not .
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee47/2uoykcuf/repairs/DSC_0826_zps12c9597a.jpg) (http://s231.photobucket.com/user/2uoykcuf/media/repairs/DSC_0826_zps12c9597a.jpg.html)
now because I'm not takin my steamer apart any further , there won't be any more pics . But you should have an idea of what's next to test the "white " wire . although the wire we are looking for in the loom is green with red stripe
Now let's test the white wire side for continuity .
We know we have power to and from the flasher because the other blinkers work .
follow the wiring loom from the switch down to where it connects in the harness to do the test for + volt side of the circuit for continuity.
unplug the connector and stick one lead of the meter on the pin with the green wire with red stripe (its the one that connects to the white wire at the other end where the blinker is ) now touch the other lead to the white wire pin on the tail end . if the wiring if it is good you will see your meter change from "1" to 0.xx . if it does you don't have a wiring problem . If it doesn't change from a "1" on the meter than you have to keep tracing the green wire with red stripe until you find where the break is
And a wicked EASY way to confirm continuity of the positive side is to unplug the left blinker on the front and the one at the rear and then touch a lead to the white wire pin on each end of the bike . if the meter changes from a "1" then the wiring is good .
Problem solved. I had checked all of the wiring except the most obvious -- the connections under the rear fender. I took the rear fender off and the left side connection was bad. Replaced it and all blinkers now work. Thanks for everyone's help.
:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap
well done .............. :qgaraduate
I'm guessing that blinker repair from dealer would have been in the 150-200 dollar range . :bug_eye
Now go revel in that smug satisfaction of knowing more about your bike, having fixed it (with some help from the man who's middle name is patience) without having to resort to going into a dealer. :thumbsup but most of all go and :wheel
:thumbsup Another RESULT for Mustang and Tiger Triple :XXsunsmile Award yourself a :qgaraduate for getting there. :icon_lol:
that's the goal of this forum :eusa_clap :eusa_clap