turn signal help!

[portero72]

signals no worky. coupla weeks ago, they stopped entirely(front indicators as well). replaced the switch(thx andreas) and all bulbs. in the driveway, rights worked fine, left lit but stayed ON. went for a spin, now nothing. front indicators work, but zero blinkers. bulbs, fuses all check out. can y'all help an electrical dunderhead? thx mark

[81xsproject]

Are you sure you replaced the turn flasher and not the hazard flasher?

[randy]

81xsproject;

The 79F doesn't have a hazard flashewr, but your 81SH does!

Yes, have you changed the flasher unit? It's right below the fuse panel. Also, clean all of your ground connections. All of them. All overthe bike.

Clean and tight grounds make happy lights.

[portero72]

im'a cleanin asap...btw, where is the ground closest to the signal switch? and where can i get the flasher chingus? thx for the advice.

[portero72]

back to square 1. right signals work, left signals come 'on', but do not flash. cleaned all grounds related to signals(that i could find), checked flasher, fuses, bulbs all check out. still can't get left signals to work. kinda clueless here. i did crash on the left side last year, but this is a more recent development. any ideas? thx

[randy]

OK, you're halfway there. Your rights flash, so your flasher is working. Check the left front, there are two wiring tails that connect and hang on the headlight ear, try swapping the leads. BTW, you do have the correct bulb in the left signal? if you have a lower wattage bulb, it won't draw enogh current to operate the flasher. That's why i suggested swapping the leads. The bulb is a dual element, one high wattage and one lower wattage.

[portero72]

i'll try swapping the leads when i get home. as far as the bulbs go, the lefts are the same as the rights. thx for the help.

[fredintoon]

Watt's the difference

Hi Portero,
unless some PO has messed with it, your signals all have single filament bulbs in them. And they hafta be 27 Watt bulbs or the stock flasher won't work, the bulbs will simply light up & stay lit. The stock auto bulbs that look identical are only 22 Watts and one or two of those might have sneaked in there.
Here's what I'd try:- Find an old tail light or whatever that still works and connect it to the power feed to the leftside flashers and to ground. Turn the leftside flashers on. If you have 44W or 49W total load instead of the necessary 54W adding a tail light in there should get them flashing. Adding a brakelight should get them flashing double-time.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[randy]

Fred,

My 79 F has dual filament bulbs up front.

[portero72]

fred-my fronts ARE dual filament, as randy said. gonna follow your advice anyway. thx for the ideas, keep em coming.

[fredintoon]

Not a Special, right?

Hi Portero,
OK then, now that Mr Stupid has looked at the correct wiring diagram, yes, you and Randy do both have dual filament front flashers. This brings up another possibility to add to the mystery.
If the front flasher ground wire is not working, ( I have seen a continuity failure between the cast lamp body and the threaded steel connector that screws into it and it's that sleeve the ground wire connects to. Thread it out, wire brush the threads, dielectric grease & test) ) power can be sent to the flasher filament and ground itself through the running light filament. This lets you see a lamp that is lit but the power consumption is limited to the 8 Watts of the smaller filament which ain't enough to trigger the flasher. You see this all the time on utility trailers which seldom see use and commonly have grounding wire failures.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[portero72]

i think i understand what you're telling me(i AM electrically challenged), but my front right signal IS working, as well as the rear right. just the lefts are no good. actually, the left front comes on but stays lit-no blinky. left rear-nothing. thx for all the help.

[randy]

Looks like you'll need to work on the rear wiring. Also probably a grounding problem. One multi-connector under the seat and a mess of bullet connectors behind the license plate.

[Brian_D]

Originally posted by randy
Looks like you'll need to work on the rear wiring. Also probably a grounding problem. One multi-connector under the seat and a mess of bullet connectors behind the license plate.

+1 with what Randy said. BOTH bulbs in the circuit MUST be operational for the blinky to occur; otherwise, will only light solid. Appears to be problem with Left Rear lamp or wiring.

[fredintoon]

Well, finally!

you clearly state the problem. Never before did you say "left rear don't light"
Always "left signals don't blink"
Whole different trouble-shooting scenario. Fix the rear lamp. perhaps the power wire, more likely the ground wire. See my pevious post re elusive ground failure.
Fred Hill, S'toon.