Turn signals not working - XJ

[Bigfoot]

I took my vetter fairing off and put the headlight bucket back on. Cannot get the turn signals to work. I have double checked all of the connections in the headlight bucket, left control switch, and where the left control switch connects to the wiring harness. The hazard lights do work fine, flash all four. Every once in awhile I get solid lights on the turn signals but no flash. I can't find my clymers. To me it seems like I might have lost my flasher relay. Any ideas on what else to try. Is the flasher relay under the tank?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[BigDick]

Is there a chance your battery could be low? Have you tried while the bike is running? On mine, the flasher relay is just below the fuse panel. I kinda doubt that the flasher is bad if the 4 ways are working. Just reinforces for me that I hate working on wiring. . .

[XJOK2PLAY]

Hey, Harry...
Ironically, I started having trouble w/ my left side turn signal staying on, but not flashing, while the right side worked fine. I checked everything, including the Clymer's e. schematic... changed bulbs, redid connections... you name it.
I even pulled my fairing and went through connections.
Last night I gave up, put the fairing back on, and Cody & I went for a 40 mile ride after dark. I noticed all my lights, at times, going dim for a while... then would brighten back up for a while... finally settled off and stayed normal. I noticed that when the lights would dim, the left wouldn't flash, right would. When they all brightened up, the left would flash just fine!
Haven't noticed anything like that w/ your's have you?

Clymer's shows it goes hot from a fuse to the flasher, 2 legs go from the flasher, (which I believe is around the battery & fusebox area,)1 goes to the handlebar signal switch, the other to the pilot box for the canceller. The 2 switchlegs from the switch then each go to the lights.
I don't have the book here, so I can't tell you colors... but if your bike's like mine, they change colors in the circuits a lot anyway.

I may be starting to have a regultor problem... or a stinkin' ground problem that's buried who know's where! I just changed my fusebox out, (and it was happening before that,) So rules that out.
Electrical Gremlins... aaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!

[Bigfoot]

I think the hazard flasher is different that the regular flasher relay. The hazard relay is under the seat on the left side. I unplugged it and sure enough the hazards stopped. I wasn't sure where the turn signal relay was. I will check the one by the fuse box. Any idea if it is the same one as on the XS. If so I can swap them and see if the problem goes away.

[XJOK2PLAY]

From what I've been told, it is. Same as a Special anyway.

[Bigfoot]

cool, that should make it easier to diagnose.

[CatatonicBug]

If it's the same as a Special, The 4-way relay is the one under the seat, and the turn signal flasher is hanging under the fuse block (big, round one). I also have been seeing an issue with my left turn signal not always flashing, but I think mine is just a bad connection at the left rear signal bulb. I know that's one of the features of this bike - the flasher stops flashing if one of the bulbs either goes out or looses connection. That's as far as my knowledge of these things goes though...

[Bigfoot]

Well, the good news is that the flasher relay is the culprit. The bad news is now I need to find another flasher relay. The relays do not look the same but apparently are interchangeable.



The round one is off of the 80 midnight special.

[CatatonicBug]

From what I understand, the flasher relay is almost impossible to find a replacement for, unless you don't mind loosing the self-canceling feature. I may be wrong on that though. Andreas might have one...

[Bigfoot]

Bike Bandit want $120 for one

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Bigfoot,

Yep, if you want a cheap solution, then you can pick up a 2..that's TWO prong...get an electro-mechanical one...TRIDON brand, EL-12, so that IF you want to convert to LED's, it'll work for that. This fix will eliminate your SELF CANCELLING FEATURE. You can turn off your turn signals by pushing DOWN on the XJ's switch, the XS's you pushed IN on the switch.

Also, you will need to swap the middle leg of the switch wire with one of the side legs, swapping positions. The XJ turn flasher plug is wired differently than the XS. I had to do the swap when I helped DEO fix his with a 2 prong. It's been many years, and so I can't remember which leg to swap, but the one in the middle position is the one you don't want to use in the OEM plug!
T.C.

[Bigfoot]

Well, I plugged the relay from my MNS into the connector on the XJ and the turn signals work great. Did the 80 MNS have the self cancelling feature? I plugged the XJ relay into the connector on the MNS and all I get is a solid light, no flash. Since I am selling the XJ and have people coming to look at it, I guess it is getting the working relay even though it is round and not square. I will try to source a replacement for the MNS from a parts bike. Too bad it couldn't wait a couple more days before quitting on me. I guess it is just expressing it's displeasure at being sold.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Morning, Harry!

Hey, I just read another post from a different thread where a guy w/ a Standard was having the right side not flashing, but the left would. (The opposite side having the same problem.) T.C. added two good points in his reply...
1) the flasher is thermal, & requires a good amt. of voltage & draw to make it work.

2) Sometimes the wrong wattage bulb gets exchanged, (one w/ a lesser wattage requirement), draw's not enough, so the flasher won't flash.

I'm gonna check that out on mine...

T.C. - Can you tell us what the proper wattage bulb should be?

Harry, that wire TC's talking about swapping if you go w/ a 2 prong flasher is probably swapping the one that's going to the self-turn mechanism w/ the one going to the signal switch / bulbs. Must be in the wrong position on an XJ connector...

That's cool to know the flasher may look different from a MNS, but will still work! Cody had told me that they should wire the same between a Special and an XJ. If that's true... you may have discovered for a lot of us here a new, (hopefully) flasher source.

Don't know for a fact if the MNS or other Specials had the self-cancel feature, but thought they did. (CBug should be able to chime in here and give us the answer...) Clymer's diagram showed it wiring up that way on the Special's diagram, though. So I assume they do.

Also, T.C. - thanks for the tip on pushing DOWN on the switch to cancel signals on the XJ. I'll have to try that.

My self-cancel works, but sometimes not soon enough for the situation... and I get sick of going too far past center and turning the other side on by mistake! It's a distraction I don't need.

Good thread, guys... I'm learning something valuable here!

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there XJok2play,

The bulb specs are in the specs sheets of the owner's manual, as well as the tech data/service data in the ONLINE Yamaha parts fiche site!

They are 27 watts for turn, 8 watts for running, same as tail lights. So...with 2 turn signals, that's 54 watts, divided by 12 volts, that's about 4.5amps worth of current draw....now you see why the turn signal wires in the fuse block are thicker than the other circuits!
T.C.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Thanks, TC. Appreciate the info. Wasn't fortunate enough to score an owner's manual, but will check the Yamaha Fische next time.
Sometimes, just lookin' for the lazy, quick answers, ya know? Guilty as charged! LOL
Thanks, again.
Bob