Newbie Problem: Turn Signal Wiring, and Brake Light Help

[Titbit21]

Hello all,
I recently bought my first xs1100. Its a 1978, all stock, and decent condition. But it has a few problems that need worked out. One of the things are the turn signals. When the bike is on, the front running lights are on. When I attempt to hit the turn signals on, nothing happens. You can hear some clicking in the relay when you turn it from left to right. Does it need a new relay? Or are the bulbs incorrect?
Another problem I am having is with the brake light from the front brakes. They light up when the rear brake is pressed, and the running light is on, but not when the front brake is pulled. When I bought the bike the front brakes where frozen. (Maybe because it was 0 degrees, or the spooge hole is plugged up but that's another issue.) So I cleared the brake fluid from the lines so i could pull the handle back but no light came on.
I'm really looking forward to get the beast alive, and any help I can get would be great. I'm not the most experienced mechanic but I always seem to figure things out as soon stumble across an answer. Any advice would help.

[Redshirt]

Hey Titbit21! Im a newbie here too, but learning thanks to the help of the fellas here.

You mentioned the bulbs: what type of bulbs are they? Pop one out and find out on both and inspect.
I can preemptively state what most folks here will tell you:
1.) open and clean every connection in the electrical system. Add dielectric grease to protect from corrosion too.
2.) What type of fuse panel do you have? Tube or ATC bladed? Check to make sure the fuses are correct (30, 10, 20, 10)
3.) find out if the PO did any wiring evils (mystery wires spliced sloppily into the mix.
4.) check/charge the battery.

Im sure someone can address the specifics of your issue. Good luck!

[CaptonZap]

Hello all,
I recently bought my first xs1100. Its a 1978, all stock, and decent condition. But it has a few problems that need worked out. One of the things are the turn signals. When the bike is on, the front running lights are on. When I attempt to hit the turn signals on, nothing happens. You can hear some clicking in the relay when you turn it from left to right. Does it need a new relay? Or are the bulbs incorrect?
Another problem I am having is with the brake light from the front brakes. They light up when the rear brake is pressed, and the running light is on, but not when the front brake is pulled. When I bought the bike the front brakes where frozen. (Maybe because it was 0 degrees, or the spooge hole is plugged up but that's another issue.) So I cleared the brake fluid from the lines so i could pull the handle back but no light came on.
I'm really looking forward to get the beast alive, and any help I can get would be great. I'm not the most experienced mechanic but I always seem to figure things out as soon stumble across an answer. Any advice would help.

When trouble shooting electrical problems, the first rule is "Check the power supply".
Turn your key on. There is a little switch that plugs into the front brake staunchion, that gets depressed when you let go of the brake lever. That opens the switch.
Find the wires that come out of the front, and folloow them down to the mess behind the headlight.
You will come to a connecter, with, and here I am guessing, since I don't have a '78 wiring diagram, a green/yellow and a brown wire in it. Pull the plug apart, and check voltage at the bike side plug on the brown wire.
You should have 12V +/-, between the brown wire and chassis ground. If you don't, follow the brown wire back into the instrument cluster, and find out where the break in the wire is. The brown wire supplies voltage to the whole bike, and since the back switch is fed from the same wire, and the back switch works, it figures that there is a break in the wire going to the front switch.
If you do have 12V, take a short piece of wire, and jump between the two wire. The brake light should come on.
If it does, the switch is dirty or broken.
If it doesn't, check back for further instructions. Bring some beer, this could turn ugly.
CZ

[DGXSER]

From what your describing you have a couple issues. The front brake light issue seems to be as simple as a bad front brake light switch. But again. siring connections can be the problem there also. Follow the wires from the front brake switch back and clean and inspect the connectors. Worse case, they are like $5 from Parts-n-more or the like. I might even have a spare laying around.

Fro the turn signals, if you here the relay clicking, then it is most likely bad bulbs.

[Titbit21]

Thanks for all the advice. As far as the turn signal relay, Should you hear multiple clicking when the lights flash like on cars? Another question I have on the bulbs. What type should they be so I can get some If mine are incorrect?

[crazy steve]

Thanks for all the advice. As far as the turn signal relay, Should you hear multiple clicking when the lights flash like on cars? Another question I have on the bulbs. What type should they be so I can get some If mine are incorrect?

You can use 'regular' automotive bulbs such as 1157 or 1156, but if you still have a Yamaha flasher and want the self-cancel feature to work, go to a motorcycle dealer and pick up motorcycle bulbs. They are different (or should be if the dealer isn't pulling some funnies..); the bike lamps will have a 'brace' in the middle of one of the filaments, the car bulbs don't. The bike lamps are also a slightly higher wattage, and that's needed to make the canceller unit happy.

It should also be noted that your turn signals may not flash properly until the bike is running... And yes, you should hear a 'click' each time they flash.

[Titbit21]

Thanks guys. Just got the turn signals to work. Now I need to tackle the brake light. But Its getting dark and too cold to keep going. I appreciate the help

[natemoen]

Glad you got the first part taken care of. Just keep plugging away!

[DGXSER]

Hey Titbit,

SWMBO went to Kent State and was raised in Warren. Make a few pilgimages to that area a year.

[Titbit21]

Hey Titbit,

SWMBO went to Kent State and was raised in Warren. Make a few pilgimages to that area a year.

If your ever in town with your xs maybe you can show me how they run lol. Glad to see some locals on here.

[DGXSER]

Ohh, the bike will never make it up there. I had an "incident" almost exactly one year ago, and SWMBO got me to promise to not ride anymore, well I am claiming it was made under durress, (and really good drugs). But needless to say, she wants nothing to do with me riding. So when we visit up there, the bike will not be around. After all, I'd hate to give her half of the XS.

[Twanginblues]

Seems like there's a ton of posts on turn signal and brake light problems so I don't want to start another one.

My front brake light wasn't working. All other lights were working perfectly. I opened up the headlight and noticed the brown wire for the front brake light was unplugged so I plugged it into the open brown female wire. It worked! Now my right turn signal clicks 3 times or so and stays on. My left turn signal won't blink at all, just stays lit.

Thinking that the only thing I did was plug in the front brake light. I unplugged it. The turn signals are still messed up. I don't know if it's coincidence that this happened or if there's another reason.

Any thoughts? This is the last of my major issues. The rest is all cosmetic.

[Twanginblues]

Looks like I have the same issue I've read about before. The turn signals work fine when the bike is running above 2k. When it's idle the left turn doesn't work. Time to search the forums for an answer....ugh.

I did forget to mention that my starter seemed to spin a bit after it started. Didn't sound like it engaged very well. Would that be a starter issue or electical?

[cywelchjr]

Check the bulbs. That can be several different issues. One of the issues can be using the lower wattage automotive bulbs rather than the higher wattage motorcycle bulbs that the stock flasher is designed for. It can also be dirty connections in the wiring harness, or in the signal sockets, or where the signals fasten to the frame. I'd check the bulbs first, as the motorcycle bulbs have a vibration relief in the middle of the filament that auto bulbs don't typically have and they are only available from motorcycle dealerships. I'd recommend just to be sure, replacing all 4 with the correct bulbs to be sure, most of these bikes have had them changed over the years, and if everything is just right, the auto bulbs will work ok most of the time but not always, and their not as bright as the motorcycle bulbs being like 23 watts vs 27 watts for the motorcycle bulbs specified by Yamaha. Of course if you don't care about the auto cancel (much like me) you can convert to LEDs and save that wattage and still get brighter turn signals even than stock bulbs. I haven't done that yet only because I have to order them online and just haven't gotten around to it.

[cywelchjr]

These starters don't seem to sound like they engage all that well, but they seem to do the job just fine. They also seem to spin for a bit when you release, but I've not seen any problem from it. Unlike automotive systems where you have a gear that engages when you press the starter button these are engaged all the time and use a one way clutch system to turn the engine over. Sometimes after sitting for a while, these can stick a little and drag the starter along for a bit, but they tend to get over it pretty quickly as they get lubricated by the motor oil during normal operation.