Headlight and left blinker

[captjanes]

my headlight is not working and my left blinker is blinking but is very very dim.. i checked all fuses and connections and all are ok. i checked headlight bulb and it is fine. i havent checked any switchs,relays or blinkers switchs yet. i was just wondering if there was something i should check before changing out relays.

[GLoweVA]

Headlight should only come on after the bike is running, (if you didn't know that already) due to the headlight relay.
That relay also turns on the 'dash' lights for the speedo and tach, so if they are lit then your relay is good and you need to look at the bucket and the connections in there. Is it both the low and high beams?

The left blinker could be a loose connection anywhere including the handlebar switch. Does the blinker 'blink' better when bike is rev'd? then it's a connection problem. The stock flasher 'frequency of flashing' depends on how much load there is on the system and what the operating voltage is. More load (bad connections or wrong bulbs) and lower voltage (weak battery, no alternator input) both make it blink slower.

[captjanes]

ok thanks thats helps alot beacuse she wasnt running. and i cant start her beacuse i am waiting on valve shims to arrive.. the blinker that is dim is the front left one the rear left is fine.. i am thinking someone got wrong bulb in there. thanks again

[GLoweVA]

ok thanks thats helps alot beacuse she wasnt running. and i cant start her beacuse i am waiting on valve shims to arrive.. the blinker that is dim is the front left one the rear left is fine.. i am thinking someone got wrong bulb in there. thanks again

I will say that if she blinks without the bike running, then your connections seem to be fairly good then (and a decent battery too).

An easy check would be to swap the bulbs left to right and see if that makes a difference. Then again, it may be obvious by looking at the bulb that comes out of that left socket that it's not the right one.

One thing I have noticed on both of my bikes is that if the voltage is low then the left blinker seems to be the one that won't blink, but the right one will. Albeit, really slow. Who knows why....

[Bonz]

I have the slow blink at idle, rev it up just a few hundred rpm and the blinks are normal. I chalk it up to either 33 year old connections, battery that can't overcome old connections (thus back to the old connections) or a 33 year old charging system that doesn't keep the battery quite up to snuff (thus back to the old connections, if you will). I have to believe it's the connections, even though mine look very clean, I have never cleaned them.

'Nother electrical question... No intent to hijack... My 80G tach goes deadstick every so often, and the fuel gauge drops to empy at the same time. When the tach comes back, so does the fuel gauge.

Ideas? Probably a connection? Thus the tie in to this thread, albeit loosely. Where would I look for this connection?

[captjanes]

so now i have bigger problems on my hands i think.. i ran the bike and headlight still not working and neither is my rpm gauge. neurtal light and blinkers and taillights work fine.. im thinking it is my inside coil not working or a connection problem.. i tested battery while idle and it was. 12.58vdc and after 5 mins idle it dropped to 12.41vdc.. seems like she is running off my battery is this possible? is there a ohm test i can do to make sure that my inside coil is working. all fuses tested to be ok.

[CaptonZap]

'Nother electrical question... No intent to hijack... My 80G tach goes deadstick every so often, and the fuel gauge drops to empy at the same time. When the tach comes back, so does the fuel gauge.

Ideas? Probably a connection? Thus the tie in to this thread, albeit loosely. Where would I look for this connection?

Next time that happens, honk your horn. Or try your turn indicators. Let us know the result. CZ

[CaptonZap]

so now i have bigger problems on my hands i think.. i ran the bike and headlight still not working and neither is my rpm gauge. neurtal light and blinkers and taillights work fine.. im thinking it is my inside coil not working or a connection problem.. i tested battery while idle and it was. 12.58vdc and after 5 mins idle it dropped to 12.41vdc.. seems like she is running off my battery is this possible? is there a ohm test i can do to make sure that my inside coil is working. all fuses tested to be ok.

Sounds like the white wire with the diode in is is not putting out current. Find your headlight relay and the voltage regulator, and pull their plugs. Use an ohm meter and check the continuity between the white wire in the headlight relay, and all three white wires in the voltage reg plug. If you don't get any reading, reverse your meter leads and try again. On one of the white wires at the VR, you should get continuity to the white wire at the headlight relay. The wire has a diode in it, so it will only ohm out on one polarity of the meter. (Reverse the meter leads, and it will read infinity).
If that checks, start the engine and try a voltage reading out from that same white wire at the regulator to a ground. You should get a pulsing voltage. Or try an ohm reading from from one white wire at the VR plug to both of the other white wires in that plug .The value is .4 ohms, but most meters don't read that low, so if you get a continuity reading between all three white wires, consider them good. If they check out OK, measure the ohms between one of them and ground. You should read open. (Infinity)
Try those things and let us know what you find out.

CZ

[captjanes]

Sounds like the white wire with the diode in is is not putting out current. Find your headlight relay and the voltage regulator, and pull their plugs. Use an ohm meter and check the continuity between the white wire in the headlight relay, and all three white wires in the voltage reg plug. If you don't get any reading, reverse your meter leads and try again. On one of the white wires at the VR, you should get continuity to the white wire at the headlight relay. The wire has a diode in it, so it will only ohm out on one polarity of the meter. (Reverse the meter leads, and it will read infinity).
If that checks, start the engine and try a voltage reading out from that same white wire at the regulator to a ground. You should get a pulsing voltage. Or try an ohm reading from from one white wire at the VR plug to both of the other white wires in that plug .The value is .4 ohms, but most meters don't read that low, so if you get a continuity reading between all three white wires, consider them good. If they check out OK, measure the ohms between one of them and ground. You should read open. (Infinity)
Try those things and let us know what you find out.

CZ

i check the ohms from the 3 white wires on VR to the one wire on the headlight relay and i reversed my leads and still not getting a reading. my meeter dont move. does this mean my VR is blown or a bad connection somewhere? i unpluged all my connections over the winter and filled them with a silicone grease to keep water out and all the conections and tight and back in the right place. i need to get riding

[captjanes]

with bike stopped the 3 white wires on VR to a ground all read inifity and across all the 3 white wires on the VR all read inifity through each other.. do this mean VR is good????

[ccogswel]

captjanes. These bikes don't really charge a full charge at idle. Try your volt meter again and raise the idle up above 2500 rpm. It should raise up and get close to 14.5 as you rev it up. The charging system on these bikes aren't the greatest thing. I think I read somewhere a long time ago that you can clean all the rectifier connections and ground ends and get a improvement. But if you wanted more at idle there was a guy on here selling custom rectifiers that fixed that issue. T.C. may remember him. It's been a couple years since I read it. But the fellow member did have a website. Lived either in Oregon or Washington state. I think. Hope this helps.

[crazy steve]

with bike stopped the 3 white wires on VR to a ground all read inifity and across all the 3 white wires on the VR all read inifity through each other.. do this mean VR is good????

Uh, probably not... but you have to check the regulator according to the test procedure in the manual. If you don't have a manual, you can download one for free here: http://www.ringler.us/family/mybike.html

You also need to make sure all the charging system connections are 'good'; look here for specifics.... http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35339 Just a few 'extra' tenths of a ohm resistance will be enough to reduce output to below what you need to charge the battery

[CaptonZap]

i check the ohms from the 3 white wires on VR to the one wire on the headlight relay and i reversed my leads and still not getting a reading. my meeter dont move. does this mean my VR is blown or a bad connection somewhere? i unpluged all my connections over the winter and filled them with a silicone grease to keep water out and all the conections and tight and back in the right place. i need to get riding

It sounds like the diode wire is open. Did you touch the two meter leads to see if your meter was working?
Did you pull the plugs at the VR relay and the headlight relay before you measured ohms? What you are doing is finding out if there is continuity in the white wire between the two plugs. There is a diode in that white wire that feeds the HL relay. If the diode is bad, (open), the HL relay will not work.
If both plugs, HL and VR, were off when you measured ohms, and you did not get any reading between the two plugs on the white wire, holding one lead at the HL relay white wire, and ANY white wire at the VR relay, (try all three), and you tried with the meter leads both ways, then it would be the diode that is shot. (open)
The measurement between the three white wires at the disconnected VR plug allows you to see if the coils in the alternator are continuous. One of the coils feeds the white wire that feeds the HL relay through the diode, so if it, or the diode, is open, the relay will not pull in, and no headlight.
What we are trying to find out is, what is causing the electricity to not pull in the headlight relay. Is the relay bad, is the wiring bad, or is the alternator bad.
A pulsing voltage at the HL relay plug white wire, when the engine is cranked over, even with the VR plug unplugged, means that it is getting power from the alternator through the wiring and diode, and that the problem is probably in the relay.
If you get some pulsing power at all three white wires at the VR plug, while it is unplugged, and no power at the white wire at the unplugged HR plug, that means that the wire or the diode between the two is bad.
Once you get that far, you know where to start looking for the fault.
If you decide that the diode is open, you will have to do some open harness surgery.
Your tank should be off. Follow the wires from the HL relay back to the main harness, and get a razor knife, and split the bundle wrapping tape back towards the rear, starting where the HL relay wires meet the main bundle. Be careful that you do not cut the insulation on any of the wires.
Pry the wires apart, and find the white wire that goes to the HR plug. Now follow it back, towards the rear, cutting the wrap as necessary, until you find a section of the white wire that has some heat shrink insulation on it. Cut the heat shrink off, and you will see the diode. Before you cut it out, test it with your ohm meter, both way with the leads. If it does not conduct either way, cut it out, paying attention to the band on the body, and which way it was pointed, take it to a radio shack, get an "or equal" diode, solder it back in, band on the same end as the original, tape it securely to the white wire, plug everything back in, check for operation, and if all is good, retape the harness, put the tank back on, and go ride.
I hope I'm not confusing you. Just start at the first, unplug the connectors, and measure the white wires in the order that I explained.
By the by, what sort of meter are you using? Is it an electronic, or the kind with a needle?
CZ

[captjanes]

It sounds like the diode wire is open. Did you touch the two meter leads to see if your meter was working?
Did you pull the plugs at the VR relay and the headlight relay before you measured ohms? What you are doing is finding out if there is continuity in the white wire between the two plugs. There is a diode in that white wire that feeds the HL relay. If the diode is bad, (open), the HL relay will not work.
If both plugs, HL and VR, were off when you measured ohms, and you did not get any reading between the two plugs on the white wire, holding one lead at the HL relay white wire, and ANY white wire at the VR relay, (try all three), and you tried with the meter leads both ways, then it would be the diode that is shot. (open)
The measurement between the three white wires at the disconnected VR plug allows you to see if the coils in the alternator are continuous. One of the coils feeds the white wire that feeds the HL relay through the diode, so if it, or the diode, is open, the relay will not pull in, and no headlight.
What we are trying to find out is, what is causing the electricity to not pull in the headlight relay. Is the relay bad, is the wiring bad, or is the alternator bad.
A pulsing voltage at the HL relay plug white wire, when the engine is cranked over, even with the VR plug unplugged, means that it is getting power from the alternator through the wiring and diode, and that the problem is probably in the relay.
If you get some pulsing power at all three white wires at the VR plug, while it is unplugged, and no power at the white wire at the unplugged HR plug, that means that the wire or the diode between the two is bad.
Once you get that far, you know where to start looking for the fault.
If you decide that the diode is open, you will have to do some open harness surgery.
Your tank should be off. Follow the wires from the HL relay back to the main harness, and get a razor knife, and split the bundle wrapping tape back towards the rear, starting where the HL relay wires meet the main bundle. Be careful that you do not cut the insulation on any of the wires.
Pry the wires apart, and find the white wire that goes to the HR plug. Now follow it back, towards the rear, cutting the wrap as necessary, until you find a section of the white wire that has some heat shrink insulation on it. Cut the heat shrink off, and you will see the diode. Before you cut it out, test it with your ohm meter, both way with the leads. If it does not conduct either way, cut it out, paying attention to the band on the body, and which way it was pointed, take it to a radio shack, get an "or equal" diode, solder it back in, band on the same end as the original, tape it securely to the white wire, plug everything back in, check for operation, and if all is good, retape the harness, put the tank back on, and go ride.
I hope I'm not confusing you. Just start at the first, unplug the connectors, and measure the white wires in the order that I explained.
By the by, what sort of meter are you using? Is it an electronic, or the kind with a needle?
CZ

i am using a electronic meter from kelin tools i find it pretty good it is fully automatic and a clamp on.. i tested all the wires dis connected this morning.. i dont fully understand if u want me to test the white wires while connected or disconected? do any of this solve the problem of me not having no rpm?? i have a neutral light but no high beam light and my rmp is not working this is why i am thinking that my problem is before all of this.. there is some fuses on the right side of my battery above the rear bake resivour and i cant get no power to them.. although one says turn singles but my turn single and hazzards lights and rear lights and horn all work fine

[GLoweVA]

The RPM/tach gets it input from one of the white leads and the headlight relay also gets power from one of the white leads. These 3 white leads are the output of the alternator. It sounds like the alt may not be putting any output.
If he's getting no reading on his meter going white to white, then it sounds like and open in the wiring. (could be a plug issue too)

Just my 2 cents. Like Steve says, the manual steps you thru the regulator/rectifier testing steps because those diodes in there means you have to have the meter on them just right.