So this has been happening for a while now but I have always thought it was a trick of the light.
My front left turn signal is always on when the power is on. If i turn the left blinker on it blinks as normal, If i turn on the right blinker it stays on. Brake lights, high/low beam have no effect.
Is it a fuse? Loose wire? Bulb burning out? Something weird?
Bike:
2003 VFR
24041 Miles
No electrical farkels
Harness recall done
[image: View Post]vfjayr, on 11 August 2010 - 10:14 PM, said:
So this has been happening for a while now but I have always thought it was a trick of the light.
My front left turn signal is always on when the power is on. If i turn the left blinker on it blinks as normal, If i turn on the right blinker it stays on. Brake lights, high/low beam have no effect.
Is it a fuse? Loose wire? Bulb burning out? Something weird?
I'd start by checking at the turn relay. Pull the relay and ensure all the terminals are clean. Also check if it lights up even when the relay is disconnected, because it could well be a current leak inside the relay itself.
I've been considering doing this on purpose. If you figure out how it happened, I'd like to know. The relay is probably a good place to check, as are the grounds. For that matter, I know some bikes have front running light essentially and there is one filament that is always lit in the blinker and another that blinks when you turn on the blinker. My bike is missing these (as well as most of the rest of the stock cosmetic parts) so I can't verify if this is the case, but it might be that the problem is with your right light that isn't always lit. . .
Ok, so this weekend I had enough extra time that I decided to take off pretty much all the body panels.... OK not all the body panels but most of them and this is what i learned:
A lot of "stuff" gets in behind the fairings when you are not paying attention....
All connectors are solid
All fuses are fine
No kinked or frayed wires on the harness
Turn signal relay is OK
What i did find out is that if I disconnect the red connector from the signal/hi-low/horn control pod and leave the black connector still connected the light in question ( and all lights seem to) function normally. As soon as I connect the red connector the left turn signal comes back on...
Is it possible that the whole control assembly is bad? I saw nothing in the service manual for advanced trouble shooting something like this.
I've got a 5th gen so maybe I won't be helping you but I think the turn-signals act as running lites when the bike is on. So you've got a filament burned on the right signal, not on all the time, but signal filament works?? Left is actually working the way it's suppose to.:fing02:
VFRs have front running lights/turn indicators using dual filament bulbs. One filament (the dimmer one) is used for the "always on" state and the other (brighter one) is used for the turn indicator. Your rear brake lights work the same way (i.e. dimmer filament for running light, brighter one for braking). So, if everything is working correctly we should see the following:
1. Left and right steady on with no blinkers activated.
2. Left steady on & right flashing when right blinker is activated.
3. Right steady on & left flashing when left blinker is activated.
Remember that the flashing light should be brighter that the always on state. If something doesn't match up with the above, and you've ensured the wiring is good, then I suspect you have a burned out filament. Replace the bulb (in this case the one on the right side) and the problem should go away.
[image: View Post]VFRocker, on 13 September 2010 - 03:41 PM, said:
I've got a 5th gen so maybe I won't be helping you but I think the turn-signals act as running lites when the bike is on. So you've got a filament burned on the right signal, not on all the time, but signal filament works?? Left is actually working the way it's suppose to.:fing02:
Good grief.... Really? Is that how it works? I have never noticed if they act as 'running lights' before.
Can any other 6th gen owners confirm?
I suspect that I may get nominated for an "award" soon....
[image: View Post]kaldek, on 11 August 2010 - 10:37 PM, said:
[image: View Post]vfjayr, on 11 August 2010 - 10:14 PM, said:
So this has been happening for a while now but I have always thought it was a trick of the light.
My front left turn signal is always on when the power is on. If i turn the left blinker on it blinks as normal, If i turn on the right blinker it stays on. Brake lights, high/low beam have no effect.
Is it a fuse? Loose wire? Bulb burning out? Something weird?
I'd start by checking at the turn relay. Pull the relay and ensure all the terminals are clean. Also check if it lights up even when the relay is disconnected, because it could well be a current leak inside the relay itself.
I don't think our bikes have relays in the traditional mechanical form. The whole circuit pulses as if a digital relay. I've cut into the turn signal, just after the switch and before any "relay", and hard wired my garage door opener. When I hit the right turn button, the door goes up. But I have to cancel the signal or the door stops, than comes down, then stops, then goes up, then stops, and goes down...........................................you get the picture. At first I had wired it to the high beam but I blast the neighbors with that set up so I swapped it around to the turn signal. Works great.
[image: View Post]Goosechef, on 13 September 2010 - 04:21 PM, said:
I don't think our bikes have relays in the traditional mechanical form. The whole circuit pulses as if a digital relay. I've cut into the turn signal, just after the switch and before any "relay", and hard wired my garage door opener. When I hit the right turn button, the door goes up. But I have to cancel the signal or the door stops, than comes down, then stops, then goes up, then stops, and goes down...........................................you get the picture. At first I had wired it to the high beam but I blast the neighbors with that set up so I swapped it around to the turn signal. Works great.
Digital (or solid state) relays don't "pulse" the circuit. They create an on-off condition the same as traditional relays. The difference is in how they do it. A mechanical relay, or more appropriately, a thermal relay, uses a bi-metal switch. As current flows though the switch (two pieces of metal bonded together) it heats up because it has resistance. Because different metals have different resistances, one side heats up faster than the other. This causes the switch to bend (thermal expansion and all that), in turn causing the switch to complete (on) or open (off) the circuit. Solid state relays do the same thing except they use transistors and timing ICs to determine the on-off duration. The reason splicing into your turn signal circuit causes your garage door to open, stop, close, stop, etc. is because your turn signal button is not independent of your light circuit. The switch does not send a signal to the relay to start working, it is part of the circuit.
[image: View Post]Jakobi, on 13 September 2010 - 05:11 PM, said:
Just finished downloading the manual. The front turn indicators also work as running lights.
-Jake
Since my dealer was between work and home i stopped by to pick up a new bulb.... And did conform that I was addressing the wrong issue. Instead of "Why is this on" it should have been "why is that off...."
[image: View Post]vfjayr, on 13 September 2010 - 05:39 PM, said:
[image: View Post]Jakobi, on 13 September 2010 - 05:11 PM, said:
Just finished downloading the manual. The front turn indicators also work as running lights.
-Jake
Since my dealer was between work and home i stopped by to pick up a new bulb.... And did conform that I was addressing the wrong issue. Instead of "Why is this on" it should have been "why is that off...."
so....yeah......bulb replaced and all is good....
Thanks everybody!
If you took the bike to the dealer and asked him to figure it out and fix it, you would be out $200 for a $5 part. This forum is a great source of information.
[image: View Post]Goosechef, on 13 September 2010 - 05:49 PM, said:
[image: View Post]vfjayr, on 13 September 2010 - 05:39 PM, said:
[image: View Post]Jakobi, on 13 September 2010 - 05:11 PM, said:
Just finished downloading the manual. The front turn indicators also work as running lights.
-Jake
Since my dealer was between work and home i stopped by to pick up a new bulb.... And did conform that I was addressing the wrong issue. Instead of "Why is this on" it should have been "why is that off...."
so....yeah......bulb replaced and all is good....
Thanks everybody!
If you took the bike to the dealer and asked him to figure it out and fix it, you would be out $200 for a $5 part. This forum is a great source of information.
Dont i know it...This is one of thd best forums I have ever been on...
End of thread · 19 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 25 Sep 2010