Question about a bad turn signal

Message

nyrblue35 · #1 Unread post by **nyrblue35** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 1:43 am

hey,

i noticed while out yesterday my left turn signal stopped working. the front left works, but flashes real fast while the left rear doesnt work at all. no problems on the right side. i just checked the left rear bulb and while inspecting it it doesnt look like the filament is broken like a fuse is when it goes. could a faulty turn signal relay be the cause even if the right directionals still work? guess i can try swapping bulbs in the back later after work. thanks for any help

nyrblue35 · #2 Unread post by **nyrblue35** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 4:29 pm

well i swapped the rear bulb and its the same deal. too bad im a schmuck and didnt bring the original bulbs, that way i could yell at the guy at suzuki for giving me the wrong front bulb instead of me yelling at myself.

m running out of ideas. didnt really have 40 bucks for a relay.........if thats even the problem.

BuzZz · #3 Unread post by **BuzZz** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 7:12 pm

If a new bulb didn't fix the problem, it is probably an open circuit in the wires to the left rear signal light. Check the wireing for breaks or cracks and run a continuity test if you can. You may also want to check the bulb socket and connections in the tail light itself.

nyrblue35 · #4 Unread post by **nyrblue35** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 1:25 am

BuzZz wrote:If a new bulb didn't fix the problem, it is probably an open circuit in the wires to the left rear signal light. Check the wireing for breaks or cracks and run a continuity test if you can. You may also want to check the bulb socket and connections in the tail light itself.

ill look into that thanks. but would a bad bulb in the rear cause the front to act wacky and flash fast?

BuzZz · #5 Unread post by **BuzZz** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 2:25 pm

nyrblue35 wrote:
BuzZz wrote:If a new bulb didn't fix the problem, it is probably an open circuit in the wires to the left rear signal light. Check the wireing for breaks or cracks and run a continuity test if you can. You may also want to check the bulb socket and connections in the tail light itself.
ill look into that thanks. but would a bad bulb in the rear cause the front to act wacky and flash fast?

Yes it would (...could.... there's lot's of reasons for any electrical problem you care to mention

). The flasher unit works with electrical resistance and a burned bulb sends twice the normal amount of power through the flasher, makeing it function twice as fast.

Putting LED bulbs or signal lights on your bike can do this too, as they use so much less power than conventional bulbs. You can fix that if you can find a replacement flasher unit that is rated for 'variable load'.

nyrblue35 · #6 Unread post by **nyrblue35** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 2:46 pm

well i brought home a multimeter to test the bulb socket but i dont need to be a genius to see that it was complete toast. finito. done. burnt literally. after checking the routing of the wires i could see the wire for that signal underneath the fender was totally frayed and in awful shape.

i called a few suzuki dealers and they basically said to replace the whole turn signal which comes with everything(lamp, housing, plastic) but they wanted like 75-85 bucks for the crappy piece of plastic!!!

i tried one more dealer and i got lucky. he had just the socket and the wire going back to the harness which was just what i needed. 5 bucks no less!!! i see the guy who owned my bike before me sure as hell was no electrician and it was stripped and retaped a few times before closer to the harness. i did the best i could and it works so im psyched.

hope it holds.

thanks