Laid 'er down: Turn signal issue.

[silverx10]

Brand new to the forums, but from a search for similar issues, I think you guys may be able to be of some assistance (hope so, too!). That being said, here's what happened:

About a month ago, I was out on the bike for the first time. Went to take a turn, took it a bit too wide, ended up introducing the curb and the front tire to each other a bit too intimately.

Cowling on the front right was all kinds o' banged up, and the front right signal popped away as per the design.

A month later, everything is back to the way it was, except one issue: The front right signal will light up as it's supposed to when the bike is running, but when the right signal is actually activated to turn, it barely blinks at all, while the rear right signal flashes twice as fast as the norm.

Left signals work fine, and all lights light up solid correctly.

Any ideas what could be causing this? Replaced the front right turn signal light, among other things, btw.

Thanks for looking!

 

[dturpen]

Any ideas what could be causing this? Replaced the front right turn signal light, among other things, btw.

Thanks for looking!

:welcome: to the forum! Hope you didn't hurt yourself too bad in the fall, other than your pride of course.

It could be a few different things, so I would start by checking your wiring. Make sure you don't have any wires that are crimped or cut. It helps if you have a test light or multimeter. If the wires test good, then you can check the bulb.

Believe it or not, I bought a new set of turn signals, and one of the bulbs was bad and I had to replace it. I've also bought a set of new bulbs and had bad ones, too.

 

[Motogiro]

No ground or open circuit comes to mind. Also make sure the lamp is in the socket correctly. Check that the wires are attached properly. The are 3 wires for each front signal.
You should have a running light filament on the left and right and a directional filament on each side. one ground wire on each side. Also OEM lamps are different the standard automotive 1157 type lamp. The OEM lamps have a different physical nature to withstand the inherent vibrations from motorcycle.
Let us know how you make out and :welcome: to the forum!

 

[aziebell]

I had an issue with my signal at one point. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. What happened was one of the connectors inside the signal wasn't taking contact...it slipped out of place. It was at a a quick disconnect point in the wiring, so I did not have to strip any wires or anything, it was easy to see and fix. I just had to pull it back out and applied a bit of electrical tape to keep it in place. No problems anymore! Someone will probably be able to give you more details, but I gotta run off to work. But definitely check the connectors.

 

[silverx10]

Thanks to all o' you guys for the quick response.

Yeah, the fall was more to the ego than anything else. Right arm was tender for the past month, but it served as a good reminder that I shouldn't get back on the bike until I get through the basic course I've got next week. Fortunately, had all my gear on, so no scratches.

I'll get out there tomorrow and check the wiring to double and triple check that everything is alright; maybe even swap the bulbs in the front left and right to see that it isn't a bad bulb that I got. Replacement one was an OEM from Yamaha and it looked fine, but we'll see what happens!

 

[Motogiro]

No problem! Get your arm better and get that class in. Everyone gets a chance to dump it so don't hurt yourself too bad over it.
Yup! That gear makes a difference! :rockon:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

That's what we emphasize in class, introducing the basic fundamentals in learning how to corner. #1 cause of crashes due to rider error happens during a corner.

I can never understand some riders, they spend thousands of dolllars on their bike, and gear (I hope) but never have the patients to keep the bike parked until they learn how to ride or get their M endorsement. I know, easier said than done. But the end results are usually not good, you end up spending more money to get your bike fixed and replace your damaged gear.

 

[silverx10]

Yeah, patience has never been a strong suit of mine, but fortunately the Navy requires you to get the course under your belt in order to ride your bike on base, so they provide the course for free. So by the end of next week, I'll have my M endorsement and be good to go.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Yeah, patience has never been a strong suit of mine, but fortunately the Navy requires you to get the course under your belt in order to ride your bike on base, so they provide the course for free. So by the end of next week, I'll have my M endorsement and be good to go.

One of the great benefits of serving, by the way thanks for your service.

We have quite a number of members who are serving, we even have a military forum for you.

 

[silverx10]

Ahhhhh, the snowball effect...

So the consensus that you guys settled on here in the forums has been eating away at me since you brought it up the other day, and I just haven't had the chance to get out and verify that that's correct. Weekend came and the fiancee wanted to spend some time together, and then the week came and seriously cold weather and a dusting of snow to boot.

So while I'm sitting here noodling over (and even hoping) for the possibility that it's just an issue with some wiring, I've now begun to worry that it might be something with the bulb itself (which I'm gonna put to the test tomorrow before any of the cowling comes off).

Before I go any further, does anybody know of any chains (e.g., AutoZone, NAPA, etc.) that actually sells the required bulbs? The two stores I've actually gone to check for this don't carry them in their automotive departments, but they carry replacement bulbs for the headlights, so... that leads me to believe (correctly or otherwise) that the particular bulbs for the stock turn signals are proprietary?

And because of that, I ended up turning to the online retailer I used to get the cowling from, PartShark.com.

But now that I've gone and looked, I've actually noticed that there are two different part numbers for the front and rear set of signal bulbs.

Could this cause the problems I've been having?

Arggggghh... having to work and not being able to confirm or put theories to rest is mind-numbing.

 

[DownrangeFuture]

Yeah, it could be. My wife picked mine up at NAPA. NAPA brand even. But we always bring the bulbs in to compare.

I'm actually surprised you got one of the bulbs for the rear into the front socket, or vice versa. The front is a two filament bulb as it's a running light/turn signal and the rears are a single filament. I tried a rear in the front to see if I could get by without the running light and it wouldn't physically fit in the socket. They're sailor proof. lol

But a loose connection would do that too. Change voltage or resistance and you change the current. Change the current and they get really dim, or really bright.

 

[silverx10]

Yeah, definitely gonna tough out the cold tonight and get to the bottom of this. Driving me nuts.

 

[Motogiro]

Yeah, definitely gonna tough out the cold tonight and get to the bottom of this. Driving me nuts.

Two filaments in the front directionals, one filament in the rear directionals.

 

[silverx10]

Alright so that's one less possibility to worry about. Temps dropped down to 25, so I'll tackle it first thing in the AM.

Random side note: Any suggestions where I go to get 'er state inspected? None of my local friends seem to know.

 

[Motogiro]

Alright so that's one less possibility to worry about. Temps dropped down to 25, so I'll tackle it first thing in the AM.

Random side note: Any suggestions where I go to get 'er state inspected? None of my local friends seem to know.

Virginia Beach DMV
2401 Courthouse Drive, Virginia Beach - (804) 497-7100
Department of Motor Vehicles

Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles - 3551 Buckner Boulevard, Virginia Beach - (804) 497-7100

 

[silverx10]

Wow, I honestly had no idea the DMV did state inspections. Coming from Alaska, the entire concePT of an inspection was a foreign one, so I'd always assumed it was just something that helped the car dealerships and lube places make some extra bucks.

That being said, can I just get it inspected anywhere I'd normally get my car inspected? Thanks either way for your assist!

 

[Motogiro]

Wow, I honestly had no idea the DMV did state inspections. Coming from Alaska, the entire concePT of an inspection was a foreign one, so I'd always assumed it was just something that helped the car dealerships and lube places make some extra bucks.

That being said, can I just get it inspected anywhere I'd normally get my car inspected? Thanks either way for your assist!

Do you have motorcycle inspection in Virginia?

We don't have inspection stations in California. We do have to get smogged every 2 years.

 

[silverx10]

I'm assuming so since it's got inspection stickers on it and since my course requires that I bring proof of up-to-date inspection for the temp tags for base access.

Not being facetious, as all I know is what I read online. Gots no motorcycle savvy friends to speak of down here.

 

[Motogiro]

I'm assuming so since it's got inspection stickers on it and since my course requires that I bring proof of up-to-date inspection for the temp tags for base access.

Not being facetious, as all I know is what I read online. Gots no motorcycle savvy friends to speak of down here.

Well you gots us and that make life more simples! :rockon:

 

[silverx10]

Found the issue without having to remove any of the cowling! The one on the right is the offending incorrect bulb that I ordered from PartShark, whereas the one on the left is the one that came along with the bike.

Far as I can tell, the only difference is that the one on the left has got that bar in the center leading up to that second filament, whereas the one on the right does not. There's also a slightly different wiring on the base of the bulbs, which didn't seem to really affect much of anything insofar as fit is concerned.

So I guess I'm off to NAPA in the hopes of finding the bulbs there. If not, gonna be another two week wait while I make the order from ParkShark, and then they make the order from Japan.

...What a perfectly ridiculous waste of time.

Thanks again to all for the help!