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Dimming dash lights?!?

A

A_C

Training Wheels
Wanted to check, When I turn on a turn signal, the dash lights dim while the signal is lit. Is this normal or is this a sign that a) battery is going, or b) something else is taking power as well. Only draw I have is heated grips but they are switched off and are not drawing power. Thanks in advance, Colin
 
I'm not really smart in the electrical department but I never noticed that on my bike. I would check the electrical connectors going from the main wiring harness to the upper fairing wiring under the front of the gas tank. Clean and put some dielectric grease in the connectors and see if it still happens.
 
Colin I would put a volt meter on the battery and check the voltage at idle with the signal on and see what you have. Should be around 13-13.5 volts or higher. I have noticed that mine dim slightly at idle with the signal on but I think its just due to the alternator not being able to react quickly at idle RPM's. If your unsure about the battery I would have it tested and check the fluid in it if its needed. The summer is just as hard on a battery as is the winter.
 
Colin, I lean toward the battery being weak. However, it could also be a grounding problem. Check the ground at the battery and also at the ignition coils. There may be some others but they don't come to mind right now. Make sure they're clean and tight. You might want to take them apart and clean them well and apply some connection (or dielectric) grease and reassemble. Good luck. Eddie Sanford, FL 2005 Concours 1969 Triumph Bonneville AMA# 686667 COG# 7073 CDA# 0136 http://picasaweb.google.com/Eddie753
 
Thanks, I looked a little more into it and it only does it at idle. I'll try the voltmeter this weekend. Thanks.
 
it and it only does it at idle. That's not abnormal since the alternator's output is lowest at idle and two extra bulbs are turning on during the flash loading it some more.
 
Idle may be to low or regulator not doing its job. Idle should be like 1100 and regulator should hold the voltage DOWN to ~14 even when running the rpm up. If it goes above 15v then the regulator is not right and may be the cause of your low rpm voltage also. Last if the battery is almost bad I would bet you will know soon enough if that is it. On battery what you really want to track is what voltage does it drop to when you are trying to start the bike. Hard thing to track but they do sell monitors to do that if you don't like living on the edge like most motorcycle riders. ---------------------------------- South Central Area Director Email scad@cog-online.org
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