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Directionals on Fritz

gr8scott

gr8scott

Member
Member
Hi all, Here's a puzzler.... Couple years ago I installed this http://www.aerostich.com/stopper-led-brake-light-versa-light.html which has auxiliary turn signals built in. Required splicing into the rear wiring harness with those blade splice things here http://www.gordonrichards.net/300zx/foglight.splice.connector.jpg Works(ed) great for a year or two. Then the directionals seemed to go on the fritz, meaning the wouldn't work when I thumbed the handlebar switch. So I left it on "left" turn for several miles, and all of a sudden the blinker came on by itself. Further fiddling determined that if they don't blink when I start up the bike, shut her down with the key and restart and they usually come back. Guy Young suggested I replace the flasher unit under the right fairing pocket, which did seem to fix the problem for about a year. Then this spring the same thing happens. So I go buy another flasher unit and install it, and it seems to work for a trip or two, then I get the same problem again. I find it difficult to believe that three flasher units could go bad inside of a year. Do I really have a wiring short? I hope not.
 
The very first place to check would be all the connections you made with the splicers. They rust and chew up wires that vibrate and cause untold amounts of problems. Solder all your connections and use shrink wrap You would have probably been better off using spin on connectors like in your house wiring. :) Pretty good rule of thumb too is to wrap all your customer installed relays and such items in plastic and tie wrap them.
 
Flasher units tend to go bad quicker when they are powering a load higher than the rated capacity (in W or A). The aux light you installed appears to be all LEDs so I doubt it alone would add appreciable to the total power load. As Ronnie mentioned, those splicers are notorious for creating poor connections. They tend to oxidize and corrode at the connection point over time creating an open circuit or adding significant resistance to the circuit. Re-splice by proper soldering, and be sure to strip back to clean wire. For automotive and marine wiring I tend to prefer using liquid electrical tape (home centers and marine supply) instead of heat-shrink. When used properly it makes a water and air tight seal around the soldered splice.
 
The other thing which could prematurely cause the blinker to fail would be a dirty connector creating a short circuit or a high current leakage path to ground when moisture gets in there. I once had a 40A fuse blow from dirt getting into a connector. Clean all the connectors and try again. Be glad you only lost the blinker.
 
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