Need Turn Signal Help - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

Joejitsu · 12-06-2005, 03:42 AM

Hey guys, I just bought a 1990 katana 750F that I am having a turn signal issue with. Bike runs great and came with a set of rear turn signals on the bike and no turn signals in front. I can get neither of the rear signals to work, but if I put one of the signals on the front of the bike the fronts seem to work (but still not the rear). I checked the fuse box and don't see any problems. Both of the rear signals appear to be wired.

Since I am definitely not a whizz with motor electronics, would my best bet be to take it to a repair shop and have them take a look at the wiring? Does it sound like it would be a quick and easy (and hence inexpensive) fix?

Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

Joe

GSX1100FL · 12-06-2005, 05:51 AM

I have a 1990 1100F Kat & have found that unless I have the front turn signals hooked up that the rears will not work either & vice versa. It might be that you need to have the fronts hooked up while also having the rears hooked up.

Did you try hooking one of the rears up to the front on the same side as the rear?

Of course the fronts should be a three wire hook up & that might also effect the rears if you are hooking up only two wires.

Before you take it to a shop buy some turn signals for the front & make sure they are a three wire hook up & buy some fuses, nice to have those on hand just in case.

If this doesn't fix the problem try looking for pinched wires.

The wiring on bikes are pretty simple, I am not an expert but have learned a lot of wiring from working on my Kat.

Good luck.

**Clint** · 12-06-2005, 07:43 AM

Dang, great answer and quickly to boot.

Joejitsu · 12-06-2005, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSX1100FL

Did you try hooking one of the rears up to the front on the same side as the rear?...

Of course the fronts should be a three wire hook up & that might also effect the rears if you are hooking up only two wires

Thanks for the reply. I can only find a two wire hookup for the front, not three so maybe my model is a bit different from yours. I did try hooking up one of the rears to the same side as the other rear and when I do that only the front turn signal will work. If the two signals are not hooked up to the same side neither of them will work. I will probably try with all 4 signals attached and if it does not work then take it down to get looked at. I just bought the bike and don't want to spend a week trying to figure out something that may be a 10 min thing for someone that knows what they are doing.

Joe

GSX1100FL · 12-07-2005, 02:33 AM

Sorry Rowdy, this is something I fought with on my Kat all all last winter & in to the summer.

Joe I just checked my Haynes manual for our bikes & it shows that you only have two wires for front & rear signals so either the problem is the bulbs, fuse, your switch on the handle bar, a pinched wire(s) or the relay, it could still be that you need all the indicators hooked up for them to work.

If you live in central Missouri I would be willing to come over & see if I could figure it out for you.

Joejitsu · 12-14-2005, 10:03 PM

Okay, so here is what I have going now...I bought four new aftermarket turn signals. I have the two rear signals hooked up only and when I click the turn signal the light on that side will do one of three things. It will either stay constantly lit (no blinking), it will blink one or two times slowly then turn off, or it will blink very slowly (stay lit for about 4 sec each blink).

If I hook up the front turn signals in addition to the rears none of them will work. I am my wits end with this thing and I really don't want to go tearing apart the entire wiring harness. Any further suggestions before I bite the bullet and take this thing to a shop? Thanks.

Joe

GSX1100FL · 12-15-2005, 02:17 AM

The next thing I would try would be the turn signal relay but it could also be in the turn signal switch.

Try taking the turn signal switch apart & cleaning it, the connections might be corroded.

Is your battery charged?

If those do not help then I say you will need to bite the bullet & take it to a stealership unless you now a private shop that does bike work.

Maybe someone here lives near you that could come over & look at it, if they have an idea about this type of problem.

**inspiron** · 12-15-2005, 10:11 AM

Are the new turn signals using LEDs or lightbulbs? If it's an LED array, you need to add some resistors or something to make it work properly. Search this forum for a post from Nexus242 ... it's been discussed before.

customcracka · 12-15-2005, 04:53 PM

yeah check your flasher, mine was doing crazy things when it needed replacing.

Colorado Cajun · 12-15-2005, 08:23 PM

I'm a low voltage tech for living and have to trouble shoot all kinds of crap except motorcycles and vehicles. What I would do is check the easy and ovious stuff as mentioned in earlier post. (Bulbs and connections) If those are good, check your grounds. One bad ground can cause problems with anything DC.

If all of that looks good, then start at the switch. Are you getting power at the switch? (You will need an volt/ohm meter)

If not, look between the battery and switch (Fuse?)
If so, move on to the connection (Probably where the Flasher is).

Have Voltage?
Is you do, move on to the blinkers.
If not, look in between.

Follow where I'm going with this? You will need a Volt/ohm meter to trouble shoot this. (Follow the path of the power to them.) At what point are you losing voltage?

My guess would be a bad ground, bad flasher, fuse (I'm sure you have checked), or broken wires.

Has anyone done any re-wiring on your bike for the blinkers?

Joejitsu · 12-15-2005, 08:58 PM

well, weirdest things. I noticed that if I revved the bike the blinkers in the back started working more correctly. Took it for a spin and they were doing pretty well the whole trip. So when I got back I hooked up the front two again and they all worked! Not sure what it was that went wrong, but i'm not going to be messing with it anytime soon unless it stops working again.

12-06-2005, 03:42 AM	#1 (permalink)
Joejitsu Newbie Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 6	Need Turn Signal Help Hey guys, I just bought a 1990 katana 750F that I am having a turn signal issue with. Bike runs great and came with a set of rear turn signals on the bike and no turn signals in front. I can get neither of the rear signals to work, but if I put one of the signals on the front of the bike the fronts seem to work (but still not the rear). I checked the fuse box and don't see any problems. Both of the rear signals appear to be wired. Since I am definitely not a whizz with motor electronics, would my best bet be to take it to a repair shop and have them take a look at the wiring? Does it sound like it would be a quick and easy (and hence inexpensive) fix? Thanks for the help, much appreciated. Joe

12-15-2005, 10:11 AM	#8 (permalink)
inspiron Muscle Biker Joined: Jul 2004 Bike: Blue Suzuki GSX 1400 (2003) Location: Canton Basel-Land, Switzerland (47.4493, 7.76536) Posts: 12,068	Are the new turn signals using LEDs or lightbulbs? If it's an LED array, you need to add some resistors or something to make it work properly. Search this forum for a post from Nexus242 ... it's been discussed before. __________________ There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe blog: gsx1400

12-15-2005, 08:23 PM	#10 (permalink)
Colorado Cajun Sprocket Pilot Joined: Nov 2005 Bike: 2006 C50 Silver and Gray Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 851	I'm a low voltage tech for living and have to trouble shoot all kinds of crap except motorcycles and vehicles. What I would do is check the easy and ovious stuff as mentioned in earlier post. (Bulbs and connections) If those are good, check your grounds. One bad ground can cause problems with anything DC. If all of that looks good, then start at the switch. Are you getting power at the switch? (You will need an volt/ohm meter) If not, look between the battery and switch (Fuse?) If so, move on to the connection (Probably where the Flasher is). Have Voltage? Is you do, move on to the blinkers. If not, look in between. Follow where I'm going with this? You will need a Volt/ohm meter to trouble shoot this. (Follow the path of the power to them.) At what point are you losing voltage? My guess would be a bad ground, bad flasher, fuse (I'm sure you have checked), or broken wires. Has anyone done any re-wiring on your bike for the blinkers? __________________ 2006 C50 Silver and gray, Cobra Tall Sissy Bar, K&N Air filter, Suzuki bags, Custom Driver's Back Rest, Memphis Fats 19" windshield with lowers, added a 2nd horn, Power Commander PC3 USB, and Cobra Freeway bars. Mitch

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
turn signal is out	envision1	Gixxer Mixer	7	06-01-2006 07:00 PM
turn signal problem	customcracka	Sportbikes & Sport-tourers	4	12-08-2005 02:34 AM
Auto turn signal	gumby6	Volusia/C50 Getaway	14	10-30-2005 06:42 PM
turn signal question	flipmo	Sportbikes & Sport-tourers	5	03-20-2005 08:47 AM
Turn Signal Replacement	Normal	Cruisers	0	10-21-2004 08:29 PM

12-06-2005, 05:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
GSX1100FL Puddle Runner Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Missouri Posts: 381	I have a 1990 1100F Kat & have found that unless I have the front turn signals hooked up that the rears will not work either & vice versa. It might be that you need to have the fronts hooked up while also having the rears hooked up. Did you try hooking one of the rears up to the front on the same side as the rear? Of course the fronts should be a three wire hook up & that might also effect the rears if you are hooking up only two wires. Before you take it to a shop buy some turn signals for the front & make sure they are a three wire hook up & buy some fuses, nice to have those on hand just in case. If this doesn't fix the problem try looking for pinched wires. The wiring on bikes are pretty simple, I am not an expert but have learned a lot of wiring from working on my Kat. Good luck.

12-07-2005, 02:33 AM	#5 (permalink)
GSX1100FL Puddle Runner Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Missouri Posts: 381	Sorry Rowdy, this is something I fought with on my Kat all all last winter & in to the summer. Joe I just checked my Haynes manual for our bikes & it shows that you only have two wires for front & rear signals so either the problem is the bulbs, fuse, your switch on the handle bar, a pinched wire(s) or the relay, it could still be that you need all the indicators hooked up for them to work. If you live in central Missouri I would be willing to come over & see if I could figure it out for you.

12-14-2005, 10:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
Joejitsu Newbie Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 6	Okay, so here is what I have going now...I bought four new aftermarket turn signals. I have the two rear signals hooked up only and when I click the turn signal the light on that side will do one of three things. It will either stay constantly lit (no blinking), it will blink one or two times slowly then turn off, or it will blink very slowly (stay lit for about 4 sec each blink). If I hook up the front turn signals in addition to the rears none of them will work. I am my wits end with this thing and I really don't want to go tearing apart the entire wiring harness. Any further suggestions before I bite the bullet and take this thing to a shop? Thanks. Joe

12-15-2005, 02:17 AM	#7 (permalink)
GSX1100FL Puddle Runner Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Missouri Posts: 381	The next thing I would try would be the turn signal relay but it could also be in the turn signal switch. Try taking the turn signal switch apart & cleaning it, the connections might be corroded. Is your battery charged? If those do not help then I say you will need to bite the bullet & take it to a stealership unless you now a private shop that does bike work. Maybe someone here lives near you that could come over & look at it, if they have an idea about this type of problem.

12-15-2005, 04:53 PM	#9 (permalink)
customcracka Newbie Joined: Dec 2005 Bike: 1995 Suzuki Katana Location: greenville,sc Posts: 23	yeah check your flasher, mine was doing crazy things when it needed replacing.

12-15-2005, 08:58 PM	#11 (permalink)
Joejitsu Newbie Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 6	well, weirdest things. I noticed that if I revved the bike the blinkers in the back started working more correctly. Took it for a spin and they were doing pretty well the whole trip. So when I got back I hooked up the front two again and they all worked! Not sure what it was that went wrong, but i'm not going to be messing with it anytime soon unless it stops working again.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)