Electrical Trouble

[RavenousPirate]

Tonight when I tried to start my bike, all of the power shut off and will not come back on.

I turned the ignition key and everything came on like normal. I switched over the kill switch and when I pressed the ignition button, that's when everything shut off.

The bike is a 2006. To my knowledge everything was working correctly before this, except for the turn signal indicator light. The turn signals themselves were working fine, but the indicator next to the key would not work.

I tried charging the battery with my battery tender... it charged to full rather quickly, and nothing changed. I'm going to bring it in to have it tested tomorrow, but I was wondering if there was anything else anyone could suggest.

[blaine]

You need to check your fuses.It sounds like you blew the main fuse.Also make sure all battery connections are clean & tight.
:) :cool:

[Water Warrior 2]

What Blaine said. If the whole bike went dark and dead there has to be a main fuse that said good bye.

[RavenousPirate]

Got it running again. Turns out the battery was just bad, all of the fuses were fine.

I'm still having issues with the turn signal indicator light not coming on, and it seems that my horn no longer works. Any suggestions with those?

And of course, thank you guys again for the help =D

[blaine]

Your turn siginal indicator is just a burnt out bulb.If your horn was working before,you may have a loose connection,or fuse.
:cool: :)

[5th_bike]

Blaine beat me to the turn signal indicator bulb, so FYI re: the horn, the two color wire (yellow/green) at the horn is connected to the +12V of the battery, and the black one goes to the switch which should make a connection with ground (neutral) when pushed.

[kparker55]

I'm curious about what happened with your turn signal indicator light problem.

I'm experiencing some strange behavior with my turn signal indicator light as well. While idling at a stop (stop sign/red signal) my turn signal indicator light could be either 1) dark or 2) blinking nice and bright. As if that isn't bad enough to try to troubleshoot, I've observed on numerous occasions that as I accelerate through the gears toward cruising speed (careful to leave on the turn signal) I start seeing the once bright blinking indicator light begin to fade and blink erratically until finally the indicator light just goes dark. Stop at the next stop sign and I can watch the whole cycle repeat (i.e. the phenomenon is repeatable if/when the indicator light lights up in the first place).

I'd suspect the battery except that I wouldn't think that electrical power would diminish as I accelerate unless something is really wrong with the charging system. Battery could be getting weak (it is years old I believe)...could this be a cause?

Thoughts?

[bonehead]

Possibly a loose bulb in the indicator.

[Sarris]

Be aware that the GZ has a very minimal electrical system. It DOES NOT take a standard double element 12v auto bulb in the front turn signals. It is a much lower wattage stock replacement bulb (5 watts??).

I know this because I tried to replace my front signal lenses with clear lenses and amber bulbs. Nada. Irregular flash, none at idle, slow flash with rev, etc.

Check before you jump thru your ass trying to find other front turn signal problems.

[bonehead]

Glad to see ya around Sarris, how's things?

[Sarris]

SOS, DD

:neener:

[geezer]

if the light is doing it then the signals should be to. might have a blown bulb, loose connections or your flasher relay

[kparker55]

<geezer> - All signals appear to be working correctly regardless of indicator light behavior - but I will check more closely under all scenarios.
<Sarris> - Yes, "minimal" is a good word for the gz250 electrical system. I had replaced a bulb in my non-working right rear turn signal with a WalMart-bought Sylv 1141 LL (12.8v, 18.4w) with no success only to find (luckily) a loose wire connection under my seat as the culprit. But I believe I put back the OEM bulb.
<bonehead> - Thanks to this site, I feel confident I can successfully check the indicator bulb to either replace or check for looseness. This will be the first thing I do when I have some time.

Folks, I really appreciate the input! I'm getting the sense that my "weak battery" theory isn't getting any traction here but instead you are advising me to check bulbs and connections...will do. Will keep you posted if I find something.

[geezer]

sorry there are many problems it couldbe those are the more likely. check and see how mch voltage you batt gets at high idle if high or low suspect bad voltage regulator

[technocat]

From what the manual says, the front turn signal bulbs are supposed to be a P21/5W, which is a bulb number 7528 in the Sylvania brand...it is 5W low beam and 21W bright beam. Using any other wattage will result in irregular flash. (Same bulb for the brake/tail light)

The rear turn signals are a P21 bulb, or 7506 in the Sylvania line. This is a single 21Watt bulb. I've used standard Sylvania Long Life (red packaged) automotive bulbs and they work forever.

[grego]

hi all

when i searched for p21 5w bulb on ebay it comes up 1157 which is a standard bulb. there are lots of led replacements of all kinds of shapes. wonder if its better for the electrical system if the bulbs were converted to led ?? be less load on the system or am out in left field somewhere

safe biking

gregor

[Water Warrior 2]

1157 bulbs will do just fine. As for LED bulbs I have tried them and tossed them. I went a bit cheap to experiment. To get a good quality LED you will have to spend more than you want and then install an electronic flasher to operate them. Use regular bulbs and do not worry about the power draw. The signals themselves are not on for long and there is minimal power draw from the 5 watt filaments in the 3 illuminated bulbs.

[ateofan]

:poke2: Hey RavenousPirate = did you ever get to the bottom of the console indicator light not blinking to show that your turn signals were in fact on and working? I am having the exact same issue and can not figure it out, plus that tiny console bulb is tricky - i see no way of replacing it aside from cutting the wires & splicing a whole new assembly in, which i am hesitant to do without knowing if it will for sure fix the problem...

[Gz Rider]

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[mrlmd1]

The bulb itself cannot be bad if it goes on and off but it is possible to have a bad or dirty connection to it in it's socket.
Also check and clean the contacts to the flasher relay and check the wiring diagram to see where the indicator light gets it's power from.
You most likely have a bad connection somewhere or a frayed wire..

[ateofan]

@ GZ Rider - Thanks for the great pointer on bulb removal, that makes sense and I will try it tomorrow! I did actually read your thread but the "As long as you don't turn the bike off with the signal blinking there is no problem but sometimes with non cancelling signals we all forget. " issue was not same as mine and i also didnt quite see a final fix there in the thread either; would love to hear what it was though (if in fact u did ever fix it). It really is a dangerous issue to be having. :-(

@mrlmd1 - it used t work intermittently, but now it doesn't ever turn on at all, so that is why I am assuming the bulb to be the culprit.

[Gz Rider]

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