A First Time Posters Turn Signal Issue!

[TNRider]

Hey crew,

I purchased by first bike (GZ250, duh) an 07, about 4 months ago, and want to start by saying I have gleaned some great knowledge from this site.

Now on to my issue. My turn signal indicator bulb burned out shortly after purchase, so I decided to rig up the dual led light that flashes one bulb for left and the other for right (looked for the instructional video, but did not find it). That worked for a bit, but my soldering was not great, so I just decided to replace the bulb after some flaky performance. I replaced it with a 161LL. Now my left turn signal works every time, while my right works intermittently. Sometimes it will flash and cancel upon start up no problem, other times it will burn brightly upon start up (front and back right turn signals) with no flashing, just a steady bright light. I took the signal bulb cover off and both filaments on the bulb are burning. This will sometimes go away after a few minutes of riding. I replaced the neutral indicator bulb with the same type, just to see of that made a difference (nope).

After reading similar threads it seems that I should clean my turn signal switch. I took out the two screws and the bottom is currently hanging from the handlebars. One of the screws in the back of the switch box is corroded, but I am not seeing any wires and am hesitant about taking anything else apart. What exactly am I supposed to clean, and how do I get to it?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[TNRider]

::Update::

I put the switch box back together without cleaning anything, tested it with a similar outcome, and decided it was time to clean my chain. When I was done I started the bike to do a quick lap around the block to lube it up nice and good when I noticed that now the left blinker was burning steady and the right was blinking and canceling. That did not last very long, as now they are both staying on at a steady burn with both filaments staying bright.

I don't know if this correlates, but today on an evening ride my tank never started to sputter with the gas tank switched to "On', instead I burned strait through my reserve without the opportunity to turn the switch to "Res".

It just doesn't let up, does it? I would take it in to the shop, but alas I am but a poor nursing school student with 4 more months until I get some sweet, sweet Christmas money..

[alantf]

Are you sure it's the blinker light coming on steady? Don't forget that on American bikes the front blinkers have double filament bulbs. One of the filaments in each light is a marker light that comes on when the bike is started up (along with the headlight).

[raul10141964]

repair the ground on the left

[TNRider]

Yeah I am positive both the running light and blinker filaments are burning. I have noticed when at a standstill, if I turn the handlebars to a sharp angle to the left or right, the blinker filament on one side or the other will turn off and the turn signal will work while the handlebars are turned.

[alantf]

This seems to point to a fault in the cable harness. Moving the handlebars moves the cables, which will cause a fault such as a broken cable or ground fault to show up. Physically check the cables somewhere around the front of the bike.

[TNRider]

I turned the key so that the headlight and turn signals came on, and started jiggling the wires coming from the switch to under the tank and out to the headlight, finding that jostling the bundle entering the headlight case caused the turn signals to flicker. So off came the headlight and after some inspection I found a section of wires that had burned through the rubber sleeve and melted sheaths together. I separated each of the wires, wrapped them individually with electrical tape, covering the exposed wires, and then wrapped them all back together. Problem solved (for now)!

Thank you alantf! Safe riding!

[Goose51683]

TNrider,

This may be common sense but I would take another look in that light to make sure your not rubbing against something hot, like a bulb. Wires shouldn't just melt for no reason. I'd hate for you to have to do the same thing after these two wires melt again.

[JohnC]

I replaced it with a 161LL.
Dunno if this has any bearing on things, but my notes say the correct indicator lamp is a #194.