Indicators Not Functioning

Son_Of_Dog

Unfailing Millennial
Joined
Jul 2, 2019
Messages
265
Location
Norman, Oklahoma
Ride
08 Rocket III Touring
I've been working on the bike again today. When I got on it this morning I noticed that the indicators weren't working. When the indicator switch is moved to either side the headlight and cluster will flicker slightly, but the indicators do not light. I thought it might be an issue with the LED bulbs that were in the front, but replaced them with standard bulbs and got nowhere. After a small battery of tests and a large battery of reading old threads, this is what I've figured out:
  1. I believe that I have some LED bulbs that don't cause a problem, because while they would flash quicker than regular bulbs they wouldn't visually cause any other problems.
  2. After some continuity testing, I found that in the rear indicators, both the positive and negative side of the bulbs are continuous to the ground on the battery. I'm not certain this is how it should be, but I am certain that I don't understand it if it is.
  3. I do not appear to have voltage to the wires going to the indicators in the plug in the headlight bucket, whether I have switch on the left hand switch cube activated or not. I also could not find voltage at the switch.
  4. After studying the wire diagram pretty intensively, I'm not really sure where I should be looking for voltage going further backward (toward the battery)
I'm not sure what I'm dealing with here, I've checked the fuses, and none of them are blown. Regardless, I think probably I have a wire grounding out somewhere in the indicator circuit. If anyone has any ideas, your thoughts would be much appreciated.
 
Depending on your multimeter, it could look like the positive is down to ground as the bulb filament has quite low resistance. Remove the bulbs when testing for ground faults, unless your multimeter can measure low resistance.

I'd have a look at the flasher unit. They are pretty cheap and buy a LED compatible unit so that your LED's don't cause fast flashing.
 
Depending on your multimeter, it could look like the positive is down to ground as the bulb filament has quite low resistance. Remove the bulbs when testing for ground faults, unless your multimeter can measure low resistance.

I'd have a look at the flasher unit. They are pretty cheap and buy a LED compatible unit so that your LED's don't cause fast flashing.

I had the bulbs out while testing. On the Touring model, according to Decosse and others, the flasher unit is on the board in the instruments and the diode pack is wrapped up somewhere in the wiring harness. I'm really hoping it isn't a flasher unit. I should also mention that I attempted swapping out the instruments with a known functioning speedo (after replacing the LED bulbs with standard bulbs) and the issue was not rectified. This leads me to think that the flasher unit isn't fried, if it is indeed on the speedo's circuit board.
 
LED bulbs ae directional, current only goes thru them one way. Did you try reversing leads? No flasher unit on Touring due to self canceling program in computer.

I'm aware that the LED's only work one way, and they were working prior to the issue, just flashing a little faster. I did not try reversing the leads. Also, the LED bulbs have since been removed from the system and replaced with the incandescent type bulb. Wouldn't the removal of the LED bulbs allow the system to work again? or is there some kind of fuseable link that I'm not aware of? Good to know that there's no flasher unit.
 
Wouldn't the removal of the LED bulbs allow the system to work again? or is there some kind of fuseable link that I'm not aware of? Good to know that there's no flasher unit.
Well there is one caveat - if the changes have buggered the built in flashing circuits. Sorry - I know it's not helpful.
 
Well there is one caveat - if the changes have buggered the built in flashing circuits. Sorry - I know it's not helpful.

I think I covered that by swapping the the speedo with a known good one, but there might be other flashing circuits in the bike? I switched the bulbs back to standard incandescent before I swapped the speedo.
 
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I think I covered that by swapping the the speedo with a known good one, but there might be other flashing circuits in the bike? I switched the bulbs back to standard incandescent before I swapped the speedo.
i don't know if this helps or not, but my LED indicators wouldn't work when my battery voltage was low.
My rectifier wasn't putting out enough for them but the bike ran.
Changed the rectifier and all is well.
 
If you plan to use LEDs with a Touring, you MUST use load resistors - depending on the impedance you could potentially get either fast flashing or no flashing at all

If you pull only one bulb, then you can potentially still read resistance (as a short) through the other end to ground. So you would need to pull all the lamps to check; note also that these sockets are really flaky and just pulling a bulb is enough to cause a short on the bayonet terminals

I'm trying to recall - do you have my KeyLess (I might be getting you confused with another member) - if you do, then do the turn signals flash when it arms/disarms? And all of them? If any don't that would validate whether there are any issues with the lamp sockets/bulbs/leds (the key-less uses a different circuit completely to drive the turns when arming/disarming, independent of the Instrument panel or indeed ignition even being on)

If you do not have my keyless, this is moot, however I can give you another way to test similarly:
Find the Alarm connector under the tank, with the bypass shorting pug in it;
To help identify pin #'s the 2 shorting links are between pins 1-2 and 3-5. (the top row, viwed from wire side goes 1,2,3, space 4, 5)
What you will want is pins 6, 7 & 8 which are directly under 1, 2 & 3
6 is constant power - 7 & 8 go to right &left turn signals respectively
You can leave ignition off:
Take a paper clip and open it up and bridge between 6 & 7 , then 6 & 8 (if you cannot get all the way through the bypass connector then remove the bypass connector and access the main harness side directly)
So when you bridge 6 to 7 both front and rear right turns will (should) illuminate; similarly 6 to 8, both front and rear left turns will light
Again, this will at least tell you if you have any of the local sockets/bulbs as a problem
One caution - if you DO have a short in one of the sockets then you may blow fuse 4 - if none of your lamps light with this test, then check to see if fuse 4 has indeed blown, which would suggest a short in one of the fixtures
 
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