Blinker Control Box GS850 GLT 1979

[SqDancerLynn1]

THIS is the best fix!!! If your control box it bad, convert the signals to manual, remove the box, cut the 4 prong plug off connect the green/black wire to the green also connect the red/black to the black plug it back into the harness.. You also need to change the left handle bar control to something with a detent like 77-79?GS 750 style
check the wiring. Follow the orange wire from the turn signal switch back to the fuse box and disconnect it. Install the flasher between the two.

This is for the 78-79 system only

[jrazz]

Great! An alternative that costs zilch!

I will give that a try and see what happens. Thanks.

[jrazz]

Question:

To change the handelbar switch to detent, what does that involve?

Here is my situation: If I move the blinker to the left, it stays there until I move it back to the middle. If I move it to the right, the same thing occurs. Do I need to do anything else or is that what you mean by detent?

Thanks.

j razz

[Steve]

Before you go cutting any wires, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT ITEM. :shock:

By your description of your box with two wires, one with 6 pin plug, the other with 4 pin plug, you might be describing your ignitor box.
You go cutting into that and, not only will the flashers not work, THE ENGINE WON'T WORK, EITHER.

If the box that you found is on the LEFT side of the battery and is about 2.5 x 3 x 1 inches, it is the ignitor. If the box is on the RIGHT side of the battery and is 1.5 x 1.75 x 1 inches, that is the signal control box.

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[Steve]

Question:

To change the handelbar switch to detent, what does that involve?

Here is my situation: If I move the blinker to the left, it stays there until I move it back to the middle. If I move it to the right, the same thing occurs. Do I need to do anything else or is that what you mean by detent?

Thanks.

j razz

Are you saying that there are only THREE positions in your switch?
I was under the impression that ALL 850s had self-cancelling signals, and the switches actually have FIVE positions.
Think of them as being numbered from left to right:
#1 is spring-loaded, button will immediately return to #2
#2 is for left turns, this is where the button returns after being pushed to #1
#3 will manually cancel the signal from either direction
#4 is for right turns, this is where the button returns after being pushed to #5
#5 is spring-loaded, button will immediately return to #4

Even though the button will stay in postion 2 or 4, the signal control box will determine when the power to the flasher relay is turned off, cancelling the signals.

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[jrazz]

That is what mine looks like.

[Steve]

Considerably different from mine.

The control box:


The plug (only one plug with 6 pins, and a ground wire):


.

[jrazz]

Yours is a few years newer than mine too though.

I road it without the blinker box even attached, so I am sure that is what it is

j razz

[Steve]

I have just been looking at the parts diagrams at Bike Bandit to see if there were different control boxes for the different years. The '79 box does seem different, but from '80 and up, they are all the same. After the initial confusion as to what bike you really do have, I am under the impression that it is an early '80 850L, and was made in '79. BassCliff posted the diagram that is just like the one I was looking at on Bike Bandit (they all use the same diagrams), and the signal control unit is #32. THAT is the part that I have in my pictues above.

.

[Steve]

I believe that is what it is (850 GLT), although when looking up things, there does not appear to be a GLT from 79- only a GN. However, the Haynes Manual shows GLT and that is what I was going by.

That link points to a Haynes manual, all right, but it also mentions production from 1978 to 1988. That may be true for some parts of the world, but here in the USA, we only saw them from 1979 to (I believe) 1984.

.

[Steve]

Yours is a few years newer than mine too though.

I road it without the blinker box even attached, so I am sure that is what it is

j razz

As mentioned in a subsequent post, from '80-on, the contol boxes are all the same. The picture happens to be a spare, but the boxes in the '81 850 and the '82 850L in my garage look identical. That is only one and two years newer than yours, not qute "a few years" newer.

Yes, you can ride the bike with quite a few things not attached. Did the blinkers work in that condition?

Also, I have not seen any mention about my first question to you. Is it an actual Windjammer fairing, or just a similar frame-mounted fairing, or even just a windshield? I am assuming a frame-mount, maybe even a Windjammer, because you are concerned with the signals in it. Note that the Windjammer fairing has dual-filament bulbs in the turn signal locations. The dimmer filament is for running lights, the brighter one is for turn signals. If you have connected the dimmer filament to your turn signals, THEY WILL NOT FLASH. Please check which filament is connected and let us know.

For your convenience, if you have the Vetter wiring harness from the bike to the fairing, here is the color chart:


.

[jrazz]

Yes, it is a windjammer (I assume version 1 as there are no numbers after the name). It says Vetter on it right above the headlight and windjammer on the side.

I checked the wires after someone further up mentioned that and it is connected properly. The running lights come on but not the blinkers.

Also, when I road it, no, the blinkers did not work- but I have yet to wire it per the instructions given above. Hopefully I will report back with good news this evening.

A few is equal to a couple to me It seems like the 79 model is out there all by itself when it comes to parts!

j razz

[jrazz]

Here are some more pictures that may help clarify some things.

j razz

[jrazz]

Here is what I found out. After tracing out the schematic (I have a GS850 GN), the wires did not match up color wise. But following the schematic, I got it worked out but ran into this problem: The headlight and the blinkers all blink when bypassing the blinker control box. Does the handlebar switch have a hazard setting that it could be stuck in? What am I missing?

Thanks,

j razz

[SqDancerLynn1]

to elaborate the 4 prong plug mod connects the rt front to the rt rear (green- green/black) then connect other left side (blue/black to black)
When you move the switch you should feel a click. On my bike I disconnected the orange wire from the turn signal switch. added a 2 ft length of wire to the handle bar switch. Then using the old wire I pulled the new wire thru the tubing. Stuck the flasher in the headlight bucket & connected the two wires to the flasher. Left the stock flasher wires hang..