Flickering Light, '85 GS1150E

[Guest]

On my instrument panel, the brake/tail warning light will go on and off sporatically. The brake/tail lights work fine. Any ideas on what/where to look for?

 

[Anonymous]

Same issue

Same issue

I have the same problem... have had it since getting the machine 2+ yrs ago. The only vague correlation I have made is to vibration, but not sure what or where.... certainly have not found a solution.

Nick

 

[Robert Corrie]

I get a light for the headlight being out when on high beam. Changed the "Fault Box " and it didn't help.All I can say is that its a 20 year old bike.

 

[Guest]

Vibration is one of the keys. If I give it a good rev up to 6k-7k, it will sometimes go out (or on).

 

[Anonymous]

This seems to happen a lot with the 1150's, but seldom or never with the 1100's. This may be a hint, but I've not figured it out. My "85" 1150 may do it for a week or two, then may not do it again for several weeks, or it may do it for half a day, and not the other half. Finally gave up & took the bulbs out.

 

[Fern]

Hey Renobruce,

I had the same problem with the instrument light flickering. My culprit was a loose electrical connection of the rear brake. Check the male and female tabs. You might need to tighten the connection by squeezing with some pliers, worked for me.

Hope this helps.

 

[Dink]

That is the problem, a poor connection. My 1150 blows the right hand brake light element about every six months, this is the only elctrical issue the bike has, one-day :roll: I may even get around to fixing it if I can stay off it long enough.
Dink

 

[cbxchris]

I got aggravated and just removed the bulbs....I left in only what I felt was needed.

 

[Orbatos]

Hmm, I've got the same problem, only with both the rear brake light and headlight fault indicators. both previous owners mentioned having the issue, and I haven't had time to trace the lines yet, at least the brake connection gives me a hint on one of them.

 

[kz]

Re: Flickering Light, '85 GS1150E

On my instrument panel, the brake/tail warning light will go on and off sporatically. The brake/tail lights work fine. Any ideas on what/where to look for?

Had the same problem, the most likely problem is the monitoring unit.

The cable connection into the monitoring unit can came loose due to vibrations, unfortunaly the unit is encapsulated and it is not possible to resolder the connections (I couldn't at least).

Have had this problem with two monitoring units.

Try to grab the cables right at the monitoring unit and see if the flickering on the dash changes.

see also:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/viewtopic.php?t=4315

 

[Dave R]

Guys, had this same occasional headlight/tailight indicator lamp flickering on a 1100E for a couple years. Pretty much ignored it just like you all are mentioning.

Today lights came on and stayed on. Checked battery with meter while running. Am not getting any charging. Anyone else noticed if this has affected your charging?

Cleaned all connectors/grounds I could find in battery area/regulator area, and inside headlight shell. Ran separate ground to regulator. Still nothing.

Will also check the brakelight switch tomorrow.

If anybody else comes up with something, would you please chime in.

This surely must be something like a bad connector or failing ground don't you think?

Thanks.

 

[TheCafeKid]

Also, not sure if the 1150 has it, but on the 1100 there is a group of connectors over the motor on the right side that plug into a central control unit, basicly that controls all the dummy lights on the dash...these tend to slide apart, especially if you spend alot of time at high RPMs where it tends to get a little buzzy...i ended up zip tying mine together because it kept doing it.

 

[headsbikesmopars]

My '85 1150 does the same thing. So does a local fellow GS'r..his '85 1150 does it as well.

Terry

 

[blowerbike]

someone told me years ago that there is a control module that goes bad and causes the dash lights to act posessed.
the black box with the rubber band that holds it to the frame above the carbs????
someone chime in here on this evil box...:twistedevil:

 

[Guest]

I went through my bike (back after I originally posted this) and checked all the electrical connections. I didn't notice anything loose, but pulled everything apart and put it back on. The problem went away. The only light that would stay on was my battery light because I didn't have the sensor anymore, so I just pulled that bulb out.

 

[bonanzadave]

Put the Batt sensor wire on the + Batt terminal. Out goes the light.

someone chime in here on this evil box...:twistedevil:

 

[earlfor]

Also, not sure if the 1150 has it, but on the 1100 there is a group of connectors over the motor on the right side that plug into a central control unit, basicly that controls all the dummy lights on the dash...these tend to slide apart, especially if you spend alot of time at high RPMs where it tends to get a little buzzy...i ended up zip tying mine together because it kept doing it.

Thats funny because I was going to say almost that exact thing. There is a 6 or 8 pin connector above the #3 exhaust valve that has a habit of working loose and then corroding, causing loss of continuity intermittently. You loose dash lights and/or turn signals briefly. That would be the first thing I would check. If it gets really bad, you also lose ignition. Ask me how I know. lol

Earl

 

[TheCafeKid]

someone told me years ago that there is a control module that goes bad and causes the dash lights to act posessed.
the black box with the rubber band that holds it to the frame above the carbs????
someone chime in here on this evil box...:twistedevil:

THat is the control box I am speaking of... If the connectors are loose, corroded, or simply bad, i have seen my gauge package go berserk. This is why i ziptied it together, after cleaning all the contacts and greasing them. Ive not heard tell of the box itself going bad, but id hate to think about it, as A LOT of wires go into that sucker, and its all hardwired inside from what i can tell..

 

[Guest]

Thats funny because I was going to say almost that exact thing. There is a 6 or 8 pin connector above the #3 exhaust valve that has a habit of working loose and then corroding, causing loss of continuity intermittently. You loose dash lights and/or turn signals briefly. That would be the first thing I would check. If it gets really bad, you also lose ignition. Ask me how I know. lol

Earl

THat is the control box I am speaking of... If the connectors are loose, corroded, or simply bad, i have seen my gauge package go berserk. This is why i ziptied it together, after cleaning all the contacts and greasing them. Ive not heard tell of the box itself going bad, but id hate to think about it, as A LOT of wires go into that sucker, and its all hardwired inside from what i can tell..

Does the box have any effect on the tach? My tach is sometimes sluggish.

 

[jwhelan65]

Man I hate electrical, evertime I jack with it......