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Ghosts in my blinkers

  • Thread starter Thread starter cliffnote
  • Start date Start date
C

cliffnote

Guest
On my 79 1000e I have an intermittent left turn signal. It totally works when it wants to but the right signal is as dependable as a Rolex. The bike can be sitting completely still (without motor running) and the left may work on 30% of my tries. I have taken apart the handlebar switch and cleaned contacts as well as inspected; all appears to be operating fine. I have looked for shorts but can't figure out how that could be the problem if the condition doesn't change when I wiggle the wires. I have cleaned the contacts withing the connectors as well. Now here is the interesting thing: When riding the bike, the left signal will not work for the first 15 minutes. But after that, all of a sudden, it works with regularity. BTW: If this bike ever came with auto-canceling signals, it never worked for me or my brother who bought the bike new.
I appreciate any ideas from my zook gurus. I thank you in advance.
 
Check the grounds and I would disassemble the turn signal control module and re solder the circuit board
 
Change the bulb. It may have a small break in the filament.

Control module? Sorry never heard of one so I will shut up now.
 
SqDancerLynn1 said:
Check the grounds and I would disassemble the turn signal control module and re solder the circuit board
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, that's near impossible to do on that unit. the only things that are accessible on the board are two contacts on each relay, one end of a diode and one wire. the rest of the components are either covered by a plastic shield (the housing) which would have to be cut away, or encased in epoxy. the vast majority of the components are potted in epoxy.

from what I know so far about those turn signal control units, I would speculate the TSCU is bad.

I have one TSCU almost completely un-potted and three more waiting their turn thanks to Steve! (sedelen)

yes, the '79 GS1000E's came with self canceling turn signals from the factory as did the '78 'E'.
 
One more thing that might help troubleshooting and is non-invasive:

Swap sides with the signal bulbs. Yep, put the left bulbs on the right and the right bulbs on the left. See if the problem stays the same or moves to the other side. :-k

There is a remote possibility that there is an incorrect bulb on the left side, which is not loading the flasher correctly. If the problem moves to the right, the only difference is the bulbs, so change them.

However, if the problem stays on the left, you are going to have to get a little deeper into the system. Start by ensuring that your turn signal housings are properly grounded,

.
 
It is your distance counters in the speedometer. That is exactly what happens when they start messing up. It gets progressively worse.
 
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Thanks to all for your suggestions. I will start with the easiest and work my way up on the more difficult solutions. If, in fact, the last resort is a distance counter in the speedometer; what's the fix?
 
At first I thought the problem was the control unit. I replaced it and it happened again shortly after the change. The same symptoms. I had planned on changing my clocks. when I did, my turn signals started working perfectly. I just remember seeing the distance counters in the wiring diagram as part of the turn signal circuit. I haven't looked into a solution for the counters yet, but it is on my to do list.
 
The speedometer assembly has a reed switch inside it.

the reed switch is supplied a voltage by the TSCU. when this reed switch is opened and closed as the speedometer is being turned, the switch supplies a voltage output which is used by the TSCU to determine what road speed to hold off, (below 9.3 mph) or to start (above 9.3 mph) the count down timer for self cancel. when testing the reed switch with a continuity tester, or the continuity position of a DVOM, a pulse should occur approximately every 60 degrees when rotating the speedometers input 'drive'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_switch
 
So is this serviceable? I have a spare speedo, but it shows 32000 fewer miles than the original, and I don't want to change it.

Paul

rustybronco said:
The speedometer assembly has a reed switch inside it.

the reed switch is supplied a voltage by the TSCU. when this reed switch is opened and closed as the speedometer is being turned, the switch supplies a voltage output which is used by the TSCU to determine what road speed to hold off, (below 9.3 mph) or to start (above 9.3 mph) the count down timer for self cancel. when testing the reed switch with a continuity tester, or the continuity position of a DVOM, a pulse should occur approximately every 60 degrees when rotating the speedometers input 'drive'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_switch
Click to expand...
 
You should be able to replace the reed switch if you don't mind dissecting the speedometer. I have one open at the moment, but I haven't looked into replacing the reed switch.
 
blinker blues

blinker blues

Okay, so I switched the bulbs from left to right and vise-versa but no help. I also used an extra ground on the lights as well but that didn't help either. My brother insists that he never had self-canceling turn signals on this 1000E but maybe it broke so soon after he got it he never knew and just used the manual turn-off.
 
Roger that; it may be time to open up the speedo.....God be with me!
 
The wires to the distance counter should be black/red and blue/red if I am reading my wiring diagram correctly.
 
cliffnote said:
Roger that; it may be time to open up the speedo...
Click to expand...
Test it first! if you do need to get inside the speedo, let me be the first one to tell you, it won't give up it's innards 'quite' so easily. :(

I've got an idea floating around in my head for building a replacement TSCU out of a 'few' bits.
someone else, (who shall for the time being remain nameless) might ;) have some information on building a replacement as well.
 
Question: Why would the reed switch for the distance counter only affect the left signal? are there two reed switches? Does anyone have a sequence of operation for the signal control unit?
 
I share pretty much the same problem, left turn signal not working while riding, on pretty much the same bike, '79 GS1000E, in the same general area, Central Florida. I haven't swapped the bulbs, but I will and will check for dirty high resistance grounds, haven't done that yet, and that seems plausable, but I have swapped out the speedometer and nothing has changed. I will have to check those grounds and swap those bulbs and see what happens. But you know, you just got to ask yourself this question, "Why would it do it when I'm riding and not idling or sitting still in the garage?" and "Why would a dirty ground or defective bulb not affect it
until I'm riding?" I think it's the TSCU, and I think it's sensitive to vibration,
so much so, it affects it's operation, higher rpm's, moving over the road, etc. But these peculiar problems usually make sense when the problem is found.
 
There may be an easy solution. The reed switch appears to be a single pole switch of sorts that is magnetically opened or closed. Looking at the wiring diagram the black/red and blue/red wire that goes to the speedometer connects to each end of the reed switch. The connectors are in the headlight bucket. Either just disconnecting them will make the turn signals manual, canceled with the manual canceling down switch or shorting them will. I suspect the switch is normally opened and cancels when the reed switch closes. I also might be entirely wrong, but I will put it to the test soon. I need to trace the down switch circuit, that should give me a better idea of what is going on.
 
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