85 xt600z problems with indicators
 

hi,firstly i just like to say what a great site this is,i have been reading all the posts for months now & the r.t.w travel storys are fantastic,god i wish my kids where older haha dont think the missus would be to chuffed if i went on a r.t.w trip.
Anyhow i've got an 85 xt 600 tenere,i have had it all apart to re-spray it etc,now its back together the indicators do not work,i have put all the wires back into which i thought where the right joins i.e green green black black etc but no joy,does anyone have any ideas coz at the moment i cant really ride it till this is sorted.thanks guys

Hi, if youve had a respray i guess you removed the wiring and all, so probably the cause of poor indicators is a bad earth somewhere. Check that the paint isnt stopping the current, get a small file or wire brush and remove paint where earth wires attatch to frame.

I'd agree with the suggestion about checking for a bad earth, but the indicators are earthed through the black wire which joins all the others in the loom which are all earthed together - so I'd expect other lights not to work either - does everything else work OK? The horn for example?

If none of the indicator bulbs are lighting, and you are happy that the connectors close to the indicators are good, the problem must lie further down the loom, but do check the indicators connections to earth on the black wire first. I'd then check the connectors on the flasher relay and the connector to the handlebar switch.

As Brian says, the problem lies almost certainly with the re-assembly, maybe just a connector not properly pressed together?

If still no joy, you'll need to trace the problem from battery to indicator using a multimeter, or if you don't have one just use a small 12v bulb (like from the speedo' light) and connect to it 2 wires, one goes to the negative of the battery and, with the ignition and indicator switch turned on, use the other wire to trace the power to the indicators. When the light doesn't work, you've found the point at which the circuit is bad.

hi,thanks for answering my post,as soon as this rain stops i will try out both suggestions to try & solve the problem.i will tell you how i get on,thanks again mark...........

Do the indicators light up but not flash on and off ? Try and check the contacts on the indicator relay before anything else, if the wires seem ok listen for a very quiet click(from the relay box) when you switch the indicator switch on and off, if there is no click or if the lights go on but dont flash it could be a duff indicator relay.

hi brian,thanks for your replys no the indicators do not stick on etc they do not work at all,still cannot get outside to to try out your suggestions coz the rain is really bouncing down here in shropshire.Get back to you all in the next few days weather permiting (god i miss me dads old garage)thanks again & happy travels...Mark...