Still no turn signals,please help.

[exilemike]

Installed a Tritonstand EL-13, $ 9.00 from Advanced Auto, 3 prong flasher.
L= Brown/White Wire
X= Brown Wire
P= Yellow/Green Wire
Works fine, don"t know if self cancel still works and don"t care as I have not run it on the highway yet, however flasher works great.

LBart

I didn't get a response on my original post, so I started a new thread.
I have been fighting this problem for some time,my signals won't light or flash.I checked the switch,the contacts were clean and in excellent condition.I then checked all the bulbs and sockets,all were fine.The fuses were all good also. I figured the only thing left was the flasher relay, so I decided to replace that.I used the same part as you and hooked it up as directed, but still nothing.I have a 1981 model and it is completely unmolested and stock with only 4624 miles on it.I'm at my wits end with this and tired of messing with it. Can anyone help me with this problem?Thanks, Mike

[xsleo]

Try putting a jumper wire from the brown wire to the brown/white wire in the plug that the flasher plugs into. This will send power to the turnsignal switch. this should make the turn signals light.
This won't flash them just light them. If they light then your wiring is ok. If they don't light this way then you have wiring problems.
If they light try a two prong flasher. Plug it in so it connects to the brown and brown/white wires in the plug. Ignore the Green/yellow wire, it goes to the canceling unit.
If they don't light you need to check for voltage on the brown wire at the flasher.
If you have voltage the problem is between the flasher and the bulbs. Could be the switch.
No power then the problem is between the flasher and the battery.
Being an 81 it has the four glass fuse box under the seat. The clips that hold the fuses get weak and can break off. This has caused many problems for many people. Most replace this box with inline blade type fuse holders.

[exilemike]

Thank you for your help,xsleo,I have been beating my brains out on this for a month.I was super frustrated, and didn't know what to try next. I will post what I find after run your tests. Thanks again.

[exilemike]

The problem is in the switch,damn it. I will try to take the switch apart and see if I can fix it, if not, then I will see if I can find one to replace it.

[ShakerNorm]

They are finicky to take apart and rebuild, but I got mine working (I even removed the self-canceling part of it!

[exilemike]

I can now put this topic to rest,I have functioning turn signals! I took the switch apart and found that 2 of the 3 wires were broken free of the board. I completely removed all wiring and components from the housing, and in the process,broke loose the 1 wire still connected. I re-soldered all 3 back to the board,re-assembled the switch,and now they work. I had to remove the green/yellow wire from the flasher unit,with it hooked up to the P terminal of the 3 prong relay,it made my tail light flash. Thank you to all those that gave me advice.

[exilemike]

I can't believe this bike,I swear I'm gonna set that piece of crap on fire. I am having the same problem today that was cured last night, and I didn't do anything to it. I have the brown/white and brown wire hooked to the flasher relay,last night the turn signals worked fine,but today when I turn on the left signal,it blows the fuse. It does this because it flashes the headlight and tail light.I swear this bike is the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned, and I have had bikes since I was 5 and now I'm in my 40's It was unmolested,no wires hacked,all original with 4400 miles on it when I bought it.I can understand having issues like these with something that has been rigged and hacked, but that is not the case with this bike,I think it is cursed.I hate this bike,if I can't get this, and one other annoying issue fixed with this bike,off to ebay it goes,I'll let the next sucker deal with it and put the money into my other project bike. My other one will run circles around this bike,in handling,braking, and in speed,top end and 1/4 mile,it is a 1985 Suzuki GS 1150 ES.I don't know what to do,I've done everything that you all have told me to do,nothing seems to work,I've had it.

[grinder]

I think I would just buy a new left side switch from Mike's . If your bike is unmolested as you say it should be plug and play.

[ShakerNorm]

After 30 years, metal corrodes - probably why the wires had come apart from the switch in the first place - low mileage is NOT a good thing on a machine. It means that it hasn't had much maintenance, and nobody has fixed anything on it that has gone wrong. It also gives corrosion a big jump-start on things. Sounds like your bike sat around doing nothing for a whole bunch of years.

Corrosion is one of those things that can hide very well (especially on a machine that is just sitting around), and then really mess you up at the worst time. Copper is one of those metals that corrodes pretty easily - especially when it's in contact with another metal. Brass and solder make great connections when new, but they actually are a big part of the problem - it's called dissimilar metal corrosion and wiring is VERY susceptible to it.

Mike - we've all dealt with similar problems on these bikes - and any machine that's as old as these will have similar problems (you should see some of the crap I find on the planes I work on!). Unfortunately for you, you're dealing with it all at one shot. While most of us have had all the same problems - they've come up one at a time over a period of years, so we fix them as they come up, and we don't really pay much attention to the whole scope of it.

I've got a 79, and you should have seen some of the crap wiring that the PO had done to mine! 2 of the 3 alternator wires had NO insulation at all, melted wires and connectors all over the bike, turn signals didn't work.... I was lucky it didn't go up in flames at several times! Patience and some TLC will get it back in shape - and just to comment - if your Zook had had the same treatment and was the same age as your XS - it probably wouldn't be in any better shape.....

[exilemike]

IT is just so frustrating, I got it running right off, but the electrical gremlins have been at it from the start, and it is now 2 months down the road.That is why I'm so fed up with it,it seems that I get 1 thing fixed and then 2 more things pop up.The turn signals have been the biggest problem though,all the others I have just been able to fix on my own,obvious repair stuff.I have been at it for 2 months and I just want to be able to ride it without any problems. My friend Glen suggests ripping out the entire harness and wiring it all from scratch and using a Banshee charging system and a Pamco ignition.Since mine is electronic ignition,I think I will need more parts to make a Pamco ign. work. Glen has had an XS in the past, but sold it to buy a 1969 Triumph Bonneville. I guess I will get some electrical contact cleaner and unplug every connection,clean them,put on diaelectric grease,and reassemble them all. After that,if my problem still exists,it is up on ebay. Yesterday when I wrote that I had just had a lousy day at work,on call and no runs, so no pay, and I just wanted to get on the bike and ride it to my friends graduation party.That's when I discovered the problem had returned, when it had worked perfectly the night before and I hadn't touched a thing.I just lost it,my neighbors got quite a show then,watching me yell and cuss the bike. It actually runs great,it starts on the first kick, but I do need to up jet the mains a bit.The airbox was missing from the bike when I bought it, so I just put on pod filters, so it runs a little lean on top end,low and midrange are great.

[ShakerNorm]

Electrical problems are always the most frustrating - especially on these things. I had so many little problems, that I did exactly what you're contemplating - a whole new wiring harness.

Unfortunately, many of the small harnesses that connect all the components to the main harness were also toast - butchered, melted connectors and a whole handful of melted wires! It seems like (fortunately) yours hasn't been hacked up too badly by any PO like many of them (mine included), but time does take it's toll. If you keep killing those gremlins, you'll eventually get them all!

It also sounds like your carbs are close to being bang-on, too. That's something that many of us could only wish!

[exilemike]

This bike is possessed,you won't believe this. After almost completely losing it while dealing with this problem,I just let the bike sit for about a month because I was pissed off at it, so I just rode my Vespa. The weather has been pretty nice lately, certainly for October in Indiana, so I decided to get the XS back out and ride it, since I was tired of blowing 10 amp t.s. fuses so I put in a 15 amp circuit breaker and I took off on my ride.The flashers always worked fine for the right signal, but when I used the left one, it would flash the headlight and tail light, not the turn signal, that is why it would blow the fuse, Well I decided to use the left signal and see what happens, it worked just fine, and I didn't do anything to it.I just can't figure this bike out.

[ShakerNorm]

Maybe it just misses all your attention.......

[plattey]

lol there's one thing for sure about the xs650 is that it sure has character lol
exilemike, i've been in your shoes, just takes time to get the gremlins out.

[ShakerNorm]

Mike - sounds like you might have a wiring issue in the headlight bucket.

Yamaha had the stupidity to make dark green, dark blue, brown, Chocolate brown, and black wires all so dark that they all look exactly the same unless you clean them well and look at them under a BRIGHT light....... Yup - I've been there....... And yeah - a good wiring diagram is a godsend!