Hazards are a hazard in the wet...

[DCoplin]

OK, need some electrical help here. (Bike is an '05 1150 ADV SE)

Just recently, when out in the rain the Hazards come on all by themselves, after a while even hitting the hazard switch won't cancel them and they remain on constantly.

It's got so bad now that if the forecast is for rain, I take the flasher relay out as the Hazards in combination with my white bike and hi-viz jacket tend to make people brake suddenly in front of me

Now for the confession: I have fitted a few bits of electrickery but as far as I'm aware, everything is OK and to be fair, it's been working OK for 6 months, it's just been over the last 4 weeks of winter that the problem has occured.

The fault seems to be around the cockpit area as when the problem is happening, if I move the handlebars it the hazard lights will either come on or go off (depending on what state they were in before the move).

I've been round and sealed all of the joints and connections I've made with self amalgamating tape and vaseline but still no joy.

My chief suspect is that I fitted a Nautilus horn upgrade and I know the horn and the indicators share a circuit. Again, I've sealed the connections as far as I can tell but it makes no odds to the problem.

Anyone got any clues on what I might be looking for? Could it be a dodgy earth on my aftermarket fittings? How likely could it be that it's the Hazard switch itself?

I'd really appreciate any ideas (I hate troubleshooting intermitant faults on electrics!)

Thanks

Dave

 

[Mouse]

I've no specific knowledge of the 1150 electrics but the first thing I'd do is thoroughly clean the switchgear.

 

[wessie]

From 15 years experience snagging electrical faults on the end of a production line the most likely cause is an intermittent short or at least a low resistance.

3 things lead me to suspect this: a) someone has been tinkering with the electrics b) you can induce the fault by twisting the bars c) there have been a number of threads here where people have found electrical faults caused by wires rubbing the frame due to tight spots in looms.

Follow the line of the wire harnesses from the bars to where they disappear under the tank. Look for tight spots where the wires are stretched as you twist the bars. Closely inspect any point where the wires pass metal structures.

If that does not lead to diagnosing the fault then remove your modifications one by one.

 

[blues n twos]

If it's an SE won't it be under warranty?

Take the horn off if it shares a circuit and see if the problem persists.

Jon

 

[DCoplin]

It's not really a question of warranty (yet). I figure the burden of proof is on me (after all I fitted the aftermarket stuff) to prove that it's not the stuff I added that's causing the problem.

I've already stripped it right back to stock except for HIDs and Horn. I'm going to do a full strip down on the wiring I've added over the weekend and if I can't find anything obvious I'll take it in to at least get the switch gear checked out and make a play for warranty

The dealer support (BVM) has been great so far and I empathise with their position, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Thanks for all your help

Dave

 

[DCoplin]

Found it!

Hah!

Managed to track the little blighter down, under the tank where the handelbar wires come to a switchblock, where the hazard wire (yellow/magenta) leaves, it had been chaffing on the tank and had stripped the wire down to the core, this must have been shorting in the wet against the tank and setting the hazards off.

Just thought you'd be interested and thanks to all for the suggestions on getting this nailed.

Dave

 

[wessie]

Hah!

Managed to track the little blighter down, under the tank where the handelbar wires come to a switchblock, where the hazard wire (yellow/magenta) leaves, it had been chaffing on the tank and had stripped the wire down to the core, this must have been shorting in the wet against the tank and setting the hazards off.

Just thought you'd be interested and thanks to all for the suggestions on getting this nailed.

Dave

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