Indicator prob.

[Brian V]

I've searched to see if this has been asked before but can't find any reference to this particular problem.
Mate of mine has a '96 1100 with about 90.000 miles on it. Recently the RH indicators stopped working, LH still operating as normal. Also if you operate the RH indicator switch when LH indicators are working the LH idicators cancel as normal.
He's bought and fitted a second hand indicator switch which worked for about 400 miles and then packed up. He's now bought another swtch but is reluctant to fit it until the source of the original problem has been located. I wonder if it's an earthing problem or a short somewhere.
Any one out there experienced the same problem?

KRBV

 

[Frank Warner]

Could be anything... you need to isolate the problem... to isolate the problem you need to spend time finding out how it should work and checking that is actually what happens .. when you find something that does not do what is expected get back to us... but with what you have given here .. it could be anything. Short of replacing everything there is no way I'd punt on component X.

 

[Rob Farmer]

when you say the replacement packed up do you mean if failed with the original fault or just stopped working completely?

There's a small microprocessor in the indicator unit. the left/right/cancel and warning light switches just give it a signal to tell it what to do, thats why pressing the right switch turns the left ones off. the left/right bulb circuits are independant circuits. Shorting one of these circuits to ground can blow the output, for that side of the bike, completely. The blue/black wire from the indicator unit controls the rh indicators. The only way to chack it properly is to remove the indicator unit and the rh bulbs (including the warning light in the dash) and check the continuity of the wiring and make sure there isn't a short circuit to the chassis; A pain in the arse taking the dash light out but if you want to do it properly.

or

if you want a rough test take a fused lead from the battery to the blue/black wire and see if the indicator bulbs all light up. It is rough though because you could still have a current drain to the chassis and still get the bulbs lighting up.