Turn Signals on 74 R90/6 with Strange Ground

[Darryl.Richman]

My 74 has aluminum turn signal housings. The reflector has an additional ground wire with a push on connector.

I was blowing fuses and losing the signals and all the indicator lights. I would replace the fuse and it would hold until I turned on the right signal. So I removed the reflector and found that the ground wire wasn't connected. When I looked at the left signal, the ground wire was simply tucked behind the ground spring clip.

I tried that on the right side and viola turn signals and indicator worked. But that's a pretty flaky situation...not
sure about it... I did a short ride and lost all the turn signals but when I got home they worked but the turn signal indicator doesn't light, nor does the neutral light...

so is the ground necessary, perhaps I have the wrong reflectors?

Ideas

Saw this quote today:

Previous owners are nature's way of forcing us to exercise our minds,
examine life's choices and practice anger management." Jepstr67
cheers
Tim

[PAN_SCN_SUX]

I know nothing of that year as mine have all been 71's. Memory serves and I can check, I cannot imagine how that is wired any differently than these are, Hell, let me walk out and look... Just a minute... OK, yes... Look here...




OK, this is a good example as it is a rear and the metal on the rear simply screws into fiberglass I think, or if it does go through metal on the bike (can't recall off hand...) it would not be too good of a connection. So the RR or LR at minimum have no sort of ground potential to them but that wire on the reflector; no wire, no light at all from that pod.

From what you describe it sounds to me as if you have a short. If it is not something you did (unhooking the ground...) then a PO might have done so rather than fix the short from a hot wire to one of those grounds going to the pods (and elsewhere from your description...) All I can say is get your DMM or test light out as that certainly is not right and as well you state it is intermittent, that says short, short, short all over it.

[gapl1953]

Are you talking about the front or rear signals? I have a 1975 R90/6. My front turn signals have just a positive wire to them and ground thru the body. My rear signals ground thru a ground wire which is needed because of the fiberglass fender.

I also have been chasing electrical gremlins in the instrument pod. I've had it apart numerous times, it works fine when testing off the bike. But when I hook up the the electrical plug to the panel either the turn signal indicator, high beam indicator or instrument lights fail to work, and it is different each time. ~X( The problem on my bike, I believe, is in the plug in the wiring harness not making a good contact. It looks robust on the outside, but the connection points within the plug are fragile, so be careful if you try to deform them to make better contact. So far I've only been able to find a replacement plug within a complete wiring harness.

Everything works correctly on mine now except for the high beam indicator, I'll live with that for the time being.
Greg

[PAN_SCN_SUX]

The front signal stocks get their ground potential from the forks (generally speaking...) The gentleman above confirms they did that in later years as well, so it if you have front signals with grounds, it may by difficult for many to help you, unless that is common to your model and year...

[Darryl.Richman]

I saw Tim's front signals, which are in the /5 and 1974 /6 style aluminum housings. They have short (maybe 4" long), brown wires with tinned ends in the ground clips, and each has a round lug on the free end. They looked professionally done to me.

I spoke with my dealer in LA over the weekend, and they confirmed that the aluminum housed front signals are supposed to get their ground through the reflector, the housing, the stalk, the fork leg, through the steering head bearings and then to the frame.

I suspect that, for some reason, the ground is not good in his signals, and a PO added these wires to nowhere. When one of them got untucked and managed to touch the hot lead to the bulb while the signal was going, it would pop the fuse.

I guess the bulb holder and reflector need to have some metering done and maybe some kind of "adjustment" to make sure they have a good connection, and then the little wires can be removed.