Hi All,

I thought I had worked the gremlins out of the turn signals on my K100 restoration. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Here's the situation:

When the bike is off, turn signals work like normal but only the left dash indicator flashes regardless of which direction is triggered. When the bike is running, the left indicator flashes with the right signals and the right indicator flashes with the left signals. 

Also, when the bike is off, the high beam dash indicator comes on when the headlight is on low beams the the opposite is indicated if the bike is running.

Any ideas??

starter brushes ?

Check fuse #7, use a meter don't rely on looking at it they can be open circuit and look OK or just replace it.

beanoldboy wrote:starter brushes ?

This. Wonky turn signals are other electrics are often a sign of starter issues.

(The bike's ground circuitry goes through the starter and a dirty starter can cause electrical gremlins.)

duck wrote:

beanoldboy wrote:starter brushes ?

This. Wonky turn signals are other electrics are often a sign of starter issues.

(The bike's ground circuitry goes through the starter and a dirty starter can cause electrical gremlins.)

Very interesting. I'll check this when I'm back from my business trip. Glad I asked because that would probably have been the least thing I would have checked, even after tire pressure.

Hey one more question, is it possible that the starter is causing these problems even though its still totally capable of turning the engine over?

Yes, starter functions normally and electrical gremlins stuff occurs simultaneously

Robmack's Starter Motor Cleaning Tutorial

Try doing a starter backspin. With the engine off and in 3th or 4th gear roll the bike backwards down a hill and pop the clutch a few times allowing the starter to spin backwards. This procedure normally dislodges the built up carbon from the brushes.

Did you check fuse #7 though?

gorio wrote:

volador wrote:Yes, starter functions normally and electrical gremlins stuff occurs simultaneously

Robmack's Starter Motor Cleaning Tutorial

Try doing a starter backspin. With the engine off and in 3th or 4th gear roll the bike backwards down a hill and pop the clutch a few times allowing the starter to spin backwards. This procedure normally dislodges the built up carbon from the brushes.

While I will be the first to admit I know little about K bikes and I am here to read and learn. Wouldn't it be odd for a start to be engaged all of the time? Does turning the engine backwards actually turn the starter?

I had to ask.

The starter gearing (a.ka. sprag) does have centrifugal gearing so rolling the bike backwards fast enough will cause the starter to spin.

Snod Blatter wrote:Did you check fuse #7 though?

Hey snod, I did check. Seems to be good right now but I'll keep an eye on it. There were a bunch of blown fuses when the bike was in original condition so I'm still not ruling that out.

Don't rely on looking at the fuse those blade type fuses degrade over time and can corrode internally so they look OK but are actually open circuit check them with a meter or best just replace them. Some are 30 years or more old. I have been caught with them on a few occasions.

What Rick just said ^^^  I had similar issues and it took forever to sort it it out.  At the end of the day it was invisible to me corrosion on the contact of this fuse even though I had replaced the fuse.

Ok got an update for ya. The lights are still funky after triple checking the #7 fuse and thoroughly cleaning the starter motor commutator and brushes with contact cleaner and a wire brush. It also doesn't seem to be charging or not charging enough. Voltage gets up to about 13.3 volts at 4K RPM. 

I'm going to check the connections on the back of the instrument cluster tonight. Hopefully that will also solve my non-functioning speedometer.

P.S. despite the electrical gremlins, I still got in a great ride this evening. Very happy I chose a brick for my first real bike.

At 2000rpm you should read 14.2 or very close to that.

Good to see that the bike takes priority over the little jobs around the house,

Good to see that the bike takes priority over the little jobs around the house,

Tjsunny2 wrote:. . . and thoroughly cleaning the starter motor commutator and brushes with contact cleaner and a wire brush.

The basic do-it-yourself cleaning of commutator plates (bars) is done with a soft brush—like the toothbrush Rob recommended—and contact cleaner, then carbon buildup and cleaning residue is also gently removed from between the commutator plates.  Using a wire brush to clean the commutator may disrupt optimal contact between the plates and the electrical brushes.

moriarti wrote:Good to see that the bike takes priority over the little jobs around the house,

Rick G wrote:

In that photo in front of your house, the front fender appears to have been installed backwards. Is that a custom touch or an optical illusion?

Replace fuse 3 with new. Maybe replace all fuses. You got a hazard switch I spose?

Maybe clean the earth point under the tank.

Just read your previous indicators problem. How do your indicators work with the cancel switch unplugged? If OK, leave it unplugged until you got it sorted. Your brick has auto cancel features.

moriarti wrote:Good to see that the bike takes priority over the little jobs around the house,

Hahaha nice one.

Ok so after my harsh wire brush cleaning, I saw no change. I replaced all fuses with no change. The turn signals work properly with the cancel switch but the indicator is still funny. Now, I have to hit the instrument cluster with my palm to get the neutral light and tachometer to function. 

I will double check the ground point on the frame after work today.

Tjsunny2 wrote: Now, I have to hit the instrument cluster with my palm to get the neutral light and tachometer to function.

With a temporary remedy like that in play, I'd probably disconnect the instrument cluster's connector, clean its pins and sockets using DeoxIT then see if that helped.

Laitch wrote:

Tjsunny2 wrote: Now, I have to hit the instrument cluster with my palm to get the neutral light and tachometer to function.

With a temporary remedy like that in play, I'd probably disconnect the instrument cluster's connector, clean its pins and sockets using DeoxIT then see if that helped.

So tonight I removed the two connectors on the instrument cluster. I removed every single pin and squeezed the contacts, used contact cleaner and gave it a coat of dielectric grease before plugging back in. It temporarily fixed the problem when I held the connector to the side but then it gave up. I think the next move is to find a donor harness that has these connectors intact.


On a side note, I wasn't able to run the cables through this grommet at the bottom of the housing (see below). The wires are too short so I shed them through the hole where the headlight adjuster sticks through. I'm wondering if they have different harness lengths for the RS version than the naked. After all, this has been converted form an RS. What are your thoughts?