• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

quick turn signal question

apt13

New member
...at least i hope this is a quick one, haha.

the turn signal indicator light in the instrument cluster has stopped blinking. it blinks once and then stays off whenever i use the turn signal. the turn signals all work fine.

someone told me once that this means one of the turn signal bulbs is out, or about to go out? i have no idea if thats true though.

reading through the archives i found alot of people with the light staying on, or coming on erratically or intermittently, but this just blinks once and turns off when i turn the signals on, either direction.

is it as simple as a bulb about to go out? or is it some kind of relay or connection problem?
 
there is no such thing as "a bulb about to go out". either the filament is good and they work, or the filament is broken, and they don't.
are your blinkers currently working as intended? if no, that's likely the problem. if yes, then its something else (but i've no idea what)
 
haha, yeah thats what i thought when he told me, it doesn't make any sense to have a light "about to go out." but i just wanted to give you all all the "information" i had, haha.

anyway, yes the blinkers are all working as they should. just the indicator in the cluster blinks once and stays off.

i suppose i'll dig around a bit and look at the relay and wiring and whatnots. i was just hoping the one blink was a sign of something specific. not a huge deal right now as the blinkers all work, but something to check on when i have some free tinkering time.
 
If the turn signals all work normally but just the green indicator light works once then goes out you might have a fault where the indicator bulb holder fits into the plastic film "circuit board"inside the intrument pod. The bulb holder has to make a connection at the place where the metal circuit strip has to make a 90 degree turn and the bulb holder contacts scrape away the metal it must make contact with. A bit of corrosion there creates enough resistance not to allow the bulb to work all the time like it used to. If you take the instrument pod apart you might be able to clean the contact area up and fix it or find the metal is just gone where it makes that 90 degree bend. Mine was like this and I rigged up a fix that involved tiny squares of aluminum foil to bridge the broken area. It worked for short periods of time but the real repair is to replace the circuit board which, the last time I checked, was still available. Me, I just got used to looking at the switch in my road/instrument scan so I don't ride too long with a blinker on. I had the pod apart several times for this and for an odometer repair and I wasn't sure how many times the fragile screw holes and plastic tabs that assemble the pod would stay together.
 
I too am experiencing the intermittent turn signal lamp from proper function and will check for these fixes, but the wildly flucuating volt meter needle alerts me to the turn signal being left on. Almost easier to see than the dim bulb in daylight....
 
I recently had the exact same problem (1 blink on the dash indicator and nothing after that, left side , everything worked fine otherwise). I checked all turn signal lights and running lights (bike is an EML on a 1980 RT100 with Vetter fairing) and found one right bulb on the fairing where the glass part of the bulb was not totally attached to its sealed base, as well as loose in that base. Once I replaced this bulb everything worked great.
Now I don't know if this applies to your problem, put some how this may help you trouble shoot it. Good Luck
 
I was having a similar problem - indicator would flash 2 or 3 times then go dark even though the turn signals were flashing properly. It's the flasher/relay in the bucket.

You can replace it with a new one. It's a pretty expensive relay. Or you can replace it with a standard electronic flasher relay from an auto parts store. I used a Tridon EL13, cost about $8. The stock flasher uses 4 wires, the EL13 uses 3. You can push the terminals out of the relay base and plug them into the EL13 or you can make up 3 short pigtails with .25 inch male and female terminals and just wire the 3 ends from the relay base to the new relay.

Here's what you have:
___ - ground, not used
31
___ ___ ___
C 49 49A

C --------> P indicator
49 -------> X input
49A -----> L load

This standard relay will not give you the "bulb out" indication. You'll have to just just check your bulb visually every so often or at every pre-ride check.
 
Last edited:
thanks for the replies, guys. i'll check that relay this weekend. theres no way i'm spending the money to replace it with the official one, but the cheap relay work around sounds like a good idea. i remember reading about that elsewhere.
 
went around to a couple auto parts places today and nowhere had the Tridon EL13 not could they order it for some reason. they only said they could order some kind of 30 dollar relay. i suppose i'll keep looking for the EL13 as i just can't get myself to spend more that 10 bucks on this problem, haha.

the kissan sounds interesting, but do their products works on a '78 r80/7? i couldn't find anything on their site for the older bikes.
 
Self cancelling turn signals for an airhead sound like a good idea. Any idea what unit to use for an 86 airhead?
 
Just to follow up, I found a Tridon EL13 flasher relay for 8 bucks. Easily installed it as per instructions on other posts and it cured my signal problem. The dash light even seems brighter than before, haha. Not sure if that's possible. Anyway, just wanted to say all is fixed, and for 8 bucks, rather than the ridiculous amount for a new authentic relay.
 
My 1974 R90/6 is having the same problem. While at an Airhead meeting a long time airhead owner told me to check my bulbs in the turn signals and make sure they are all original equipment bulbs.
I found that one of the 4 was a 1156 bulb which is not what is recommended. My guru said that this bulb has a bigger filament and that makes the flasher unit think that the bulb is burnt out and it won't flash correctly on the insturment panel.
When I get the new (right) bulb from Hucky, I'll let you know if that was the right fix or whether my leg was being pulled.
 
Please let me know the results! Sounds interesting. I would assume my bulbs aren't "authentic". I'd be pissed if that was the case and I spent 90 bucks on a new relay.
 
Bulbs

Been there, done that. I installed an 1157 (maybe a 1156 I forget now exactly) instead of the right bulb. It fits but draws way too much current. The dealer at the time spotted the problem right away as it was a common thing to try to use auto bulbs. As I recall the wattage is suppose to be 2 watts and the car bulb rates at 20 and the flasher can't work it.
 
well luckily i only spent 8 bucks on the new relay. i didn't throw out the original one, so i'll just hold onto it, just in case it's only a wonky bulb. it wouldn't surprise me, i think last time i switched them i just used whatever i had left over in a box of random parts that fit. haha. and my rear signals are aftermarket and use a different smaller bulb entirely.
 
My 1974 R90/6 is having the same problem. While at an Airhead meeting a long time airhead owner told me to check my bulbs in the turn signals and make sure they are all original equipment bulbs.
I found that one of the 4 was a 1156 bulb which is not what is recommended. My guru said that this bulb has a bigger filament and that makes the flasher unit think that the bulb is burnt out and it won't flash correctly on the insturment panel.
When I get the new (right) bulb from Hucky, I'll let you know if that was the right fix or whether my leg was being pulled.

Got the new OEM bulb in the turn signal and the flash indicator on the instrument panel works fine now. Even a nardowell can fix things with a little help from fellow Airheads.
 
Back
Top