Turn signal woes...

[Bob KellyIII]

I am anything but an auto electrician, but I can usually get by....
I followed the wiring diagram that I found here to fix my turn signals that i had replaced the stock ones with LED, now the previous owner put on a integrated taillight and I have no idea what that thing does , all I want from it is a brake light and tail light... but it is supposed to have the rear turn signals hooked into it so half the stop light acts as the turn signal... the wires to where the original turn signals plugged in at were there so I just hooked my New LED turn signals
into the wires like they should be ...
I bought a pack of 250 diode assortment and waited for them to arrive
they got here this morning and I took 2 of the 1n4001 diodes out and soldered the cathodes together to be soldered to the green wire going toward the headlight took the anode leads and hooked them to the green and grey wire toward the back of the bike... took the grey wire from the wiring harness that was left over ( supposedly going to the normal turn sig indicator in the dash)
and grounded it with a long wire and a ground lug...
turned it on and I expected it to work first try... as I checked and double checked everything several times.... Nothing after scratching my head for about an hour , double checking the wiring diagram I decided to check the diodes and they both were bad .... I started checking the rest of the diodes in the box hoping to find at least 2 that were good and all that I checked were bad so I paid $10.00 for junk ! out of desperation I checked several packages and I found 2 big diodes that were good however they did register a 2 to 3 ohm resistance I put them in line anyway hoping they would work but no.... everything ceased to function , so I checked the fuze and it was blown, replaced it and tried it again, blew it again....
so I figured those diodes allowed too much power through them and took them out and tried to find 2 more diodes that would work
I found 2 1n4007 diodes that checked out ok ao I soldered them in there
.... everything is still dead I dug out the old relay and plugged it in and promptly blew another fuze replaced it and the lights came on and stayed on
as was the case when I began this... no flash at all so I figured the new LED relay was blown it only has .02A capacity after all, more than enough for an LED but not for a short....
so I came in and ordered some big hanging diodes that can handle 40 amps
and I'll order another LED relay....
...out of desperation I wired it back up the way it was, hoping that the LED relay would still flash all the turn signals... it wouldn't so I figure it's toast
so another $10 bucks down the tubes...put the old relay in and the lights come on and stay on
..... very frustrating to say the least
Never seen a diode with a resistance before but I see now their out there
I wanted 1n4001 diodes but all of those were bad right out of the box
I think the 1n4007 diodes that I found later that are good should work
but I need a relay again now....
I can't figure out why it blew the relay in the first place ...I am wondering if the weird taillight has something to do with it I don't see where it has turn signal wires going to it, if I did I'ed cut them. i think there are just 3 wires going to it.... But I did see it try to make the funky integrated turn signal work...( before I started all this ). it didn't it just came on, but no flash or strobe....
how can they do that with just 3 wires is beyond me !
could I possibly be hooked into the wrong grey and green wire ?
i did this above the plug in on the 6 prong wiring harness not below it
like the info said....but it's the same wires I think !
.....green and grey...how can you get that wrong Bob ?
but I did something goofie as I can't get the turn signals to work !
now I wait for ANOTHER LED flasher too !
aurgh !
i want to ride it not work on it ! but that seams like all I've done so far.
....
anyone have any suggestions .... besides get a life ? LOL
Bob..........
( maybe I should go back to playing with the lathe, I'm not having much luck on the Ninja ! LOL)

[Bob KellyIII]

by the way where the heck is that thread on changing your turn signals
from the original OEM to LED ? i've looked all over and even searched
but still can't find it
it involved not the dash but attacking the wiring harness , I copied the wiring diagram and think I followed it to the letter and am still having problems
I'ed like to re read it !
Bob.......

Edit: I found that Toutural in the Wiki section.

[Triple Jim]

Silicon diodes have a forward voltage drop of about 0.6 volts, so if you try to measure their resistance you get a nonsensical number that depends on the meter circuit itself. The way to test them is to use the diode test function of the meter, if it has one. Then you'll be reading the forward voltage drop. Or use a small 12v test lamp and a battery to test them.

For my pregen signals, all I had to use the diodes for was the diode indicator on the dash. I had to use two of them, one from L and one from R, pointing toward the indicator LED, and then ground the cathode side of it.

Any of the 1N400x diodes is suitable, since even the 1N4001 is good for 1 amp, 50 volts.

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by Bob KellyIII

no flash at all so I figured the new LED relay was blown it only has .02A capacity after all, more than enough for an LED but not for a short....

It's not possible that the relay had a 0.02 amp (20 milliamp) current rating. That was probably the specified current to activate it.

[Bob KellyIII]

ok I'll buy that !
that sounds more reasonable !
still SOMEHOW i managed to burn it out.... and I have no idea how
...I'm saying it's burned out because I hooked it up and it would flash the left side 2 turn signals on the other side it never did blink them
so I started doing the Diode trick on the wireing harness and I have tripple checked I got the same wires I saw in the video ( there isn't 2 green wires in the 6 prong plug) just one green and one grey...
it's so simple even I can't screw it up...BUT I've managed to fry the relay because now it won't flash anything and somehow i blew the fuze as well, replaced it and did more checking and blew it again I'm beginning to wonder if grounding the grey wire is actually what is doing that...
I think I will try leaving the grey wire ungrounded when the replacement Relay comes
my old relay vibrates but does not actuate , ( that's to be expected as there isn't enough load with the LEDs)
but it USED to have all 4 of the turn signals on now it has none
and I haven't seen the dash indicator light come on in a long time
I'm completely baffled ! it should work but don't and I think I could buy 30 relays and 30 fuzes and burn them all out and get nowhere !
I don't understand it and that is what the problem is !
it ain't hooked up like a '63 ford pickup !
LOL....
Bob.........

[Bob KellyIII]

Ok 3 days into LED turnsignal conversion.... you wouldn't think it would be this hard..... and it shouldn't be !
but I did make some progress tonight I put the old relay back in just to see if the lights came on.... only 2 did front and rear oppisit sides ( weird)
I got looking at the manuals turn signal curcuit and tried to figure out what direction the diodes would have to be in to alow power to the dash indicator...
i found that by turning the diode around the dash indicator worked...
so I got to thinking it is an orentation problem ! in the tourtural it's ni on to impossable to tell where on the bike he is at.... but with my Kids help we spotted the front forks and lower tripple tree so he's under the headlight
I have been doing this over the engine at the 6 connector there
I have no idea if that's the problem or not but I am long past futzing with this thing and just want to get it to work
so I will wire the 2 cut wires back together and insulate them ( and solder)
and then take off the head light and try it again from that 6 prong plug up there
..... the orientation of the tutorial is very confusing and it really doesn't say exactly where he is at on the bike, I've read it dozens of times now and I think I am on the right track now...
because what I have now is the dash light comes on when the blinker switch is tripped, (nothing blinks but that is the relay) but only 2 turn signals come on in one direction and the same 2 come on in the other direction
which just doesn't make any sense to me at all.....
so I'll start over under the headlight and see if I have any better luck there
LOL.....

it's weird, I know that it shouldn't matter where in the wiring harness i do this at because DC voltage don't care... but to try and alleviate any thing ELSE from going sideways, I'll move to the headlight....
i want to ride the thing, darn it !
so off I go to correct my mistakes !
LOL
Bob.........

[Bob KellyIII]

this is beyond frustrating ! I went ahead and put the wiring harness back like it was stock and pulled the headlight fearing off ( only broke 2 push in connectors on the radiator cowl) finally after fussing and fumeing for an hour or so I finally managed to get the front fairing off... although I did crack one of the bolt tabs which I will have to re glue.... I take it your supposed to take off both the right and left fairings before you take off the front fairing.... Aurgh !
anyway I get the cowl/front fairing off and find the 6 connector under the headlight..... it does NOT have a grey wire in it !!!!!!
this was after the bike fell over in the shop and broke the rt. rear LED turn signal... it fell off my home made leverage type stand... so I am not using it right now.... Grrrrr ! super glue will fix the turn signal and the fairing tab...
but WTF do I do about the wiring ? go back where I was over the engine where I actually had a grey and green wire ?because the 6-plug under the headlight doesn't have a green and grey wire in it yet alone on the one side.
I did notice that the toutural did say "Under the headlight" that I missed about 5 or 6 times when reading it....
I did get the dash indicator light to come on finally by turning the diodes around and pointing them in the exact opposite of the toutural...
so I am assuming that is the correct orientation for that location.
but when I did a mock up run by using alligator clips to hold the wires together all I got was the same 2 turn signals coming on... ( no flash because I didn't want to fry another electronic relay)
no change in the bulbs by using the handle bar switch and the indicator in the dash lit up fine... i flashed the relay by hand ( i took the plastic cover off it.) and the 2 turn signals and indicator flashed like they should.... but when I canceled the switch and turned it in the other direction the same lights came on.....
which isn't right at all, it should be the other 2 signal lights ... but it's not it's the same ones.......

the wires going to the turn signals are indeed green and grey and the ground is black and yellow...
I understand the concept of the toutural but my bike ain't working like that !
and according to the wiring diagram it should work like the toutural says...
( the toutural is in the Wiki section...i found it again and I got it bookmarked!) LOL
.....
i should probably throw the instructions out and fix it like a ford !
....
Bob......

[Bob KellyIII]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

Silicon diodes have a forward voltage drop of about 0.6 volts, so if you try to measure their resistance you get a nonsensical number that depends on the meter circuit itself. The way to test them is to use the diode test function of the meter, if it has one. Then you'll be reading the forward voltage drop. Or use a small 12v test lamp and a battery to test them.

For my pregen signals, all I had to use the diodes for was the diode indicator on the dash. I had to use two of them, one from L and one from R, pointing toward the indicator LED, and then ground the cathode side of it.

Any of the 1N400x diodes is suitable, since even the 1N4001 is good for 1 amp, 50 volts.

thanks Triple Jim that is very helpful information.
I'm not out of the woods yet on this monster but I have made progress...
I think my main problem is the location i've chosen to do this on the wiring harness. ( not that I have much choice)
sense the 6 prong connector under the headlight does not have a grey wire in it I moved back to the 6 prong connector over the engine and under the gas tank.
the problem is ( if I have guessed right) is the grounding of the grey wire
as I think I haven't isolated the indicator light in the dash yet, but instead inadvertently grounded the grey side and it kills the one side....
why it is bleeding back to the other side is because of the dash light
and that explains why the handle bar switch has no effect .
so the course of action is to find the wire at the headlight ( grey at the bulb)
and ground it. and sense I have both the grey side and green side exposed
already at the engine just run 2 long wires up to the Hot side of that bulb with the diodes in place.... Rinky Dink, but that should work....
.....
Isolating that bulb in the dash is the key to making this work ! ...I think
I shouldn't have to add long wires to it to get to the bulb because it already has some. but at my location on the harness I could be trying to add power to the bulb mid way in the schematic diagram... which is not what I want.
So I'll fiddle with it some more and see if I can isolate that dash light.
Bob......

[Bob KellyIII]

Finally, I was able to get the turn signals to work !
I took off the insterment pannel and flipped it over and discovered that at the indicator bulb for the turn signals there was both the green and grey wires that I was after.... so I just did the Diode thing there ....
I grounded the grey wire coming out of the bulb to the black and yellow stripe wire as that wire is ground throughout the bike, or at least the turn signals.
i put in the 2 small diodes I found in the pack of 250 diodes that most were bad
that checked out to be good, so I used them.
the striped end went toward the bulb and the other ends went to the grey and green wire that I cut off the bulb. I soldered and taped the wires
and repaired the wires I cut in the wiring harness above the engine.
now I am in the process of putting that hard to work on plastic monster back together again....
but despite my set backs doing this I did learn something... it's real hard to tell on a wiring harness where you are actually at, especially if you follow the schematic from the manual as they have it in sections and that is not how it is on the bike .
the turn signals actually work like they should and the dash indicator works as well... just like from the factory except it has LED turn signals now.
( sense mine were missing)
.....
I dunno what I am going to do about the 2 plastic push in keepers that I broke on the radiator shroud at the front corners of the fairing but I'll think of something.... God forbid but I might even be forced to buy more plastic push in keepers ACK ! ( I hate those things !)
....but Now the task of getting the headlight back on and the fairing sides to line up on it properly that was a major hassel last time I expect to be working on it till the wee hours of the morning ! LOL this old man ain't fast anymore.... HAHAHAHA !
but I am super happy to see the turn signals work finally... if it were anyone else they would have had the job done in an hour or so but it took me 4 days !....it suks getting old !
Bob........

[Bob KellyIII]

After I dropped the bike on it's side the other day and crushed the front right turn signal I took it into the shop and took off the right side fairing.
then came the task of finding the turn signals I had previously bought.... you know one of those I put them where I was sure I could find them again....after about a 45 minute search I found them in the tool box !
all I had to do was take the old one off and put the new one on as they were the exact same things and then change the plug in's
..... I'm getting better at taking off and putting on the fairings but i still think theirs gott'a be a better way.... like a Zipper ! HAHAHAH.... I know VELCRO !
how about duck-tape ?..... when in doubt BAILING WIRE !!!!!! HAHAHHA!
.....
clothes pins ?....
I give up !
.....
Bob.......

[DannoXYZ]

Stop dropping bike, eh?

Factory plastics aren't very durable when it comes to drops & crashes. They crack and break very easily. Might want to consider some tougher fibreglass race fairings. Multiple pieces are combined and entire upper & side-fairings uses only 6-bolts to attach. Meaning I can remove entire bodywork in less than 30-seconds!

https://www.hotbodiesracing.com/prod...or-form-green/

Here's dash-indicator diode fix:
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=24500
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=235104
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=79621