Strange Buzzing when turning on left turn signal

[ryanschoebel]

Hi all, I took my 85' fj1100 on the freeway for the first time, and when i got home, i found that the vibrations were enough to back out one of the bolts on my turn signals! I put the thing back together, but now, whenever i try to turn the left turn signals on, i get a medium loud buzzing (worked fine previously) from a box strapped to the frame labeled 41R-71 and FX257N. Any ideas what this box is, or how i can fix this? I tried googling it, but couldnt find much about it.

Any help is very much appreciated!!!

Ryan S.

PS I can add pictures, if that helps as well

[aviationfred]

Pictures always help with diagnosing electrical issues online.

It would appear that it is your flasher relay http://www.partzilla.com/parts/detail/yamaha/YP-41R-83350-71-00.html


Fred

[red]

now, whenever i try to turn the left turn signals on, i get a medium loud buzzing (worked fine previously) from a box strapped to the frame labeled 41R-71 and FX257N. Any ideas what this box is, or how i can fix this? I tried googling it, but couldnt find much about it. Any help is very much appreciated!!!
Ryan S.

Ryan,

Do the turn signals flash rapidly?  The stock flasher unit does not like LEDs.  If it gets destroyed by non-stock bulbs, the flasher unit is rare and expensive to replace.

[ryanschoebel]

Do the turn signals flash rapidly?  The stock flasher unit does not like LEDs.  If it gets destroyed by non-stock bulbs, the flasher unit is rare and expensive to replace.

No, the left side won't flash at all. The right side works fine,but the left just causes the relay to buzz. I think the lights are original

[balky1]

Do the turn signals flash rapidly?  The stock flasher unit does not like LEDs.  If it gets destroyed by non-stock bulbs, the flasher unit is rare and expensive to replace.

No, the left side won't flash at all. The right side works fine,but the left just causes the relay to buzz. I think the lights are original

You are having a ground problem somewhere. Maybe you pinched a wire while screwing back the flasher. Also check the bulbs and their connections.

[ryanschoebel]

You are having a ground problem somewhere. Maybe you pinched a wire while screwing back the flasher. Also check the bulbs and their connections.

Inspected all of the work I could look at, but I will check again. Any places that are prone to going bad?

[balky1]

You are having a ground problem somewhere. Maybe you pinched a wire while screwing back the flasher. Also check the bulbs and their connections.

Inspected all of the work I could look at, but I will check again. Any places that are prone to going bad?

It just seems the same like a prob I had on a car. Turn signal would show a dim light without blinking. It was a ground problem at the back light cluster.
I don't know for location, usually they work. Use a multimeter to check the wires, disassemble/clean/contact spray the connectors, see if it helps. Might be the back signal doing the problem also, totaly unconnected to the original problem. Bilbs can make weird problems so try putting 2 new ones, that's the easiest thing u can try.

[ryanschoebel]

Hey all, pulled everything open again today, tested with a multi meter, there were no shorts anywhere. I ordered a new relay, and will put that in once it arrives. I'll post updates then. In the meantime, if anyone has other ideas, please let me know!

[red]

Hey all, pulled everything open again today, tested with a multi meter, there were no shorts anywhere. I ordered a new relay, and will put that in once it arrives. I'll post updates then. In the meantime, if anyone has other ideas, please let me know!

Ryan,

I would suggest testing the operation of the flashers while everything is hanging loose.  It may work that way, or you may spot the problem.  Look for any corroded ground connections, too.

Pull off the blade connector to the flasher for the good side, and test the resistance of the good side to ground (through the bulbs).  Then reconnect that blade, pull off the blade connector to the flasher for the bad side, and make the same test on the bad side.  If there is any difference in the readings, just track down the cause.  You may be able to unplug the flashers at the front or the rear, to narrow down the possibilities as you test the rest of the wiring.  Check the wiring diagram for any connectors in the lines.

[ryanschoebel]

Hey all, pulled everything open again today, tested with a multi meter, there were no shorts anywhere. I ordered a new relay, and will put that in once it arrives. I'll post updates then. In the meantime, if anyone has other ideas, please let me know!

Ryan,

I would suggest testing the operation of the flashers while everything is hanging loose.  It may work that way, or you may spot the problem.  Look for any corroded ground connections, too.

Hey Red, I did try that when I was testing it, both with sockets connected, and both sockets completely disconnected. I'm not entirely sure how to test resistance though. I'll Google it, and see what I can find out. Could it really be something as simple as one of the crimp connectors on the ground line coming loose?

[red]

Hey Red, I did try that when I was testing it, both with sockets connected, and both sockets completely disconnected. I'm not entirely sure how to test resistance though. I'll Google it, and see what I can find out. Could it really be something as simple as one of the crimp connectors on the ground line coming loose?

Ryan,

When the correct ground wires are not grounded, the power travels as it should, but may find surprising paths to ground, causing surprising symptoms.  In this case, that is not likely, but I'm not there, and you need to track down any and all problems, not just what you may see as a symptom. 

You said you have a multimeter.  There should be a select switch to choose which test you want.  Resistance is measured in Ohms, much as electricity is measured in Volts.  Resistance testing does not require power, actually you want NO power on when checking Resistance.  The multimeter has its' own internal power, to test Resistance.  There is in the multimeter an internal battery, which must be good (producing the correct voltage for testing).  Many multimeters use a 9-Volt (transistor radio type) battery.  Ohms testing will usually be designated on the multimeter by the Greek alphabet letter Omega, which resembles a horseshoe with the open end down.  Values of Resistance are shown as single Ohms (as found in a foot of steel baling wire), K-Ohms (1000 Ohms), 10 K-Ohms (10,000 Ohms), 100 K-Ohms (100,000 Ohms), or Meg-Ohms (1,000,000 Ohms).  A typical 1157 taillight bulb might measure from 0.5 Ohms to 4 Ohms, from the metal base to either pin, when the bulb is out of the socket.  If either filament is bad, the reading would be Open, or infinite Resistance.  A digital meter would usually read that as OL (overload) or Out of Range.

For your tests, connect one multimeter test-lead to a good ground, and the other test-lead to the wire being tested.  Record the reading for the good side, then test the bad side.  Chances are, the good side will read a few Ohms, and the bad side will read zero Ohms (shorted to ground).  If so, then find and fix the short in the wiring, to correct your problem.

[FJmonkey]

Red, that was a good description, it is not easy to translate what you know in your head to another that does not.

[ryanschoebel]

Hey all, I tried to test resistance, just like you explained Red, but I must have been doing something wrong, because it didn't seem to work, with any wire, on any socket. The numbers would flash, then simply sit at 0.00. when you say a good ground connection, can I use the negative battery terminal? Cause that's what I was using. I had the thought though, is it possible that the turn signal switch itself has gone bad? I'm starting to lean in that direction. I did replace the turn signal relay, but that changed nothing. Im banging my head here. But hey, who needs turn signals when a left arm works just as well?

[red]

Hey all, I tried to test resistance, just like you explained Red, but I must have been doing something wrong, because it didn't seem to work, with any wire, on any socket. The numbers would flash, then simply sit at 0.00. when you say a good ground connection, can I use the negative battery terminal?

Ryan,

If you try to measure resistance on a MegOhm scale, a few ohms will read as 0.0 Ohms.  The leads should read OL (infinite resistance) when the test leads are not touching anything.  That reading should change to 0.0 (or some value) when connected (shorted) together.  A taillight bulb (out of socket) will show very low resistance readings.  Make sure power is off when testing for resistance values.

Some multimeters have ranges, and some will "auto-range" to get a value beyond 0.0 or infinity.  There may be a selector switch position to get the lowest Ohms readings, or a push-button to force the meter to read in the various ranges.  It would help if you can tell me the Brand and Model Number of the multimeter that you have.