Intruders-Alert

HI all
On my 01 VS1400 I am still having some issues with the lights
So, when I put it in neutral and put the turn signal on, the signal, the headlight, the other signal and the green neutral light indicator all kind of fade and blink in unison with the blinker,,,this happens when I am riding as well, when I push either turn signal I can see the other one and the headlight all in unison with it,,its not extreme, but noticable for sure,,is there a short somewhere? Is this a stator issue? Can someone shed some light on what I should start troubleshooting?
TY all

thedaydreamer wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 02, 2023 5:19 pm

HI all
On my 01 VS1400 I am still having some issues with the lights
So, when I put it in neutral and put the turn signal on, the signal, the headlight, the other signal and the green neutral light indicator all kind of fade and blink in unison with the blinker,,,this happens when I am riding as well, when I push either turn signal I can see the other one and the headlight all in unison with it,,its not extreme, but noticable for sure,,is there a short somewhere? Is this a stator issue? Can someone shed some light on what I should start troubleshooting?
TY all

It will be a wiring issue.

I had a similar thing happen on another bike - turned out to be the ground wire going to the indicator pilot light in the dash was broken.

Check the wiring to the dash lights first - then work back to the indicator and headlight wiring. Quite possibly a short / open circuit in the headlight bucket.

TY
I noticed im my headlight bucket its kind of a rats nest and a bit crowded in there so it makes sense, is yours like that as well?
I feel like I am going to have to inspect it all for sure

From what you mention, I'd start with the Headlight Wiring first. Why is because that is where most all these various items all cross over each other, and in an environment that can, and does, get wet.

Though all those wires/connectors jammed in there might seem intimidating at first, but, when you pull them all out and sort them by Color Code, it makes the job much easier and the wiring "makes sense" ,....so to speak .

Do check each wire at the connector for a crack/break in the insulation. You might try disconnecting each one of the turn signal wires, one-at-a time, and see what happens to the Headlight/ Neutral light. When doing any trouble shooting, change one thing at a time. That way you won't confuse things and trace the problem systematically.

Then tell us what you find please.

I agree, bad ground somewhere.
check all wires one a a time.

Yep, could be a poor connection or damage to the harness ground.
Or, it could a drop in Voltage because of a weak battery, bad connections to the battery, or the common power connections at the fuse box. To test for this, connect a Voltmeter from one of the large fuses to ground (engine/trans). If the Voltage drops when the signal comes on, it could be wiring to the fuse box inputs, or weak connections at the battery to the chassis or power wires. Unless, of course, those wires are damaged.

TY guys, I have a good place to start

SO, is the idea just fully inspect all wires in the headlight bucket fully? should I just cut all new ends anyway to make it clean?

Wintrlsol, I have a question, I think your test is easy enough, can you clarify what I should set the MM to to do your test? AND are you saying touch one of the fuses with the MM and the other to chasis, should I start the bike or not? TY I just want to be clear what to do
TY guys, and Ill let you know what I find

thedaydreamer wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 04, 2023 6:38 pm

TY guys, I have a good place to start SO, is the idea just fully inspect all wires in the headlight bucket fully? should I just cut all new ends anyway to make it clean?

By checking all the Wires/Connectors in the Headlight "bucket" as I suggested, do look for wires at the connectors that might have broken/open insulation on them thaty can ground out against teh metal of the "bucket". This can sometimes be seen in the wire right at the place where the Wire enters the backside of the connector.
Stems from all those wires being shoved into the somewhat narrow space in-between the "bucket" and behind the Headlight and getting kinked

I would not... .."cut all new ends".....that would make for a huge amount of work that most likely will not fix your problem.

Just in case

INTRUDER MANUALS AND INFORMATION
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=14168

thedaydreamer wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 04, 2023 6:38 pm

TY guys, I have a good place to start

SO, is the idea just fully inspect all wires in the headlight bucket fully? should I just cut all new ends anyway to make it clean?

Wintrlsol, I have a question, I think your test is easy enough, can you clarify what I should set the MM to to do your test? AND are you saying touch one of the fuses with the MM and the other to chasis, should I start the bike or not? TY I just want to be clear what to do
TY guys, and Ill let you know what I find

If the problem is happening all the time (IE: when the bike is not running as well as running) then turn on the ignition....turn on the indicators so the problem is happening...then look inside the headlight bucket for the ground wires to the neutral, indicators, etc. That should be your first place to start. If the wires don't look damaged jiggle them around to see if the problem rights itself (it may be a broken wire still in the sheathing). If no luck then move on to the active wires and so on. It can be a pain but if you eliminate methodically you should be able to find the problem.

look for disconnected or corroded ground wires. If a system is missing a ground they will try to ground through another system.

thedaydreamer wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 04, 2023 6:38 pm

TY guys, I have a good place to start

SO, is the idea just fully inspect all wires in the headlight bucket fully? should I just cut all new ends anyway to make it clean?

Wintrlsol, I have a question, I think your test is easy enough, can you clarify what I should set the MM to to do your test? AND are you saying touch one of the fuses with the MM and the other to chasis, should I start the bike or not? TY I just want to be clear what to do
TY guys, and Ill let you know what I find

The meter should be set to a Voltage range above battery Voltage, so 15V range or higher. I would put the run/stop switch to the stop position (so the ignition is not powered) before turning the key to on. Then, touching a main fuse (+V) and the engine (chassis GND) should reflect any drop in the system Voltage. If you do read a drop that corresponds to the signals turning on, I would next try the difficult task of measuring at the battery negative. Very hard to do, given the location, so a helper is probably called for, but measure from the fuse directly to the battery negative terminal (not the cable end); if no drop in Voltage, the battery negative to chassis ground is suspect, which could be at the battery terminal connection itself, or corrosion at the chassis connection. If there is still a drop, try other fuses, since some have a longer path than straight from the battery, to isolate the path from the battery positive to the fuses that have a problem; again, could be the battery terminal, or the cables to the back of the fuse box. Trying more than one fuse also could point to a dirty switch contact. Have your helper take notes, as you go. Wiring issues like this always take time, and are a royal PITA.