Electrical question from an Electro Dummy

[Disco]

I just pulled the Rumblebee out of the garage to go around the block and when I turned the key on, the blinker buddy in my Ultimate Seat started buzzing at about half strength and at normal blinker intervals.  The blinkers were off. 

When I turned the left blinker on, both blinkers worked normally and the blinker buddy buzzed at normal strength.  When I turned the right blinker on, everything blinked and buzzed at double time.  When I turned the blinkers off, the blinker buddy resumed its half strength buzzing at blinker intervals. 

Next, I took the seat off and disconnected the blinker buddy.  Same thing.  Left signal is normal.  Right signal is double time. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Disco]

Update:

Checked it again and the right front turn signal barely lit with the blinkers off - in running light mode - and went off completely when the right turn signal is switched on.  I replaced both front turn signal bulbs, but the problem is still there.

[Bagger John - #3785]

You check your bike's right rear bulb yet?

Sounds like the right side circuit is only seeing half the load as the left, and thus is causing the flasher to cycle at a faster rate...

[Grandpot]

Dave:

When blinkers start acting like that, it's almost always caused by a poor or broken ground connection.  Without a solid ground the hot circuits give feedback through the neutral circuits.  The actual result depends on which circuit goes hot first.  In simple terms, check every ground in the blinker circuit and check continuity of all the wires.

[R J]

Under the right side cover is a ice cream cone shaped wire protector.  A whole bunch of wires enter and exit this cone.

In it you will find a GREEN wire.   This is your ground.   Make sure that the two ends mate tightly.   For some reason or another they have a tendency to get loose and loose contact with each other.   Ya might have to crimp the female end a little bit to get good contact.

Before ya do this however, check your right REAR turn signal bulb....   It might be blown.......

[Disco]

Thanks for the help, guys.  The right rear turn signal blinks brightly.  I'll go check the ground(s).

[Big IV]

Perhaps it is because I learned most of my bike tinkering from xs11s, but you should always double check the grounds. Even if the wire is still connected, make sure it is not oxidized under the terminals.

[Disco]

I checked all the grounds I know of - the one RJ mentioned, the accessory ground I've installed under the RH bolt of the center cover, the ground connections on the accessory relays, and the grounds I've installed under 2 of the 3 headlight bucket bolts.  All were tight and clean except the one under the center cover.  It was a little loose, so I pulled the bolt and checked for corrosion.  It was clean, so I reinstalled tightly.  Still have the problem.

[Larry]

Perhaps the blinker fluid needs changing?  Could be the blinker swith needs maintenance? Just a thought.

[lee]

Take the Blinker Buddy out of the circuit.  Put wiring back to normal and see what happens.
Blinker Buddy may be bad.

[Disco]

I don't believe the blinker buddy is bad.   It is installed with two wires and has a male/female connector between the bike and the bottom of the seat.  Because it was the last thing added to the bike (last autumn), it was the first thing I checked and the connections on the bike are good.  It misbehaves even with the seat disconnected.

A group of us DFW VRCCers met for a ride and a burger today and the electrical engineer in the bunch said the real clue is the right front turn signal / running light.  We were on the ultra-valk, so we didn't get to play with the Rumblebee, but at least I have another starting point.

I'll report back when the problem is identified and solved.

Thanks for the input.