Delayed turn signals

[Whitey]

 My blinkers have a 8 to 10 sec delay after I hit the switch.
     The colder it is the longer delay. What do I have to do to fix!
        Thanks!

[Chrisj CMA]

Clean the old grease out of the mechanism. Requires disassembly. That grease will be like beeswax.

[RonW]

More like ear wax the last I checked.

The 8 to 10 sec delay is what it takes to melt the wax in cold temperatures. Then the electricity is able to flow through the copper contacts.

[Grandpot]

Replace the flasher relay.  The relay controls the timing.

[jnicks01]

I'd try cleaning the switch first before buying parts. May be that easy.  I posted a video I found on here last week that is very helpful and as easy as it gets. 

[Bagger John - #3785]

I'd try cleaning the switch first before buying parts. May be that easy.  I posted a video I found on here last week that is very helpful and as easy as it gets. 

+1.

Don't ever recall having a flasher problem with one of these bikes. Switches and socket contacts, on the other hand...

[BorderLineRider]

 I had the same problem a few years ago. If it was below 60 degrees the turn signals would take anywhere from about 20-30 seconds to start flashing. Cleaning the switch did not help. I replaced the entire switch assembly and that cured the problem. I don't remember what it cost but I think it was around $140.

[Jims99]

+1 on cleaning out the old grease. I have done both of mine and made a big difference. Take your time not to loose any parts, but very simple job.

[RonW]

When you get to the stage below, I wouldn't remove the thumb lever's pivot screw (red arrow). Cody aka TheMotorcycleMD does remove the pivot screw in the linked video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob4JWFQ6aTc&feature=youtu.be&t=784 to lube the parts. But the assembly can be lubed without removing the pivot screw.

I've found it impossible to tighten things just the right amount if you have to put the screw back. For example, is it tight enough so it won't loosen by itself after many miles? If it's a little too tight it'll create a drag on the thumb lever's movement. There is a shoulder washer in the stack supposedly to prevent overtightening but it don't work that well. If anything, just tighten the pivot screw a micro turn instead of removing it.

[BigSherm]

When I bought my ‘98, it had been sitting for months, and the turn signals took about 15 seconds to start blinking.  The more I used them, though, the better they got and now they’ve worked as they should for months, even after the bike sits for a week or two.

Scott