Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet with the UCE engine => Topic started by: mikesince1974 on June 09, 2011, 04:58:26 am

Title: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: mikesince1974 on June 09, 2011, 04:58:26 am
 Hi everyone!

   I recently purchased a 2010 Bullet Electra Deluxe. I love it! No real issues to speak of until tonight. I was riding into town tonight when I noticed the turn sinal indicator lit up solid green. After watching it a bit, I realized it was coming on whenever I hit the brakes (both foot and lever). At the same time, the left turn signal would come on along with the indicator and brake. All during this time, the turn signals would work properly when I used the switch,  When I reached my destination, I turned the ignition off and then back on, after a couple of times it started working properly again, Has anyone else experienced anything like this? (Not sure if it matters, but the weather conditions were slightly wet at the time)

  thanks,
  mikey
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: olhogrider on June 09, 2011, 05:39:53 am
I wired mine to do that. Yours must have wired itself! These are very clever bikes
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: mikesince1974 on June 09, 2011, 03:28:54 pm
I can already tell this one's got a lot of personality.  Rode in the same conditions this morning with no problems. Strange.
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: Okie Enfield on June 09, 2011, 03:33:45 pm
HMMM... That sounds like it could be one of two possibilities. Either that was St. Elmo's fire and your bike is haunted, or..... You've been chosen as the next incarnation of THE GHOST RIDER!  ;D
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: GreenMachine on June 09, 2011, 04:08:24 pm
was it raining hard  ?how long have u had the machine? wiring doesn't change but connectors work themselves loose.  A  ground wire could just  barely be  making contact with its surface meta, a wiring splice may not be correctly done.., You could try checking all your connections and putting a wee bit of dielectric grease at the actual connection  joint. Might be a good time to check all your bolts and nuts for tightness as well..  You could spray the bike down and c if it the problem comes back or just wait and see if it does it in dry conditions..I had a crazy experience last week while attempting to make a left turn and the turn signal went solid vice blinking and after monkeying with the turn signal switch while driving  both indicators went dead as well as the small indicator  light in the  speedometer ...Made it home fine and found out that the battery wouldn't take a charge on my battery tender junior..its been bouncing along for 5 years fine and maintained but looks like it finally did the ole internal short...a new cell battery is supposedly headed my direction...u really want your signals to work correctly, i almost got hit in the process, screeching tires and all...This time  it was my fault, not the cagers...
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: Ducati Scotty on June 09, 2011, 06:22:03 pm
Possible short.  Check the wiring harness before something important stops working.  As mentioned, if you've been in heavy rain then that could have caused it.

Scott
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: Arizoni on June 09, 2011, 08:38:04 pm
I wouldn't recommend applying dielectric grease directly  to the connectors. 
It is a non-conductor.  It does a good job of sealing the outside of the connectors  to prevent water and dirt from working their way down into the connection.

For more information follow this link to Wikipedias comments about dielectric grease.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_grease#Dielectric_grease
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: GreenMachine on June 09, 2011, 11:27:52 pm
i said at the connection joint and not inside the metal to metal contact...guess i could had said it differently...
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: mikesince1974 on June 10, 2011, 01:24:37 am
 First of all, thanks for all the comments. Nice to know I've got some support, you guys (and girls) have a great community, glad to be a part of it.  To my knowledge, there are only two of these bikes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We just recently picked up an authorized dealer (only one in the state). I went to the shop to check out the Genuine Stella Scooters he had.... saw the Bullet, fell in love. 

  I've only had the bike a few weeks, it's a new 2010. Still less than 600 miles on it. As far as conditions, it was really just wet. It had rained a little earlier and the roads still had that irritating bit of water on them. 
   Speaking of wiring reminded me of something. After my first ride of any distance, I pulled into my carport and noticed I had almost lost the chrome cover that encloses the relays and misc. wiring. The bolt had vibrated loose and fell out, (Luckily, the cover was still hanging in the rubber grommet). The only one I had in the shop that was the correct size and pitch was a little too long. It looked as if it might have been pushing against the wiring harness at the bottom of the panel. Haven't checked the diagram to see where those wires end up.
   Put a new, shorter bolt/washer/lock washer in it on my break at work today. About to go for a ride, interested to see if this fixes the problem. 

   thanks again. -mikey
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: mikesince1974 on June 10, 2011, 05:21:49 am
Arrhhhhggh!!!! Lost all brake lights on the way home tonight. Taillight and turn signals still work.... Just no brake light. (lever or pedal)...... off to check the relay.
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: mikesince1974 on June 10, 2011, 05:34:24 am
 Found the problem!!!! 

     The taillight harness has drooped a little low and rubbed on the back tire causing all these lighting woes. Easy enough fix, though a little aggravating considering I haven't even hit 600 miles yet.

 Oh well. Could be a lot worse.
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: Fox on June 10, 2011, 05:50:11 am
Something to check if you find yourself without working tail light or rear turn signals is the connection from the wire harness to the socket itself. Mine came loose on my right rear turn signal somehow. The mechanic at the dealership said it was very difficult to remedy because he couldn't get the socket hot enough to resolder the connection.
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: mikesince1974 on June 10, 2011, 07:28:24 pm
  Was really able to check it out today in the daylight.
 
  The wiring harness looks like it might have a little excess going into the rear housing, the slack made it's way out and started scrubbing on the rear tire.
  Out of the four wires, one was completely broken, one was hanging on by a thread and the other two were okay.
   A little time, solder and heat shrink has got me back in business.   ;D

 
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: greggers on June 10, 2011, 09:17:02 pm
This seems to be a pretty common issue with the new g5/electras, albeit with varying symptoms. Nice one on the repair, but if for some reason that doesn't last the dealer should be able to get you a new harness under warranty
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: Sub on June 11, 2011, 02:25:26 am
Glad you got it sorted! I was rendered broken down today while on a long ride - many miles from home.. sitting at a stop light and it just gently died!! My first thought after hitting the starter and having nothing happen was, its ok, its ok, I have AAA.

Pulled over, opened fuse box, the first fuse towards the front of the bike was blown. Oh good, a clue! I grabbed a spare 20amp  (did you know there are 3 or 4 spares right in the same harness?). I put it in, and again, blew.  OK, damn! I wasnt getting any fuel pump noise or starter relay btw - the starter button was just dead. I did have my handy dandy volt meter on there, so I knew it wasnt the battery.

"Must be a short" I'm thinking. I start prodding and poking, pulling on wires and checking connectors (I had a brake light go out once and it turned out that just the rear connector on top of the rear fender had come apart on its own?!) I found nothing unusual, then noticed that there was a SMALL tear in the electrical tape and a few hairs of wire showing on one of the wires behind the blown fuse. It had been rubbing against the metal opening at the back of the fuse box. I'm going to add some edge protector on that part of the box tomorrow.

 I folded it out of the way, put another fuse in, and it started right up. Oh thank God.. I was in the middle of no where and was so glad I figured it out. The event sort of ruined the last hour of my trip though.. I still wasnt sure if I found the problem, so I nervously rode.. but I did make it home ok.
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: GreenMachine on June 11, 2011, 03:09:48 am
glad u figured it out...not a good feeling when u in the middle of nowhere...nowhere here means a good chance of no cell service which could complicate things...plus u didn;t have to push......u had me in suspense and u made a  about face and went home...
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: mikesince1974 on June 11, 2011, 03:30:21 pm
    Ouch. Glad it didn't leave you stranded for too long.

   -just gave me an idea for a new thread, a member list of bolts and wires that are commonly loosened or frayed. 
Title: Re: Turn Signal came on with brake light.
Post by: Sub on June 11, 2011, 04:04:00 pm
Mike you know that would be a great idea for a post - and to formalize it somewhat.. I posted a reply in your thread: http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,10906.msg126910.html#msg126910 (http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,10906.msg126910.html#msg126910)