Speedo light issues

[1998katana]

Hey every one just bought my first bike and guess what it is? lol i bought a 98 katana 600gsxf. it is in great working order. i had to do some fine tunnning as far as throttle cable and adjust chain....and so on. MY MAIN ISSUE I CANT SEEM TO FIGURE OUT IS WHY MY GAUGES LIGHTS DON'T COME ON. I turn the key and the neutral, brake, and oil come on but not the gauges even when the bike is on. I TRIED TO REPLACE THE LIGHT BULBS EVEN DO THEY WEREN'T BURNT. AND I STILL HAVE NO GAUGE LIGHTS....ONLY LIGHTS THAT WORK IS TURN SIGNALS, HEADLIGHT LOW AND HIGH, BRAKE, NEUTRAL AND OIL.

CAN ANY ONE HELP?

[lncoln]

Check all your connections to those lights...

-it's possible the wires are crossed (power lead plugged into the ground lead, make sure they are all color to color, etc...)

-or the connections are dirty (clean them, then lube em with dielectric grease before plugging them back in)

-or the ground wires aren't properly grounded (make sure they are contacting on clean metal), or the connections in the colored quick connect plugs aren't contacting properly (you can take the tip of some tweasers and bend out the little tabs inside of the plastic, then clean em, and lube em with dielectric grease)

-or you have a broken wire inside of the wire harness ( if you have a multimeter, you can check for continuity)

That should keep you busy for a while...make sure you take your time, don't rush through it...you'll be less crazy with a little patience.

[Million$]

Change tail light bulb. That did it for me.

[1998katana]

thanks guys i am currently going through the wiring harness to find a bad negative ground. I am tech sabby but with mechanical stuff not electrical sabby. how do i check for continuity? yes i did just ask that question like i said i am mechanically inclined but as for as electrical other then positive and negative to complete a circuit i am clueless on how it works.

thanks

so your bike was doing the same thing and all you did is change the taillight? i did noticed in the wiring diagram that at some point the gauges are connected to the turn signals and taillight fuse box. thanks

[1998katana]

UPDATE!...still going through the wiring...I did notice 2 cables black/white and gray under the seat by the battery and they come from the harness that is by the taillight. I tried to chase them back and i lost them under the chassis where it connects to about 5 different harnesses coming together as 1. i thought that was my issue so i grounded both to first the battery and then the chassis and each time i blew out my tail light fuse. (i heard it pop when i turned the key and checked it) i read the owners manual and noticed that there should be a light over my license plate...i do not have one and i cant seem to figure out what else those two cables go to and my only guess is the last owner eliminate the license plate light???.or does any one have an idea what they might be to?..they are clearly part of the light harness for i blew the tail light fuse 3 times when i tried to ground them. I checked the taillight bulb and its not burned out. Should i replace it like you said MILLION$? even do is not burned out??

[lncoln]

Unground the wires that you just grounded...you're causing a short which is why you're blowing fuses.

To check for continuity. ..

-rule #1 when playing with electricity. ...DISCONNECT THE BATTERY.

-make sure the multimeter is switched on to the "wifi looking" icon (or if it's the word continuity).
-take one of the meter leads and touch it to the possitive wire that you disconnected from the battery (this allows you to check all power wires on the bike).
-disconnect each connection in question (one at a time).
-then touch the other lead from the meter to the questioned power wire that you just disconnected, the meter should give you a solid beep as long as you're touching both ends of the wire with the meter leads.
-if you don't get a beep, there is a break in that circuit.
-if you have a break, you have to search it down and fix it.

To check for ground continuity. ..

-put one lead from the meter on the ground wire at said questioned connection (usually solid black on these bikes).
-put the other lead from the meter on any thing metal, preferably the frame (make sure the metal you're touching is clean and bare).
-you should get the same resulting beep.

To check for a ground fault, or "short"...

-put one of the leads from the meter on the questioned power wire.
-put the other lead from the meter on the frame.
-if you get a beep, that means that power wire is grounded when it's not supposed to be. That usually causes fuses to blow.

Hope this helps you out.

[Million$]

When I changed my tail light bulb to the correct bulb, which I believe is dual filament, all my lights functioned properly.

[1998katana]

Incoln thanks for the info!!! I will now be able to check for continuity next time i have a problem. MIllion$ I had the correct size light bulb and a dual filament. I ended going through the whole wire hardness and the two cables i found were for my license plate light that was eliminated by previous owner. no bad wires found. I ended up going to AutoZone and buying a light bulb that a bit brighter and burns a tab hotter. stock is 12V 21/5W dual filament they did not have the same one so i got a 13V 26.5/8.3W dual fialament closest one they had. I also chnage the fuse from 10 to a 15 and that some how fixed it. I went for a 50 mile ride after i fixed it and i had no issues. BUT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT RIDING WITH A HIGHER FUSE AND A HOTTER BULB??? WILL THIS AFFECT MY BIKE IN ANY WAY AS FAR AS ELECTRICAL GOES??? THANKS

[lncoln]

Glad it's fixed. You shouldn't have any issues with the bulb you put in there....i used the same one when i changed my bulb, haven't had any yet...been 4 months.

I would put the 10a fuse back though...the 15a wont cause problems...the only issue though, is that by putting the higher amp rated fuse is that it won't trip unless the power surge is above that rating. The circuit is designed for the 10a...and so are those bulbs. When you put a higher rated fuse in, you're allowing a higher amperage surge to get by the "circuit protection" of the fuse. They are there to protect whatever "device" they sit in front of...so the fuse blows, not the "device".

Now if you put something in that has a higher amperage rating, then by all means...put a bigger fuse in it.

[92xjunker]

FYI higher wattage is higher amps. Amps x volts = watts. I agree to install the ten amp fuse your still good on amp load.

[1998katana]

Thanks i will put a 10 fuse back in and hopefully it doesn't start to mess up on me again. THANKS FOR THE HELP AGAIN!