Left Blinker Intermittently Fails

[Rece]

Hi All,

I have a 1999 Katana 600. It has custom LED Blinkers in the rear. The mod was done by the PO, so I don't know anything about it.

Twice now, when I turned the bike on the Left Blinker shows solid green on the dash, and the rear left blinker itself is also solid red. The front left blinker is always off. This doesn't change even if I actually turn on the signal. Furthermore the Headlight dash light is always on.

The right blinker works exactly as expected.

The weirdest part is that this problem happened one day, then everything worked perfectly then next day, and now it is happening again.

Any insight at all would be super helpful. Thanks!

[rk97]

I think you're onto something by starting where the PO made modifications. Could just be a poor connection, or bad insulation causing it to fail intermittently.

Wiring turn signals is relatively easy (and I am not a fan of electrical work).

In a best-case scenario, I would think it's one of the two issues I mentioned above, and you're all good. In a worst-case scenario, you might be looking at replacing the turn-signal switch assembly, if the switch itself is what's going bad, and basically getting stuck "on" every so often. The former sounds more likely.

[Kreylyn]

Your front left blinker light or wires has a poor connection.

Any time 1 bulb goes out, the rest will not blink but just stay on. Since it came back, it's not the bulb... but perhaps it's loose or a connection is not completing the circuit.

Krey

[Rece]

Thanks Kreylyn. When I take the bulb out of the front blinker, the rear one works fine. I tried both Electrical contact cleaner and sandpaper on the bulb socket, but neither fixed the problem. I know that the bulb is fine.

Any suggestions of where to start looking on the wiring?

Thanks!

[92xjunker]

Check the beg connection on the bulb socket, had the same issue.

[Kat Floyd]

Mine did that a few weeks ago. For me it was the plug connection cluster behind the headlights. A good jiggle and all was good

[rk97]

I had a headlight issue, and the connector mentioned above was to blame. It also has wiring for the left signal. The wiring for the right signal splits off prior to the connector.

Mine was visibly scorched and/or corroded when I unhooked it. Solder up the connections, and you're good to go.