Well no wonder the signals don't flash!

[mikerophone]

New to me GS 850, flasher relay was upside down under the cover as opposed to hanging upright on the battery box so I'm sure years of water got in and stayed inside the relay:



Not that I needed it once I got the cover off the relay and saw this, but it was so cold in my shed that the el cheapo brittle plastic neg lead on my el cheapo HF meter broke when I picked it up by the lead... Good thing I have 3 of them.

[Steve]

Nice find.

You will not find a replacement at Auto Zone or any other local shop. That flasher is unique to Suzuki, and then only for the larger ones that had self-cancelling signals, starting with the 1980 models.

If you don't mind giving up the self-cancelling feature, you can replace it with a generic two-prong flasher. If you would like to keep the self-cancelling, contact member posplayr to see if he has production up and running on his adapter. I have one of the prototypes and it is working very well.

.

[mikerophone]

Thanks Steve - I did a little reading on the TSCU and the special nature of this particular relay. I do plan on upgrading everything to LED's (once I get a SH-775 and the motor torn down, clutch replaced, carbs done and all back together over the winter) so I tested out an electronic relay that I've used for the LED's on my 750 and sure enough, it doesn't flash. Strangely enough, it flashes when I have the lead of my test probe connected however.

I I could just swap in a 2 prong car type relay and I've never have self canceling signals on a bike before so part of me thinks I won't care but part of me wonders how nice it might be. I'm a bit of a turn signal nazi anyway - hate it when people think they're optional, even cops in this town sometimes fee the need to neglect them.

Either way, I'll check into posplayr's new box. I want an SSPB II as well, but the costs for this new bike are climbing quicker than I expected. Other than the standard maintainence items like oil/filters/other fluids, plugs and brakes all around, so far I need tires, battery, clutch, master cyl, all gaskets, probably new intake boots, a few tools, speedo and possibly tach cables, carb orings and gaskets, new LED's all around, SSH-775 and now either a relay or pos's TSCU! Maaaan I can't wait for tax returns. Wish I had a nice new garage like yours to work on this beast It's tight in my little freezing shed. Maybe one day!

[Steve]

... I tested out an electronic relay that I've used for the LED's on my 750 and sure enough, it doesn't flash. Strangely enough, it flashes when I have the lead of my test probe connected however.

That's because the third pin on the electronic flasher is a ground pin. The third prong on the stock flasher is NOT a ground pin, it is a control signal, so there is nothing for the electronic flasher to use as a ground. That is where posplayr's adapter comes into play. It provides a switchable ground for the 'new' flasher. Because it is 'switchable', the TSCU still works as intended.

Wish I had a nice new garage like yours to work on this beast It's tight in my little freezing shed. Maybe one day!

I wish I had a garage like mine to work in, too.

My son and I started insulating the roof last night, will continue probably for the rest of this week. The electrician is scheduled to be out next Monday to connect power, then finish up whatever he needs for the inspection by Tuesday. Wednesday, my son and I will continue connecting all the lights and outlets that will be necessary for comfortable work. After the wiring is done, we can do the insulation in the walls and put up the wall paneling. THEN we can move in.

.

[Grimly]

I wish I had a garage like mine to work in, too.

My son and I started insulating the roof last night, will continue probably for the rest of this week. The electrician is scheduled to be out next Monday to connect power, then finish up whatever he needs for the inspection by Tuesday. Wednesday, my son and I will continue connecting all the lights and outlets that will be necessary for comfortable work. After the wiring is done, we can do the insulation in the walls and put up the wall paneling. THEN we can move in.

.

You'll love it when it's done.
It's not especially cold here, and nothing like as cold as it gets in your area (just googled - -9C, urgh) but the past couple of weeks, I've been revelling in the heated and insulated workhop I put together the previous year. Fantastic, being able to walk in, and pick up tools, work on the bikes or anything else, without doing the Dance of Ice Cold Fingers.

[barnbiketom]

Those HF meter probes can be made to last .
I wrap shipping tape around the wire AND the plastic probe to keep it from twisting inside. they last 6 months instead of 1.

[mikerophone]

Those HF meter probes can be made to last .
I wrap shipping tape around the wire AND the plastic probe to keep it from twisting inside. they last 6 months instead of 1.

Thanks for the tip! I have 2 that I got for free, and one of the LCD's doesn't show all the digits so I used the cables from that, but I'll wrap them up and hopefully get a little more life out of them now

[Grimly]

What kind of brute picks their meter up by the lead, anyway?

[Tanerrc]

Hey Steve, I'm having problems with my '79 GS850. I've been trying to get the turn signals to work by building one of these http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...l-control-unit but it's not working properly. I know that the '79s have a different TSCU then the following years so I'm wondering if using a two-prong flasher, like you suggest here, will work in my case. Any ideas? If you think it will work does it matter what kind of two-prong flasher I get?

[Steve]

I have seen some rather interesting "solutions" for bad signals on a '79, but have no personal experience with them, so, sorry, I don't have anything to offer. I have heard that it's not nearly as simple as installing a two-prong flasher (or two), but I don't remember what all it takes to get them flashing again.

I have a feeling that I might be encountering this problem, though, as I have another member's '79 850 in the shop right now, waiting to get started. It's a "new to him" project, so it needs pretty much all the usual 'stuff' done to it. Checking the turn signals will definitely be on the list of things to do.

.

[Tanerrc]

Thanks anyway Steve. I actually jot got them working. Turned out to be a bad flasher. So simple!

If anyone has any questions on how to get this TSCU replaced now, I'm fairly well versed so hit me up.

[80gs550e]

Turned out to be a bad flasher. So simple!
.

Hi Tanerrc, do you mean a bad turn signal relay?