Another Electrical Gripe

[sebring38]

My 82 GS850G has been blowing fuses for a while: turnsigs, horn, brake light, but not head or tail lights or ignition.
Recently all of those went again except for aforementioned head and taillights. But this time no fuses appear to be blown.
QUESTION: In addition to the fuses, are there any other things such as fusable links or a breaker that could have blown but spared the fuses?
KC

[Redman]

No, no fusable links nor breakers, only the fuses in the fuse panel.

But you are saying that you have lost power as if you did blow a fuse, but have not blown a fuse.

Are you just looking at the fuses, or have you checked the fuses with a meter? SOmetimes the fuse element can be burnt/broken behind the metal cap where you cant see it.

But you seem to be saying that this is a reoccuring problem. Perhaps you could take a look at the back of the fuse panel, maybe a bad connections there.

[Boondocks]

The Signals fuse controls the turnsignals, horn, and brake light. The Signals fuse may not appear to be blown, but it probably is. A visual inspection can sometimes be deceptive. It's possible that you have an open circuit due to a broken wire, but not likely. There are no breakers or fusible links.

Get a wiring diagram and trace each part of the circuit looking for a short (or open). Isolate the component under test as best you can. For instance, disconnect the flasher from the circuit and see if the horn and brake light work normally. Look for wires rubbed or burned through and touching something that is grounded

[argonsagas]

The Signals fuse controls the turnsignals, horn, and brake light. The Signals fuse may not appear to be blown, but it probably is. A visual inspection can sometimes be deceptive. It's possible that you have an open circuit due to a broken wire, but not likely. There are no breakers or fusible links.

Get a wiring diagram and trace each part of the circuit looking for a short (or open). Isolate the component under test as best you can. For instance, disconnect the flasher from the circuit and see if the horn and brake light work normally. Look for wires rubbed or burned through and touching something that is grounded

I'll buy everything said above, but you should also check the contacts of each fuse and connector.

If they are corroded....which is VERY common....you will get an overload condition. The corrosion is resistance, and acts like you have another load of some sort.....like two sets of headlights, when both are off.


Been there, done that. Melted the fuse box...all because of poor connectors.

[mixongw]

On my 1100, there is a connector on the right underside of the tank that contains connections for the stupid light switch option. My connector was melted from engine heat and shorted the stator phase that goes to the light switch to the voltage feed for the turn signals, horn, etc. It kept blowing fuses until I found that one.