This is wierd

[northwoods]

Last year before I put my bike away, I started having problems with the dash lights and headlights. Sometimes when I started the bike they would come on right away, sometimes they wouldn't come on for a couple minutes. Sometimes if I revved the bike they would come on, other times they wouldn't. But always after they came on, they would stay on and not go out which leads me to believe it's not a grounding problem otherwise I would think they would flicker. I've never seen an erratic electrical problem like this before. Any help?

Northwoods

[Steve]

Yep, it's a grounding problem.

Or at least a connection problem somewhere.

Since it seems to affect all the lights, its either near the fuse or a ground. The reason they flicker then stay on is because it takes a little bit to break through the corrosion to a cood connection. After current stops flowing (when you turn the bike off), the corrosion will build up in the gap that is your bad connection. Your best bet is to follow the path for the TOP fuse in the panel all the way from the left side of the fuse through all the lights, ending up at the ground(s). Take EVERY connector apart, squeeze it slightly to tighten the connection, clean it with spray cleaner (Radio Shack has some of the best cleaner), then put it back together with a little dielectric grease to prevent future corrosion.

While you are at it, go ahead and do all the rest of the connections on the bike, too.

.

[northwoods]

Thanks Steve I'll give that a try. I was hoping it wasn't a regulator or rectifier or something expensive. Do you happen to have a name for that cleaner?

[Steve]

Deoxit/Pro Gold

[mcloud]

Sometimes when I started the bike they would come on right away, sometimes they wouldn't come on for a couple minutes. Sometimes if I revved the bike they would come on, other times they wouldn't. But always after they came on, they would stay on
Northwoods

Yep, normal.
They're called flashers, or turn signal....

(sorry for the bad joke, could'nt help it )

[DPage]

Steve is right, Deoxit and Pro Gold G5 sprays are great to clean and seal the electrical connections like bullet plugs, and you can get it from Radio Shack. The Radio Shack kit comes in tiny little aerosol cans, about the size of a short cigar, and cost $15 for the pair. I think they hold about 1/2 ounce each, and it runs out pretty fast. You can get 10 times that much (5 ounces per can) for $35 ($15 for Deoxit and $20 for Pro Gold G5) at mcmelctronics.com if you're interested in cleaning a few more connections. If you're going to clean everything, you'll need more than 1/2 ounce.