79 GS850 turn signal question

[dbarnes42]

79 GS850 turn signal question. Is the signal supposed to stay on when the switch is moved? If I move the switch to the left or right is it supposed to stay there and the signal stay on? Or do I need to held it in that position until after I turn? Anyone have this problem before?

[DanTheMan]

If it's not staying on until you're done turning, the auto cancel system may be affecting it. I disabled my auto cancel system, as well as replaced the whole turn signal/high beam switch with one off of a donor '78 Goldwing basket case.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. dbarnes42,

The turn signal switch will stay either to the right or the left until you put it back in the center. These bikes came with an "auto-canceling" feature that turns off the flasher but does not return the switch to the center position. Is your auto-canceling feature still working? Like Mr. DanTheMan, I also disabled the auto-cancel when I replaced my stock turn signal relay with an off-the-shelf part (much cheaper). See my website for details.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

Did the 79s have self cancelling signals? Not sure if they did or not.

If they did have self-cancelling signals, you should not have to hold the switch while making your turn. The switch is spring-loaded at either end and will push back a bit after starting the flashing sequence. I think of the switch assembly as having five positions. #1 will start the left turn cycle and is spring-loaded to return the switch to #2 posiiton. #3 position will cancel the signals before the electronics will. #4 is where the switch will end up after pushing it to #5 to start a right turn sequence. The housing for the switch will also have the word AUTO on it if they are meant to self-cancel. If not, and your switch only has three positions, they don't self-cancel.

.

[dbarnes42]

Thanks for the info. Currently I have to hold the switch either left or right until after I turn. It's a little tricky sometimes at a stoplight, holding the turn signal switch and the clutch in at the same time. Would the auto cancelling feature prevent the switch from staying held either left or right?

[Wallowgreen]

The '79 850GN did indeed have a self cancelling turn signal system (at least mine does) with a momentary switch that returns to center position when you let go of it. It's the signal controller that latches the request for a turn signal to be active, then controls when it get's switched off. At the risk of stating the obvious, if you're having to hold the switch to get any function from the turn signals there's something wrong. Probably the turn signal controller.

Signals on mine were flaky when I bought the machine and the price of a new controller scared the life out of me. I designed and built my own replacement based around a microprocessor but that took two or three months over a winter. They work great now though!

Only other option is to modify the system to take out the controller and have full manual control by replacing the switch unit on the handlebar among other things. Use the search feature and you should find details on how to go about it.

EDIT:
Steve, Basscliff, the '79s work slightly different to all other years I've looked at with these self cancelling systems. My '82 1100GL has the system you talk about with the '5' position switch. The '79 system does not have that kind of set up, the switch is spring loaded but only has 4 positions. There's left, right, off (pushed down) and nothing (in the center). The '79 controller has two connectors into the wiring harness, all other years have only one. A good functioning controller responds to the momentary action of the switch providing all the latching, timing and on / off control for both sets of signals.

[Don-lo]

I believe the 79 GS850s have the same system as my 79 GS1000. Go left or right, then the switch returns to center. The signals stay on until you manually cancel (push the switch down) or you travel a certain time amount (8 seconds?) above 20 mph. It is an expensive black box that runs it, for sure, and they do fail. The switch needs cleaned and lubed occasionally because it is quite open to the elements (and spiders!). Poor connections and low voltage can keep the relay from flashing.