Turn Signals speed up with high RPMS?!?!?

[Anonymous]

Hey guys... I could use some help.

My turn signals work great at idle or while under 2500 rpms. Once i start moving above those rpms (whether it be in neutral or in 6th gear), the lights start flashing faster. When on the highway doing 5-6k rpms, they are useless as they pretty much don't even flash, as they are going on/off so fast.

Any idea's to what i could do to fix this?

Thanks in advance.

[bwringer]

Methinks you need to hook up a voltmeter, rev the engine, and see what's happening. Are the lights perhaps getting really bright at higher RPM?

If you're getting too much voltage, you'll boil your battery pretty quickly (and dump acid all over) and possibly damage your stator, so look into it ASAP. I'm thinking the regulator/rectifier is bad.

Make sure the R/R has a good ground directly to the battery, too.

Anyone else?

[crc1214]

Sounds like you nailed it right on the head. Definetely sounds like an overcharging issue to me.

Rev the engine with the meter terminals hooked up to the battery - the voltage should increase to 14.5, 14.8 tops....... and stay there. My guess is that yours is increasing to around 16V or so.

If it doesn't top off at 14.5 or 14.8 tops..... then follow the charging system test procedure in your manual, or use the one on this website published by Electrex. DO NOT keep riding. Ever seen a battery catch fire? You don't want that to happen going down the road, and not be able to get to some baking soda and water for a long time.

Let us know what you find out. Sometimes, all you need to do is clean the connections, or make sure the grounds are all ok. Shelling out 200 bucks + is a last resort, and most times really isn't needed.

Chad
Columbus, OH 1978 GS550E

[Anonymous]

Went home and tested the voltage at battery with digital multimeter. It read 13.9 max at around 6500 rpms. All other times it was at about 13.3-13.8.

I have been riding this bike for the better part of two months, and have put 1000 miles on it. With the signal indicators like this. Any other suggestions? I have just grown accustomed to not using my signals. (bad habit, i know)

[Anonymous]

It could be the flasher unit. They don't cost much, so you could try a new one. A long-shot possibility could be that you have the wrong type bulbs installed. That can cause some strange things to happen. It doesn't seem likely that the bulbs are equally incorrect on both sides, but I suppose it could happen.

The rate of flashing is determined to a large extent by the voltage and load. Since we've ruled out the likelyhood that the problem is caused by voltage variation, all that's left is the load (bulbs and connections) and the flasher itself. At least, that's the way I understand it.

[earlfor]

Re: Turn Signals speed up with high RPMS?!?!?

After reading your response and voltage reading, I would replace the flasher.
Also. check to make sure you have 1157 bulbs in your turn signals. Different bulb numbers will draw different amp and the required load for your turns signals to operate properly is specific.

Earl

Hey guys... I could use some help.

My turn signals work great at idle or while under 2500 rpms. Once i start moving above those rpms (whether it be in neutral or in 6th gear), the lights start flashing faster. When on the highway doing 5-6k rpms, they are useless as they pretty much don't even flash, as they are going on/off so fast.

Any idea's to what i could do to fix this?

Thanks in advance.