[andy.mgnr]

I have a 2012 T100 with aftermarket British Customs Turn Signals and Tail Tidy done by the previous owner. Everything has worked flawlessly for years until yesterday after installing a few straps under my seat for pannier mounting points, I noticed on my ride to work that my turn signals weren't working. Got home and sure enough Fuse 7 was blown.

• Replaced the fuse and tested the turn signals: left side perfectly fine, right side, immediately blows the fuse again.
• Replace the fuse again and test the horn and brake lights: all work, just the right turn signal blows the fuse.
• I realize I had tightened one of the straps down on top of some wires and electrical components that were under the seat, so I have to assume a wire must have gotten pinched in doing so. I searched for anything suspicious but couldn't find any bare wire or obvious shorts.
• I didn't have any more 10A fuses so I threw in a 20 just so I could keep testing (not sure if this is a bad idea)
• Next I suspected the rear Right Turn Signal was damaged as its wires were under the strap, so unplugged it completely and tested again:
  • Left Turn signals F+R perfectly fine
  • Right immediately makes a strange buzzing sound and after 5 or so seconds stops and the tail and headlight start flashing (front Right Turn Signal is not on at all even though its still connected), no fuse blown
• I try plugging the rear Right Turn Signal back in and test again: it flashes very dimly alternating now with the tail and headlight (still no front right turn signal even though I haven't touched it)
• I try unplugging the left rear turn signal and plug it in for the right, and test the right signal switch and get the exact same result on the left signal: very dim flashing alternating with tail and headlight. This leads me to figure the rear turn signal itself isn't to blame.
• Leaving the rear right signal unplugged I turn on the right signal switch and wiggle wiring and connections to see if there is any effect: no effect, tail and headlight still blinking but for some reason continually speeding up until its very rapid and then stops and starts buzzing.

At this point I am beyond my basic electrical knowledge but I assume some connection, wire or component got pinched when I tightened down that strap: potentially something to do with the flasher relay? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Video showing strange flashing

 

[DavidinClearwat]

I definitely don't recommend using a higher rated fuse as you may start melting wires.... there is reason it keeps blowing the 10 as you indicated. There is a short somewhere. If it worked fine before you added those straps, that is area I would focus on

 

[rweb]

Start by removing the harness wrapping that holds the rt turn wire at the places that were pinched. I don't have a diagram for a 2012 but suspect you'l find the rt turn wire is making contact with the tail lite ground. Do not cut any wires just uncover them and separate them to find the problem.

 

[andy.mgnr]

Start by removing the harness wrapping that holds the rt turn wire at the places that were pinched. I don't have a diagram for a 2012 but suspect you'l find the rt turn wire is making contact with the tail lite ground. Do not cut any wires just uncover them and separate them to find the problem.

Thanks for the help - today I started removing coverings on anything related to the right rear turn signal but don't see any signs of pinched or bare wires.

I got new 10A fuses and put them back in correctly to test again (with right rear turn signal still fully unplugged) and I'm not blowing any fuses but still getting this strange issue where upon activating the right turn signal switch the tail and headlights flash while the right front turn signal stays off.

When I activate the left turn signal switch the front and rear left turn signals flash normally at first, but after a few seconds of leaving them on the head and tail lights started to dim while the signal was lit so that they appear to flash alternating with the signal.

The area where I tightened the strap doesn't really have any wires, just the diagnostic plug, dummy plug for security system, and the fall detection switch. I will check if my front strap pinched anything (tightened it around the frame where the tank bolts down).

My electronic skills are very limited, do you have any tips for how to narrow my focus and track down the short? I have a multimeter if that helps. Thanks for any help - pretty lost at the moment...

 

[rweb]

Normally a poor ground connection won't blow a fuse. Aside from that it sounds like you have a week or non existent ground connection, most likely in the turn signal wiring or a signal bulb holder.

 

[andy.mgnr]

Normally a poor ground connection won't blow a fuse. Aside from that it sounds like you have a week or non existent ground connection, most likely in the turn signal wiring or a signal bulb holder.

I think I may have solved it but not quite sure why! I realized I hadn't tried isolating the front right turn signal, so I opened the headlamp and unplugged the front right signal and re-plugged in the rear: everything worked fine! I tried swapping in the bulb from the left flasher to test in the front right and that worked fine too, then put the bulb from the right back into the left and everything is working now! Seems strange but maybe me fiddling with the connections in the headlamp bucket or the bulbs cleared something up... either way I won't know for sure until I go for a ride and make sure the short doesn't reappear. Thanks for the help!