V11 Turn Signals, Dash & Stop Light Problems

[shagerman]

2000 MG V11 Sport: Out of the blue, my stop light, dash, and blinkers just stopped functioning. The best I can tell, the problem is between the Fuse #6 and Fuse #7 which has a common connection to the Ignition Switch? But not sure.

 

So where do I look? Under tank? In instrument panel? In tail section? Loose connector - what else to check? Is it safe to say the dreaded relay are not the problem? I'm OK with an volt/ohm meter.

 

Maybe someone has an easy solution? HELP NEEDED!!! And THANKS!!

[docc]

Hmmm, kind of an odd combination, since the turn signals are on Fuse 7, but the brake light is from Relay 2.

 

When you say "dash", do you mean the instrument illumination or the warning lights (oil/battery)?

 

 

Otherwise, you are right to say the ignition switch is the common denominator. There's a thread here on pulling it apart for a cleaning . . .

[docc]

Here's an excerpt from the discussion the Ignition switch:

 

By Kiwi_Roy

[mdude]

check also the brakelight bulb, a bad bulb can give strange symptoms.

[Kiwi_Roy]

2000 MG V11 Sport: Out of the blue, my stop light, dash, and blinkers just stopped functioning. The best I can tell, the problem is between the Fuse #6 and Fuse #7 which has a common connection to the Ignition Switch? But not sure.

 

So where do I look? Under tank? In instrument panel? In tail section? Loose connector - what else to check? Is it safe to say the dreaded relay are not the problem? I'm OK with an volt/ohm meter.

 

Maybe someone has an easy solution? HELP NEEDED!!! And THANKS!!

First check.

Do you have power at Fuse 6 & 7 from the ignition switch?

If Not

Sometimes with age the grease in the contacts goes hard keeping them apart. I had that with my V11. You can check the contact resistance by pulling fuse 4 and measuring to the common point at F6/F7 if it's consistently less than say 1/2 Ohm it's ok otherwise the switch comes apart quite easily although you do need 3 hands from memory. Clean out the old grease and put back some vaseline or similar.

From the switch it goes through a large connector at the front of tank check for corrosion there. Look at the Carl Allison drawing it will show the connector and wire colour. My drawing doesn't show the connector.

Sometimes after years of flexing back and forth a wire will become brittle and break inside, that would happen where it flexes at the front forks look for any point that bends sharply when you move the bars back and forth. A broken wire will stretch when pulled hard.

BTW if you lay the Test Point Layout drawing on the bike the orientation for fuses and relay pins should match, that's how it is on mine anyway.

Test Point Layout May 17 2010.pdf

[shagerman]

2000 MG V11 Sport: Out of the blue, my stop light, dash, and blinkers just stopped functioning. The best I can tell, the problem is between the Fuse #6 and Fuse #7 which has a common connection to the Ignition Switch? But not sure.

 

So where do I look? Under tank? In instrument panel? In tail section? Loose connector - what else to check? Is it safe to say the dreaded relay are not the problem? I'm OK with an volt/ohm meter.

 

Maybe someone has an easy solution? HELP NEEDED!!! And THANKS!!

First check.

Do you have power at Fuse 6 & 7 from the ignition switch?

If Not

Sometimes with age the grease in the contacts goes hard keeping them apart. I had that with my V11. You can check the contact resistance by pulling fuse 4 and measuring to the common point at F6/F7 if it's consistently less than say 1/2 Ohm it's ok otherwise the switch comes apart quite easily although you do need 3 hands from memory. Clean out the old grease and put back some vaseline or similar.

From the switch it goes through a large connector at the front of tank check for corrosion there. Look at the Carl Allison drawing it will show the connector and wire colour. My drawing doesn't show the connector.

Sometimes after years of flexing back and forth a wire will become brittle and break inside, that would happen where it flexes at the front forks look for any point that bends sharply when you move the bars back and forth. A broken wire will stretch when pulled hard.

BTW if you lay the Test Point Layout drawing on the bike the orientation for fuses and relay pins should match, that's how it is on mine anyway.

 

I pulled the tank, air box, rear assembly, instrument cover, headlight - and the scoot is really naked now. I am ready to do some serious wiring checking and applying contact cleaner at electrical connectors . But frankly, I still don;t know where to start other than attempting to trace wiring and checking continuity / voltage. I keep thinking it MUST be somthing simple... But unfortunately, electrical issues are full of gremlins and ghosts. To the above question, the instrumetn panel lights are out while the center oil light, etc., are working OK. Any other advice?? Thanks.

[shagerman]

BTW, I have an LED tail light (FBF) eliminator, and to repeat, teh stop light works OK.

[Kiwi_Roy]

BTW, I have an LED tail light (FBF) eliminator, and to repeat, teh stop light works OK.

Ok, the turn signals, tail light and speedo/tacho lights are powered from Fuse 6

Did you check there for 12V?

 

Do you have a wiring diagram, if so which one are you using?

 

What are you using to test for voltage, a meter or a test lamp?

I still prefer a lamp when tracing a fault like this, it loads down the circuit whereas a meter will indicate even across a bad joint.

 

I presume your bike still runs which means you have power to the ignition switch. From there it runs back to the common point of F6 / F7, thats the first place to check.

 

When electrical troubleshooting just go one step at the time. If you print out the drawing I posted a few back you will see that the power goes from battery to ignition switch, from ignition switch to fuses so you work your way along either from the battery until you no longer have power or from the lights back until you find power.

I sent you a PM

Print this out while you are at it.

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=10455

Roy

[docc]

Try turning the ignition switch to "park" position and see if this lights the tail, instrument lights and the the low wattage lamp in the headlight shell.

 

Otherwise, Fuse 6 (for the above lamps) and Fuse 7 (turn signals) get a common feed from the ignition switch. At some point, probably under the seat, that feed splits to the two fuses. No relay in this circuit.

 

You may need to have a look at the harness as it feeds up into the tail section under the fuse block.

 

Do post back about the park position . . .

[Kiwi_Roy]

Another thing.

Here in Canada we don't have the light switch on the left hand cluster, by law the lights stay on while the engine is running.

 

If you have that switch, all the aforementioned lights pass that way along with the headlight.

I bet a dollar to a donut that's a source of much grief.

Turn the key on and flick the handlebar switch back and forth to see if the lights flicker, if so you need to pull it apart and clean the contacts.

 

But check for power at F6 F7 first, if not there try flicking the key back and forth, I had to strip mine down and clean it, the grease goes hard after a few years.

You can check the contact resistance using my Test Point Layout, it should be less than 1/2 an Ohm from F4 to F6 and consistently the same each time you operate it.

 

It's possible for the headlight to be on without the other lamps because the circuits are separate.

The diagram in the back of my owners manual shows a park switch on the key in series with a park switch on the bars, those crazy Italians!.

 

Roy

 

BTW, I posted the drawing here because the original had a typo, Note 4 said Test Point Layout August 18 2010.pdf

[shagerman]

Thanks a million to all you great MG gearheads for your kind assistance. Fortunately, last night I pulled the ignition switch, carefully pulled it apart, and guess what greeted me? One of the four wires was broken off at a contact. I fixed it and am back in business. I was surprised to see this was the whole problem, but I am very, very happy that I saved a lot of hours that I would have had to spend diagnosing. So tonight I will get the bike back together. With a big smile.

 

One does have to be careful when prying the switch open, and yes , three hands would be helpful. I did place the switch in soft jaws in a vise, and hence my two hands did work OK. I will get some pics up soon. She's a beaut...

[Kiwi_Roy]

Thanks for the update. I have been troubleshooting electrical problems for the last 45 years and still the Guzzi wiring has me scratching my head. It's so conviluted with some circuits relying on several fuses to operate. Just as well we all love a good challenge.

[brother4sale]

I've had this problem twice. The first time I checked nearly every wire, relay, and switch - ultimately leading me to a degraded wire connection I found in the ignition key switch also. I soldered it and I was back in business with my taillight, signals, and instruments back on. The second time this problem arose, with exact symptoms, I checked the switch first and a different wire had fouled.

 

I had to remove the switch from the bottom where it mounts to the gauge cluster, right in front of the upper triple clamp.

 

Have Fun, Go Fast, Be Cool.

[OK V11 Le Mans]

Went for a ride this evening and noticed after my first use of the turn signals that they had quit working. Came home and started rough checks on fuses and noticed no voltage on flasher circuit.

Came inside and started searching this site for info on the wiring diagram. Found this topic and I think the problem is at the switch.

The diagram and discussion on this problem hopefully saved me a lot of time troubleshooting the issue.

Many thanks to the poster for the simplified wiring diagram!