OK, now the horn is out.

[daddykevin]

So, I had a problem with the turn signals blowing the fuse. I have installed Skene Design Conspicuity Lights (LED), and upgraded the horns to the PIAA's. I did not upgrade any wiring or install a horn relay.

After changing out the turn signal fuse twice, I upgraded to a 15 amp fuse and everything worked fine... for a couple of days. Now the signals work, but the horns are out.

Any ideas?

 

[azitlies]

okay, this is obviously a silly wag...

but have you ever done anything to that switch housing on the left side? like put on diff grips that caused you to have to file that little plastic nub down so you could move the housing out a little?

both the horn and signal switches are of course right there, next to ea other. Maybe it's gotten wet? wires are some how shorted?

I kind of hate electrical problems...

 

[RossKean]

If low-power LED's are causing a fuse to blow repeatedly then you have a wiring problem. Installing a larger fuse than the wiring harness is designed for is a major no-no and is not any sort of "upgrade". If these lights have a specified higher current draw, you probably need an auxillary circuit to drive them, not a larger fuse on the existing circuit. No idea on the horns but the first thing i would do is swap back the OEM and see if they are working. If so, the Piaas may need to be run from a relay - you didn't say what the current spec was for the replacement horns.

If it doesn't work, go back to the last configuration that was known to be good and go from there. Good luck!

 

[Blind Squirrel]

On my 2004 the horn, dash lights and stop light are all on the same fuse. The previous owner had spliced in LED stop lights and left the wire bare. The exposed wire shorted to the frame and kept blowing the fuse (until I located and repaired it.).

 

[Fred W]

I'm not sure why you thought it a good idea to start a new thread for the same problem you posted about before.

In that prior thread I told you what devices are on the signal fuse, and the horns aren't on it.

I have no idea how you have wired these aftermarket conspicuity lights you mentioned, but if they happen to be wired into both the running lights and the brake lights I think you have identified your problem. Get rid of them (or scrutinize the wiring for errors) and you should be in Fat City.

 

[SkooterG]

I'm not sure why you thought it a good idea to start a new thread for the same problem you posted about before.

In that prior thread I told you what devices are on the signal fuse, and the horns aren't on it.

I have no idea how you have wired these aftermarket conspicuity lights you mentioned, but if they happen to be wired into both the running lights and the brake lights I think you have identified your problem. Get rid of them (or scrutinize the wiring for errors) and you should be in Fat City.

This brought a freakin tear to my eye....... Spoken like a true admin!

 

[SacramentoMike]

It's kind of a long shot, but did you remember to take out your ear plugs?

 

[odot]

I'm not sure why you thought it a good idea to start a new thread for the same problem you posted about before.

In that prior thread I told you what devices are on the signal fuse, and the horns aren't on it.

I have no idea how you have wired these aftermarket conspicuity lights you mentioned, but if they happen to be wired into both the running lights and the brake lights I think you have identified your problem. Get rid of them (or scrutinize the wiring for errors) and you should be in Fat City.

This brought a freakin tear to my eye....... Spoken like a true admin!

...........and red fish is right behind him..............

 

[Chuck35]

There are 3 particles of electricity.

The Electron.

The Protron.

And the Homotron.

It is the Homotron that blows all the fuses.

 

[daddykevin]

I'm not sure why you thought it a good idea to start a new thread for the same problem you posted about before.

In that prior thread I told you what devices are on the signal fuse, and the horns aren't on it.

I have no idea how you have wired these aftermarket conspicuity lights you mentioned, but if they happen to be wired into both the running lights and the brake lights I think you have identified your problem. Get rid of them (or scrutinize the wiring for errors) and you should be in Fat City.

Because it's not the same problem. You indicated that the horns aren't on the same fuse as the signals, and yet other posts indicate that they are. Given that I'm just trying to solve a problem, and that you seem to enjoy being condescending... at the end of the day I need to solve a problem. Period.

If the horns are on the same circuit as the signals, and the horns don't work but the signals do. Then, the only thing that I can come up with is the possibility that I have a grounding issue with the horns which blew the fuse in the first place. Changing the fuse from a 10 amp to a 15 amp shouldn't cause a burning of wires, at least not that I can see. However, I'm sure someone else will revel in the opportunity to admonish me for being so stupid as to do such a thing. Given that I've had some problems with ground spiders in the past, I fear that this may be causing the ultimate problem for me.

If the horns are on a separate circuit... where in the hell is the fuse? I can't find anything about it. Without a concrete problem, I'll likely take off the tank and the tupperware and start chasing wires on Saturday. I've already disconnected the Conspicuity Lights, with no change.

Sorry to be pissy, but this forum seems to be quick to jump on people and quick to criticize. That being said, I'm open to any constructive ideas.

Thanks.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Well, whatever happens, I have some sympathy. Good luck!

 

[Bustanut joker]

Huron52 "Tom" also answered it on facebook earlier..

No wonder I get shit here... I don't "do" shit head questions well.

 

[FJRBluesman]

As stated, if you're blowing fuses, you have a problem. Blowing fuses is not normal unless they are over loaded or shorting out. You don't put in larger fuses, that leads to larger problems.... wiring problems.

Is it also possible that your horn relay is out? Put 12 volts directly to each horn, do they work? If so problem is up stream, check the relay and fuses.

Any wiring you tapped into for power or swicthed power could be the issue too.

Good luck.

 

[Bustanut joker]

Might even be as simple as an ass hair in a conector

 

[wfooshee]

I'm not sure why you thought it a good idea to start a new thread for the same problem you posted about before.

In that prior thread I told you what devices are on the signal fuse, and the horns aren't on it.

I have no idea how you have wired these aftermarket conspicuity lights you mentioned, but if they happen to be wired into both the running lights and the brake lights I think you have identified your problem. Get rid of them (or scrutinize the wiring for errors) and you should be in Fat City.

Because it's not the same problem. You indicated that the horns aren't on the same fuse as the signals, and yet other posts indicate that they are. Given that I'm just trying to solve a problem, and that you seem to enjoy being condescending... at the end of the day I need to solve a problem. Period.

If the horns are on the same circuit as the signals, and the horns don't work but the signals do. Then, the only thing that I can come up with is the possibility that I have a grounding issue with the horns which blew the fuse in the first place. Changing the fuse from a 10 amp to a 15 amp shouldn't cause a burning of wires, at least not that I can see. However, I'm sure someone else will revel in the opportunity to admonish me for being so stupid as to do such a thing. Given that I've had some problems with ground spiders in the past, I fear that this may be causing the ultimate problem for me.

If the horns are on a separate circuit... where in the hell is the fuse? I can't find anything about it. Without a concrete problem, I'll likely take off the tank and the tupperware and start chasing wires on Saturday. I've already disconnected the Conspicuity Lights, with no change.

Sorry to be pissy, but this forum seems to be quick to jump on people and quick to criticize. That being said, I'm open to any constructive ideas.

Thanks.

Increasing the fuse capacity by 50% is not an acceptable way to solve a fuse problem. The ciruit is designed with a certain load in mind, and wires are used according to that expected load. Increasing the load heats the wires, causing a multitude of long-term problems. Put the 10 back in and let's get back to finding why it blows. BTW, horns are not on the same fuse as the turn signals. The "signal" fuse is not the fuse for turn signals; it does brake lights and horns.

Well, here:

Things on the hazard lighting fuse:

tail lights

license plate light

front marker lights

turn signals and hazard flashers

(This is the most common circuit tapped for switched power for add-on electrical accessories, because that wire to the lights goes all over the bike, and is easy to find just about anywhere. All such accessories should be powered by their own fuses directly to the battery, switched by a relay which is energized by this circuit.)

Things on the signaling system fuse:

brake lights

horns

grip warmers, if factory equipped

windshield drive assembly

dashboard neutral lamp

glove box solenoid

 

[Fred W]

I was not being pissy or condescending. Sorry that you misinterpreted my post that way. I said that I was not sure why you started a new thread because there were already people who were trying to help you on the first thread (like me) who were therefore auto-subscribed to that thread and would have wanted to know these latest updates in your attempting to find the problem. That's kind of why they call them "threads."

Now, getting back to that problem, the last post above said (a bit more succinctly) what I had previously. The horn isn't on the same fuse as the running lights and turn signals. So these two symptoms are apparently unrelated. Unless... those farkles you added earlier happen to use both of these signals for some reason.

Why, you might ask, am I so adamant about you checking those added farkles? It is because of one of the major tenets in the business of of electrical and electronics troubleshooting (yes, I am in that business) is to always suspect the MRFWU (Most Recently F*&$ed With Unit). It is far more likely for an electrical short circuit to be cause by some aftermarket gizmo added to the bike than the stock wiring and peripherals.

Also, FWIW, bad grounds (spiders or others) do not result in blown fuses. They are open circuits, not shorts and therefore less current would be drawn in the failure mode, not more, so rest assured that your fuse blowing is not due to a bad ground.

 

[RaYzerman19]

FWIW, the PIAA horns should draw about 5.5 amps, therefore there 'should' be no harm in plugging them in as a direct replacement for the OEM horns (I am assuming they are relatively new and not overloading the circuit). So, maybe you have a short in the relay? But, I would trace all farkle wiring to ensure there isn't an overloaded circuit. You could swap out another relay to test the theory.

 

[Bounce]

If low-power LED's are causing a fuse to blow repeatedly then you have a wiring problem. Installing a larger fuse than the wiring harness is designed for is a major no-no and is not any sort of "upgrade". If these lights have a specified higher current draw, you probably need an auxillary circuit to drive them, not a larger fuse on the existing circuit. No idea on the horns but the first thing i would do is swap back the OEM and see if they are working. If so, the Piaas may need to be run from a relay - you didn't say what the current spec was for the replacement horns.

If it doesn't work, go back to the last configuration that was known to be good and go from there. Good luck!

+1 on this. If any electrical change has a larger draw than the OEM part it's replacing then you MUST run a separate circuit with larger gauge wiring and fuse to the new item. You may opt to then activate it using the OEM circuit as the energizing side of a relay.

Step #1 is that, if you don't understand the basics of a relay then get someone to help you. Slashing and smashing your OEM harness is not something to do without a very clear understanding of the basics.

I mention this simply because of your comment

Changing the fuse from a 10 amp to a 15 amp shouldn't cause a burning of wires, at least not that I can see.

That's one of those "basics" I was talking about. It can and it very like will (eventually). if there's a load on that circuit that it higher than the 10 amps that the original circuit was rated for (including the wiring), the fuse will no longer be the first thing to fail. The light gauge wiring now becomes a "fusable link" with a lower load rating than the fuse. OEMs don't build in much head room in harnesses because that costs money.

 

[FJRay]

There is a ton of good advice offered here.

I very seldom wire anything without a relay and it's own fuze or breaker. It's cheap and saves letting the smoke out . Replacement smoke is VERY expensive.