Turn signal fuse keeps blowing.

**S.U.A.R** · 11-09-2007, 11:23 AM

New to me, very clean '98 interceptor. All of a sudden the turn signals quit working. Checked the fuse and it is blown. Replaced with new 10 amp fuse, turned ignition, and it immediately blew again. Replaced with 20 amp fuse, same problem. Front running lights continue to work, even after fuse is blown, but they go out when I activate turn signal. Help? I am not a great mechanic and have run out of ideas. Any ideas greatly appreciated.

**Pearl-93** · 11-09-2007, 11:39 AM

Sounds like you have a short somewhere.

Had the same problem a few months back.
Turns out one of the rear turnsignal wires was semi-out of the wire connector.

If the electrical current running through the turnsignal wires can not ground/ or + juice doesn't have anywhere to go (shorted wire or disconected wire) your fuse will blow.
Thats part of the reason fuses are in place....if theres a problem it stops the ability for juice to run through it...and prevents what could be a major problem if it were allowed to continue.

So you know this so far. its in the blinkers probably or the headlight wires possibly, since you said headlight goes out after fuse blows.

1. clean all contacts to headlight and blinkers.
2. trace the wires from fusebox to blikers and headlight.
Look for disconnected relays, or electrical connectors, wires that
appear burnt or damaged in any way.

Mine was on a 3rd gen '93 vfr, but I would guess your problem is the same.
Probably a short to neg. (-) wire somewhere in the blinker wires.

Hope this helps
-Steve

**Bubba Zanetti** · 11-09-2007, 11:41 AM

I 2nd Pearl's idea!

Keep us posted!

BZ

**Longerfellow** · 11-09-2007, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by Bubba Zanetti

I 2nd Pearl's idea!

Keep us posted!

BZ

If it happens right when turns on the ignition wouldn't it be an issue with the running lights up front since the rears don't power up until you signal?

**squirrelman** · 11-09-2007, 02:16 PM

start by unplugging one light at a time to localize problem

**S.U.A.R** · 11-09-2007, 05:54 PM

Thanks for the great tips so far. I'll start chasing wires in the next few days and post my results. Keep the ideas coming.

**eddievalleytrailer** · 11-09-2007, 06:21 PM

Never replace a fuse with a higher amp fuse than is recomended by Honda!! The circuit is only designed to handle the specified current.
Which side makes the fuse blow? Left or Right? If either, I'd check the switch first. If one or the other, that'll narrow your search. The wire for that side (front or rear) may have been pinched, and grounding on the frame.

**green1** · 11-09-2007, 08:41 PM

Open circuits don't blow fuses,electricity with no where to go goes nowhere,short circuits blow fuses.When looking for your short you can replace the fuse with a light bulb if you have an old socket and bulb kicking around,modify the 2 wires of the socket to plug into the fuse contacts and it repaces the fuse.Now as you search for the short the light will be on as its the load in the circuit,when you find or unplug the short,or the section of harness with the short in it the light will go out as you took away the path to ground.I use an old headlight bulb for this purpose,hope it makes sense and its a little easier on the spare fuses

**masonv45** · 11-13-2007, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by squirrelman

start by unplugging one light at a time to localize problem

Doing it this way you go through a lot of fuses.

Start by disconnecting all the lights.

Turn the power on - check fuse.

Connect one light - check fuse.

Repeat previous step until fuse blows or all 4 lights are working.

If all 4 lights are working, then insulation has rubbed off a wire somewhere and is hitting ground. Find it or risk the fuse blowing again down the road.

**S.U.A.R** · 11-29-2007, 03:05 PM

Thanks for the great tips. Had the bike in the shop for oil change and the dealer fixed it. Turn signal switch housing was loose and had rotated downward, causing the turn signal wire to pinch, resulting in the short and blown fuse. Thanks again for the help. VFR world is a great resource.

**pontiacformula99** · 11-29-2007, 03:39 PM

Hey that light bulb in the fuse socket trick is pretty smart. 10yrs in car audio chasing wires and blown fuses and I've never heard that before. That would've saved me a ton of money in fuses over the years. Great Tip!

There was someone else on here that had the same problem about a year ago... He said if it kept doing it to wrap electrical tape around the bar so that the wire can't ground out to the bars.

**reg71** · 11-30-2007, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by green1

Open circuits don't blow fuses,electricity with no where to go goes nowhere,short circuits blow fuses.When looking for your short you can replace the fuse with a light bulb if you have an old socket and bulb kicking around,modify the 2 wires of the socket to plug into the fuse contacts and it repaces the fuse.Now as you search for the short the light will be on as its the load in the circuit,when you find or unplug the short,or the section of harness with the short in it the light will go out as you took away the path to ground.I use an old headlight bulb for this purpose,hope it makes sense and its a little easier on the spare fuses

that's a great piece of advice. I'm gonna have to modify a flashlight bulb for that purpose even though I don't need it right now. You never know when that'll come in handy.

**eddievalleytrailer** · 11-30-2007, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by reg71

that's a great piece of advice. I'm gonna have to modify a flashlight bulb for that purpose even though I don't need it right now. You never know when that'll come in handy.

I just use a 12v test light.

**marty_uiuc** · 05-14-2008, 04:52 AM

sorry to bring this back from the dead, but i am having a similar problem with my '98 vfr. i've put a dvom on the signal and brake light plugs of the bike, here are the results:

L turn signal - shorted (F/R)
R turn signal - shorted (F/R)
rear brake light - shorted
rear running light - NOT shorted
front running light - NOT shorted (L/R)

i have taken apart the turn signal switch, and everything looks okay in there - no pinched wires or insulation burned/rubbed off.

i am wondering if maybe the turn signal relay has died, however that seems like it shouldn't stop the brake light from working. since i do not have the factory service manual, might one of you friendly people tell me where it is located?

**Joey_Dude** · 05-14-2008, 05:01 AM

Originally Posted by marty_uiuc

i am wondering if maybe the turn signal relay has died, however that seems like it shouldn't stop the brake light from working. since i do not have the factory service manual, might one of you friendly people tell me where it is located?

You can get the electronic version of the service manual at Downloads You'll have to register with them before you can download it. It's a freebie so no big deal.

**marty_uiuc** · 05-14-2008, 07:51 AM

thanks for the link! hopefully i can figure out what is wrong tonite...

**marty_uiuc** · 05-14-2008, 08:24 PM

well, after ripping all the plastics off the bike and going through all the connector behind the dash, i just happened to glance at the brake light switch on the clip-on. it was fouling on the handle!

at least the fix was pretty easy ;)

**Lgn001** · 05-15-2008, 05:20 AM

Hi guys. Thanks for the follow-ups! It is always good to find out what the resolution was. There have been some strange problems posted that just go away, and it always leaves me curious as to what it was.

**dizzy** · 05-17-2008, 04:11 AM

Alternative method for troubleshooting "dead" shorts...replace the fuse with a rolled up chewing gum wrapper and watch for the smoke...haha, just kidding. Great advice and knowledge from Green1...apparently been around some circuits before.

**VsVFR** · 05-22-2008, 09:11 AM

All right, kind of along the same topic, my turn signals quit working last night on the ride home from work. I remembered seeing this topic and some others on the forum, so I read up a little before tearing into the bike. First thing I did was check the fuse. No problem found, fuse was still good.

So, puzzled I looked around a few more minutes before cranking the bike and hitting the turn signal switch, which worked this time. So my question is if I had a short would it necessarily cause a fuse to blow, or could it end up being intermittent with no blown fuse?

Vs

**dizzy** · 05-22-2008, 07:28 PM

Well...there's two kind of wiring problems...opens and shorts. When a connection is not being made, it's an open circuit...no fuse is blown. That's the most common failure by far.

Then there's the short circuit...when a connection is made that's not supposed to be there. Let's say a positive headlight wire wears through the insulation and touches a frame ground...instead of lighting your headlight, there's a direct path to ground which causes a huge surge in current and should blow your headlight fuse, sometimes referred to as a "dead short". Suppose two wires in a bundle wear through insulation and touch each other...let's say positive leads to high beam and the right turnsignal. May not be enough excess current to blow a fuse, but when you flicked your high beam...your right turnsignal would light as well. Still a short circuit though.

Either short or open could be intermittent...and usually are. Sounds like you got an open ciruit.

Whew...hope that makes sense

**eddievalleytrailer** · 05-22-2008, 07:43 PM

I usually replace the blowing fuse with a .22 bullet. You can tell by the "BANG" if you have a short.

**VsVFR** · 05-22-2008, 08:17 PM

Diz, thanks, that does make a lot of sense. And now I wonder if that's why I'm not seeing the problem at all today. I haven't turned the brights on today. I've had the bike on and everything has been fine, but last night I had the brights on quite a bit. So there's a good chance your example may be pretty close to dead on. Thanks for the input.

Eddie, that's hilarious! I usually replace the blowing fuse with an anchovy, that way when it goes I have to smell fried fish.

**dizzy** · 05-23-2008, 04:19 AM

I didn't mean to infer that's the problem with your turnsignals...in fact it's highly unlikely...I was just using it as an example.

I like the bullet idea...but for the safety of my coworkers, think I'll stick to the firecrackers.

**VsVFR** · 05-23-2008, 05:45 AM

Dizzy, I realize that, but it does make a lot of sense. And luckily it didn't work out that way. No problems on last nights ride.

**beans** · 05-28-2008, 01:15 PM

Hi all. Just wanted to input my experience with this issue as well. I have a '98 and I had the same issue with the turn signals as S.U.A.R. Doing a quick Google search lead me straight to this thread. Prior to looking it up I replaced the fuse for the turn signal and it seemed to be working fine. My mistake was that I didn't start the bike, only turned the ignition to "on" and checked the turn signals. Anyways, after starting the bike and riding away I noticed that the turn signals weren't working again.

I read around and it seemed that the problem is located in the switch housing. I took it off and cleaned up the grease. I noticed that there was grease on the handle bar as well so that's probably where the short was coming from. Anyways, wiped off the extra grease from the top of the switch and around it, put it back together and tested. Voila, problem solved. I probably should have put a little electrical tape around the bar where the grease was just for a preventative measure but oh well. Maybe next time it goes out!

This is a great site with tons of good information. Keep up the good work!

**beans** · 05-29-2008, 09:05 AM

I thought I had solved the problem but it's not that easy! I finally figured out what's causing the fuse to blow. It happens when I hit the brakes. I tried both the front and rear brake independently and they both cause the fuse to blow. I also tried disconnecting the brake light bulbs and it still blew. So, time to check the diagram and go through all the wires. It seems I have two options:

1) find the short
2) don't use the brakes

I'll post again when I find more information.

**eddievalleytrailer** · 05-29-2008, 10:18 AM

It would be easier to just not use the brakes:sportbikesmile:

**beans** · 05-29-2008, 10:19 PM

I found out what was causing the short. I had recently rotated my front brake lever down to get a more comfortable position. Of course more is better so I rotated it until it couldn't go anymore. By doing this the wire coming out of the front brake light switch was getting bent by the clip on. Eventually the rubber insulator got pushed away and the metal connector grounded out on the clip on. I rotated the brake lever up a little and also put some electrical tape on the clip on just for added insurance. Problem solved. Now I just need to put all the fairings back on. Doh!