Anyone Come Across this issue?

Hey, hope some ones seen this before. When starting the bike sometimes the right headlight is dim and the left is normal, the turn signals dont work and the left turn indicator is lit on the dash panel. Sometimes this lasts all day, sometimes if I switch the Hi/Low switch back to low it all goes back to normal? Sometimes everything works fine. This is a 1999 w/25k miles.
Thanks
Bill in Tampa

 

Check a couple connections, especially ground. A little emery cloth to clean them up and re-connect. That's what is sounds like to me. A bit of dielectric grease is a good idea after cleaning.

 

Sound like the harness is need to be look at......

 

EDIT: Don't ever put dielectric grease into any connection--use dielectric grease to seal off around the wires coming into the back of the connector to keep moisture out of the joint. Another use is on the white insulator of the spark plug to seal the rubber boot and keep out dirt and moisture.

Conductive grease is good to use on battery terminals to protect the metal from oxidation while maintaining a conductive junction.

i don't like sliding electrical contacts such as spade lug terminals to begin with, and would not put any type of grease before mating, but dielectric grease could be slathered over the mated terminal junction to seal out moisture and resist oxidation of the lugs.

Don't get them confused or used incorrectly--it will not be pretty when the connector plastic chars, melts or burns due to the high resistance junction created by putting dielectric grease into the wrong hole...Ask CandyRed RC about his experience.http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/37595-melted-stator-wires-2.html#post414691

 

I will yield to a greater authority.

 

Alot of riders just don't get that !! Dielectric grease is commonly recommended on any number of 'cycle fora on every connection. :crazy:

 

Wow, another myth swallowed up just like candy. :crazy:

Conductive grease can only be used on single connections, where there is no possibility of a short. It is mostly used in situations where the connection, by design, is not tight, or is constantly moving. If you try to use it in a multi pin connector the grease will short out the pins. Being conductive, you should expect no less.

Dielectric grease is nonconductive which allows it to be used in multi-pin connectors. More than just not causing shorts, it is also designed to prevent arcing that may occur if there was just air between the pins. It will not cause a catastrophic failure of the connection. If your connector melted, it was not due to dielectric grease.

The aircraft maintenance community has been using this product for many years. I assure you that if it did what you claim, we would not be slathering on our connectors anymore.

 

Dielectric grease:
Dielectric grease is electrically insulating and does not break down when high voltage is applied. It is often applied to electrical connectors, particularly those containing rubber gaskets, as a means of lubricating and sealing rubber portions of the connector without arcing.
A common use of dielectric grease is in high-voltage connections associated with gasoline engine spark plugs. The grease is applied to the rubber boot of the plug wire. This helps the rubber boot slide onto the ceramic insulator of the plug. The grease also acts to seal the rubber boot, while at the same time preventing the rubber from becoming stuck to the ceramic. Generally spark plugs are located in areas of high temperature, and the grease is formulated to withstand the temperature range expected. It can be applied to the actual contact as well, because the contact pressure is sufficient to penetrate the grease. Doing so on such high pressure contact surfaces between different metals has the advantage of sealing the contact area against electrolytes that might cause rapid galvanic corrosion.
Another common use of dielectric grease is on the rubber mating surfaces or gaskets of multi-pin electrical connectors used in automotive and marine engines. The grease again acts as a lubricant and a sealant on the nonconductive mating surfaces of the connector. It is not recommended to be applied to the actual electrical conductive contacts of the connector because it could interfere with the electrical signals passing through the connector in cases where the contact pressure is very low. Products designed as electronic connector lubricants, on the other hand, should be applied to such connector contacts and can dramatically extend their useful life. Polyphenyl Ether, rather than silicone grease, is the active ingredient in some such connector lubricants.
Silicone grease should not be applied to (or next to) any switch contact that might experience arcing, as silicone can convert to silicon-carbide under arcing conditions, and accumulation of the silicon-carbide can cause the contacts to prematurely fail. (British Telecom had this problem in the 1970s when silicone Symel® sleeving was used in telephone exchanges. Vapour from the sleeving migrated to relay contacts and the resultant silicon-carbide caused intermittent connection.
Hope this helps.
Bill in Tampa

 

We could cut and paste different sides of this myth, all day. The most important part of your post was the low contact pressure connectors. I agree that it shouldn't be used with them. They are quite rare these days and I don't think that there are many on todays modern equipment. Spade connectors do not belong in this category and are not affected by this.

After 20+ years of working on aircraft, where I use this and many other petroleum products every day, I can assure you that there is no danger in using these products on your connectors.

PS. My 95 VFR has every connector coated with dielectric grease since day one and I have had zero problems and no corrosion. In fact I am still running on the original R/R and starter relay. I don't know how much more proof you need.

 

i am with karazy on this, dielectric grease is used in all forms of electronic/electrical plugs. i too use it daily on connecters

 

di-e-lec-tric n. dia-across + electric A material that does not conduct electricity.

Websters New World Dictionary

 

Double Bubble Bubblegum....just kidding.

This thread seems to have taken a different direction from the original poster. Anyone else have any ideas what is causing his symptoms. The problem needs to be fixed before we take action to prevent it from happening again I think. Ideas anyone to help a brother VFR scooter hooter.

 

Don't know what year bike or type of turnsignals but I helped a guy on an MV that had the wrong turnsignal bulb jammed into the socket. Turns out it was a double filament bulb jammed in backwards and the contact on the bulb shorted out between the two contacts on a double filament socket. Same type of problems. When we got the bulb out and inserted it properly all was good.

 

There goes Randy trying to gum up the works, again.

You've already made a good suggestion. I was just trying to defend you're honour. LOL

The only other thing to add at this juncture, would be to disassemble the light switches and connectors to give them a look over.

 

I helped a guy on an MV that was having a similar problem. Turns out he jammed a double filament turnsignal bulb backwards into the socket. The bulb was not fully twisted into place and one of the contacts on the bulb shorted across the two contacts on the socket. Double filament bulbs usually have two offset pins to prevent improper insertion but this guy managed to do it without breaking the bulb. Once we got it in correctly all the problems went away.

 

Sounds like a burned or corroded ground connection. Doesn't the fifth gen have that orange ground block hiden in the wiring harness somewhere???

In my opinion you need to use something on the connections especially since they aren't weather pack connectors. Dielectric grease or Ox-guard. Whatever your fancy.

PS Those stator connections are going to burn up eventually whether you use something on the connections or not.