Wierd electrical problem 1993 3tb

[numpty]

Now then, after much banging of head against wall with what seemed like a simple electrical problem, I`m at a loss and this was the first place I thought of to ask for help.

I know that there are some oracles of all things electrickery on here, so I humbly ask for your help, here goes.....



If I turn on the ignition and operate the indicators without the engine running, they work perfectly.

If I start the engine, they stop working.

If I turn on the sidelight with the engine running, they will work sometimes, others not.

If I turn on main headlight with the engine running, they will work perfectly.

If I disconnect the headlight with the engine running they stop working but will start working again if I put the plug back on the bulb.



I`ve also tried three different flasher units - exactly the same problem with all of them.



Now I`m normally not too bad with electrics and I`ve poked the multimeter into every connector that is in the indicator circuit and checked

the earthing as best as possible and can`t find any obvious fault.

Am I going mad and missing something that`s staring me in the face??? Please help `cos I`m wearing a hole in the wall with me `ead!

[Mezo]

Check all your grounds (earth's) all of them, make sure your reg/rec is properly grounded, assuming you have already downloaded the wiring diagram?

Check the main connection blocks, the ignition one would be first.

So assuming all grounds & connectors are good id be looking at the ignition switch (it may of shit itself) just have to pull it of & squirt some contact cleaner in the back & jiggle the key back & forth & then blow it out.

Try all that first.

Mezo.

[numpty]

Thanks for the reply Mezo.
O.k. so I`ve double checked everything today. All earths and connector blocks seem good and I went as far as stripping the whole headlight area and took all the insulation off the front of the loom back to the headstock to look for chafed wires. I found one, which was from the engine stop switch on the right hand side so taped that up but everything else looks fine. I also took the ignition switch to pieces and cleaned it out and freshened up the contacts There are a couple of repaired wires in the front part of the loom but the connections are good. I opened up the switches on the left hand bar and had a look, seems to be clean enough. Put it all back together and it`s still exactly the same. The indicators aren`t original by the way, they`re mini aftermarket ones but they are just bulbs and not LED`s.
It`s as if the engine is stealing the power to the indicators when you start it but the headlight is giving them their power back when you turn it on!
I`m totally stumped.....HEEELLLLLLPP!!!!

[xtzrick]

Could it be a load issue

What wattage bulbs are in your indicators?
I think they should be 21W

Also check the voltage going into the indicator relay (brown wire) with & without the engine running

Rick

[motorang]

Hi
that flasher relais likes to have perfectly rectified current, which it gets from the battery. It may well be that the flasher relais is getting dirty current because the regulator is starting to die. Bulbs will still be fine because they do not care if AC or DC. Horn and flasher relais do need DC. What does the horn do when you test it with/out engine running?

Andy

[numpty]

Following the advice to check earths, I had another look today.
I ran some separate earths from the indicators and the problem is still there. I then decided to check the continuity on all earths, so I set the multimeter to continuity buzzer and went to every earthing point in turn, all good. Then I attached the probe directly to the battery negative and went round all the earths again, all good. Out of sheer desperation / frustration / curiosity I started poking at every terminal I could find.
Now then, when I disconnected the switchgear on the indicator side and started to poke at the connector block on the loom, most of the terminals were giving continuity. I pulled the connector off the headlamp bulb and stuck the probe in and I am getting continuity not only to the earth but also to the high beam wire directly from the battery negative. Correct me if I`m wrong, but doesn`t this prove that there is a breach between the lives and earth??
It would be good if someone can confirm that I`m heading in the right direction and it won`t be the actions of a bonehead if I start stripping miles of loom tape off to try and find the problem.

Also, could someone post a link to where I can access the correct wiring diagram for a `93 3TB.
Thanks

[jibber]

Theres a manual listed in the 'Hot Links' section, look under Nops stash, xt600E 3TB, there is usually a wiring diagram at the back of the manual.

[ActionManMelb]

Because the headlamp is low resistance (under 1 ohm) most meters would regard that as continuity.
Remove the globe and do the test again.

[GeoffD]

I had a similar problem on Tenere 3... it was doing my head in, in the end I connected the indicator earth direct to the battery & I also now always connect an extra earth wire from the battery to the frame....

[motorang]

Try a new battery or connect an auxilliary battery (car) for the test. If the battery is not good any more, the regulator starts to make funny things, so it can well be that with engine running the voltage drops etc.

Or at least try to charge that battery on an external charger before doing the tests, but a new battery would tell you more.

Andy