Front turns signal troubles

[Petcha2]

Re. meters, I have two: an Equus 3340a that stays home and a Sperry ADM-18A that goes along on longer trips. Neither one is currently produced. I prefer an instrument that has a low resistance range of RX10 ohms, but a quality meter with a low ohm range of RX200 can be accurate enough where we need it to be; it just needs to tell you if a 2.5 ohm ignition coil or a 5 ohm alternator rotor has lost resistance. You should be able to find a meter that will do the job in the $50 range. (Warning: the Chinese have infringed Fluke's trademark and produced a pocket meter that's a guaranteed POS. It's not even a knockoff of a Fluke product, they just stole the name. Those things appear on Amazon and E-bay, probably elsewhere as well. Caveat emptor.)

I’ll have a look online. Does Equus or Sperry still make a reasonably-priced multimeter with the low ohm range you suggest? Thx, grizld1

 

[5twins]

Yep, that's them. I recently scrounged one off an XS500 parts bike I paid $25 for. Given the cost of these things from Yamaha, that pretty much covered the cost of the whole parts bike, lol .....

 

[Petcha2]

Fluke's are quiet expensive, but they are the Starret's of the electrical world.... the standard to beat. If I were looking for a meter I could pack along, I'd give this one a serious look. About the only down side to it I see is it won't measure current.... but I can't remember the last time I was looking at current stranded on the side of the road... so that's really not a deal breaker. I ever decide I need a "baby meter," this would be the one I'd go for.
This isn't one of the Chinese knockoff's is it Dick?


View attachment 190475

That’s exactly what I need at this point - a “baby meter.” I’ll check out the Fluke-101. Thank you, Jim.

 

[Petcha2]

Yep, that's them. I recently scrounged one off an XS500 parts bike I paid $25 for. Given the cost of these things from Yamaha, that pretty much covered the cost of the whole parts bike, lol .....

5Twins, I just checked online. They are selling the little tin can for $92!!! Hope one of the old ones works...

 

[5twins]

Yep, silly expensive. You'll run across lots of original replacement stuff that's like that. That's why we're always on the lookout for low cost substitutions. The perfect example is the regulators and rectifiers we use. Automotive regulators that are a fraction of the cost and work as well, if not better, than the originals.

 

[grizld1]

Pretty sure that's a Chinese meter with a bogus Fluke trademark, Jim. It isn't listed anywhere on the Fluke site. Petcha, I don't know what Sperry offers these days, and on the current crop of Equus meters the lowest resistance range specified is RX600. Jim, what would you recommend these days as an affordable but usable meter?

 

[Jim]

Jim, what would you recommend these days as an affordable but usable meter?

Not really sure. I've had my Fluke 87 for so long, I haven't really looked at any others. Simpson still make meters? I'll poke around a bit.

 

[Petcha2]

Not really sure. I've had my Fluke 87 for so long, I haven't really looked at any others. Simpson still make meters? I'll poke around a bit.

Thanks Jim and grizld1 for looking into this. Let me know what you find.I’m in the market for a good, basic multimeter that is well suited for electrical work on a motorcycle - by someone who really doesn’t know very well what he is doing.

 

[Jim]

Well them sneaky devious chinese bastids.... They even copied the gloved hand.... assholes.
I see my 87 is over 500 bucks now. Was just over half that 20-25yrs ago.

 

[Jim]

Here's a review of meters by The Chicago Tribune (of all people ) Of course the Fluke comes in at #1 (was there any doubt ) But second place looks pretty good. I checked the price... about 35 bucks at Amazon. Be sure and read the entire article. There's good info in there.

 

[Petcha2]

Great! I will read the entire article. You rock, Jim. Thanks so much.

 

[Jim]

@I am Carbon compiled some Youtube videos on using a multimeter. Have a look here. They're pretty long, but I like that he also teaches you some basics about electricity as well.

 

[Petcha2]

@I am Carbon compiled some Youtube videos on using a multimeter. Have a look here. They're pretty long, but I like that he also teaches you some basics about electricity as well.

Another great suggestion! Thanks. I’ll check these out today...

 

[Petcha2]

Making progress. Left side indicators blink, so it looks like the old flasher relay works.Right side lights don’t come on. Plus, on low beam, “lights off” switch doesn’t work (it does with high beam), and the little square “turn” light at the top of the instrument cluster comes on. It doesn’t come on with high beam. So, it looks like I still have a bit of detective work to do in the bucket (and elsewhere?), but I have ordered a multimeter (I opted for the AstroAl, Jim) and am ready to start sleuthing. Thanks again to everyone for their comments and observations. Step by step...

 

[Petcha2]

Just to let everyone know, the turn signals, both left and right, are now working (flashing). And the brake light, and headlight, and the horn, as well. Was a wrong color wire making a wrong connection in the headlight bucket chaos. My new multimeter (thx, Jim) was a godsend. This is fun when it works. Thank you to all who offered insights on my turn signal troubles. This thread is officially closed, I guess - at least for the time being.