rear turn signals odd behavior
 

Hi folks,

I recently bought a 2002 superhawk at the beginning of may. My rear amber turn signals are always on but do flash properly when the turn signal switch is hit, ie they act as running lights normally, blink properly when I hit the switch, and then hold steady again when I rest the turn switch. I thought the superhawk's rear turn signals are normally off and only blink after the switch is hit?

Additionally, the turn signal indicator lights on the instrument cluster match what the rear turn signals do, they are also always on and flash appropriately when the corresponding turn signal is blinking. I don't think it's the relay since they do flash (but I ordered a new one just in case). I checked the voltage at the turn signal connecter and sure enough it shows steady on (about 11 volts) and blinks on & off when the switch is applied.

The previous previous owner had put an aftermarket undertail with integrated turn signals. Could it be that he also modified the wiring or relay to make them running lights as well?

Any ideas?

Andrew

I'd suspect you've answered your own question.

I agree. It's called the 2 wire to 3 wire mod. There is nothing wrong with your motorcycle.

Thanks for the info, but then the question becomes how do I convert it back? The reason this all came up was because I bought an integrated tail light which has the blinkers as part of the tailight. It's normally all red but when you activate a turn signal, that half flashes amber.

So the issue with having the rear signals as running lights is that the whole thing is amber all the time until I hit a turn signal, then that half flashes amber to red.

Also, the rears are not wired like the front (which are three wire). They do not have two filaments, just one so that in effect the turn signal is on all the time and just flashes off when you hit the switch. So give that you refer to it as a "two to three wire" I don't know if it's the same thing in my case. Mine are still just two wires (for the rear).

Where is this mod done? Is it a splice somewhere? replacement relay?

thanks!

Andrew

figure it out finally. They had wired the turn signal wire to ground on the front light bulbs and ground to the filament which is normally the turn signal. Quick and dirty running lights. Swapped it back and it now works normally again.