CX500 GL500 650 Global

Hi,

The right turn indicators on my 1980 CX500A have stopped working, both of them, front and rear, the left ones work ok as do all the other lights. I've checked the bulbs and the're ok, as the left ones work ok I assume the solenoid must be ok. The bulb holders are very clean and corrosion free. There is a black and a green wire coming out of the rear unit, I disconnected these and checked the wires leading to them (blue & green) with a voltmeter, I would have thought that with the indicators on there should be a reading if only intermittently but there was none, I looked inside the headlight shell and performed the same test with the same results, I wonder if it could be the switch, not sure where else to look, electrics aint me strong point.

Track the wires using one of the Wiring diagrams,

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=176

If you have a printer print out what you need so you have it to hand at the bike.This makes tracking things much easier.

and check with a multimeter you are getting the 12v to them,

I studied the wiring diagram and decided to draw my own mini-diagram of the indicator circuit, this has really helped, it appears that the common wire in the right indicator circuit is light blue as opposed to orange for the left. Using the continuity setting on my multi-meter from the left (working ones) to the right housings I established that the earths were ok, I then step by step working from the rear of the machine checked the continuity of the light blue wires, all were ok, so it appeared the fault lay in the switch. Opening up the switch I was able to see that the switch moves a nylon block from left to right and when the right indicators are on it connects the light blue to the grey from the solenoid, this is where the fault lies because when I put a screwdriver blade across the blue and grey wires where they enter the frame that carries the nylon block the indicators work. I cleaned the tiny terminals for the light blue and grey wires but it still doesn't work. I've tried to remove the screw that retains the switch pivot so I might be able to get at the nylon block to see what it is that makes the circuit but as luck would have it it is corroded solid to the point of destroying the phillips type indent in the head. Has anyone encountered this problem before and can it be rectified without removing the offending screw. I have a spare switch kicking about somewhere although not sure if it works, and I don't relish the thought of changing the damn thing because it looks like all the wires have to be disconnected inside the headlamp bucket which on a CX is a mighty crowded place!

Oh and just to make things worse, I had removed the petrol tank prior to the above and when I undid the screws that secure the indicator switch to the handlebars one of them fell down the vee of the engine and dissappeared, its probably lying near the fan so I guess I'll have to check that out as well in case it flicks up and punctures the rad !!

It may be better just to get a 2nd hand set of controls off eBay.Yeh it's a gamble but I've had pretty good luck.

Or you can get universal Bar switches and re-wire to use to make an indicator control,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=i ... m270.l1313

I like looking around this site/supplier as well.I get my budget tyres from them,

http://www.feked.com/

They are a PITA to fit but nearly half the price of other brands.

It's a good job I'm retired and got plenty of spare time. Today I dug out the spare switch but the wiring connectors were a bit different to my one, it's probably off a later model. I took it to bits to see how it worked and it's pretty straightforward, the nylon block that the switch moves contains a small brass channel piece divided into four sections, as the block moves from side to side the channel piece slides across four brass contacts that are connected to the light blue, orange and grey wires. After dismantling half of the front end of the bike I managed to wriggle the connector on the end of the switch leads out of the headlight bucket to enable me to remove the switch from the bike. With the switch on the bench it was then possible to free the switch pivot screw and dismantle the switch, sure enough the small brass channel piece had only three sections although there was no trace of any broken bits lying in the housing. After a thorough clean of all components I rebuilt my original switch with the channel piece from the spare switch and tested it before fitting to the bike. I now have continuity from the light blue to the grey when switched to right turn, likewise with the orange when switched to left so hopefully it will now work. I now need to set a day aside to rebuild it all.

I noticed that the clutch has a switch with two wires coming from it, anyone know what that does? is it some sort of fail safe?

I've had all my control gear apart and serviced them.I had to do a bit of soldering on my Starter button one time as well.Although the parts are small Honda again seem to have used quality stuff as I've managed,like you I hope,to bring them all back to working order.It is about one level up from,"Watch Repair" though<grin>

Tip:Keep magnets around so you don't lose the small bits.There's a tiny ball bearing in the Throttle side.Dead easy to lose and then the light switches become vague but just about usable.


The small switch in the Clutch does a couple of jobs.It stops the neutral light from coming on when changing gears some say but it's main use for me is a,"Quick Start" device if you stall say at lights.You can pull the clutch in without finding Neutral and start the bike.




Mine has bust so I bridged it across with a little bit of wire(They are a PITA to replace and get right.David slivers/Wemoto have them).This does mean I could accidentally start the bike if it were in gear but as I always use the Centre stand this has never been an issue and always double check that I park in neutral.

Getting the bike on the Centre stand is easy once you know how,

Click here,

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=212

All sorted, pretty pleased with myself because electrics aint me strong point but just studying the wiring diagrams and taking my time seems to have paid off. I've also cleaned inside the headlight bucket and spotted that the red and green connectors have anchor points, now the connectors are in them it doesn't seem so crowded in there.

I've also noticed two small wires that have push in connectors into the bottom of the rear light unit, these seem to go to the front of the bike, they don't appear to be on any wiring diagrams so I'm not sure if they are a modification that someone's done or not. anybody know?

Well done.Wiring can be a PITA on old bikes but having the Wiring Diagrams in colour really helps

Some wires are redundant as the harnesses were most likely made for several models but some connections just don't get used