indicator - multimeter

[nudedaytona]

The rear left indicator on my aprilia rs250 has stopped working. But it doesn't seem to be the bulb, as I have swapped it with a bulb from the front, and it still doesn't go. The connection doesn't seem to be as good. I'll borrow a multimeter tomorrow to check the current, but can someone please tell me how to use it. I know they have a wire and a screwdriver thingy, and you're supposed to earth the wire somewhere - is that right?

The indicators are a bit strange - other rs250s I have seen have stalk indicators, but my ones are set against the fairing. Does anyone know about this - do you think I'll have any trouble getting this bike vinned?

[imdying]

Ground one lead from the multimeter. Then probe the bulb holder... it should give a 0 ohm resistance value, as it too is an earth, if not, there's no earth. Then probe the bulb holders prong with the indicators on... it should go 12v 0v 12v 0v as the indicator 'flashes'. If not, then you've a fault between that and the switch and/or indicator relay, depending on the wiring setup of an RS.

[nudedaytona]

Ground one lead from the multimeter. Then probe the bulb holder... it should give a 0 ohm resistance value, as it too is an earth, if not, there's no earth. Then probe the bulb holders prong with the indicators on... it should go 12v 0v 12v 0v as the indicator 'flashes'. If not, then you've a fault between that and the switch and/or indicator relay, depending on the wiring setup of an RS.

I'm a bit slow sorry. Never fiddled around with electrics before. By ground do you mean put the wire to the concrete floor on my garage? Theres two wires coming into the bulb holder, should both go 12v 0v 12v 0v? The battery is a bit dead its only got about 10 volts in it at the moment,is that going to be a problem? (all the other lights work fine)

[imdying]

By ground I mean the negative terminal on the battery, or any part of the chassis that is connected to it (the negative terminal on the battery is the most reliable place).

[imdying]

As for the other stuf... no, only one wire will go 12v 0v, that's the 'live' wire, the other should be a dead short to ground (assuming RS250s have a conventional wiring system, I haven't got a diargram to look at).

The dead battery is a concern, you must fix this. The powervalve system does not function correctly if the battery isn't charged, you shoudl correct this at your earliest oppurtunity.

[nudedaytona]

Don't you get sick of all the idiot questions from newbies like me? You must have a lot of patience. How do you know all this stuff, you sound like you're an expert mechanic.

[imdying]

No, in your other thread I've really given you little to go on, all I've told you is where I'd start looking if it were my bike. The electrical stuff is pretty simple, it's only 12v lightbulbs.

I found an RS250 manual the other day for someone else, you can download it here. It's not all in English, but a picture says a thousand words...

/edit: Had a look at the wiring diagram, it is indeed a common ground system, so the above method of checking should be fine.

[marty]

By ground do you mean put the wire to the concrete floor on my garage? )

sorry but that's just too funny bling your way!

[marty]

do we get a pic of your bike?

[nudedaytona]

OK I've got the multimeter. there seem to be four types of measurements, dc voltage, ac voltage, amperage, and resistance ohmns. I would guess that when measuring voltage i set the measurement to 20v dc, as I think that this is the maximum that the meter will measure so should be enough for a 12v bike. But I have no idea what to set the resistance to when I am measuring resistance. The available settings are 20M, 200k, 20k, 2000 and 200. Which one should I use?

Also, which lead should I earth to the battery and which should I use to check the bulb holder? There is a red lead connected to a socket which says
"V(symbol for Ohmns)mA->+", and a black lead connected to a socket named 'COM' ?

[imdying]

On 20k, measure between the negative terminal on the battery, and the earth pin in the indicator socket (read the wiring diagram, it'll tell you what colour wire is attached to the earth pic). That should read 0 resistance, or very close to it. If it does, it means that that side of the ciccuit is ok.

On 20v DC, measure from the negative terminal on the battery to the power pin in the indicator socket. That should read 12v when the indiciator flashes, and 0v when it's not. That'll prove that power is getting to the bulb.

Also measure the bulb across the pins (or body and pin for a single filament/pin bulb as that probably is), you should not get a 1 reading (when on 20k) , as this would indicate that no current can get through, which means the bulb is blown).

If you fail on any of these tests, you just need to trace back through to see what went wrong. Smart thing to do is to test the front on the same side, the same way. Also, test the other side that works, as that'll show you what you're supposed to be expecting when things are working

Oh, use the black in common for both, VDC for the red one when in 20v mode, and ohms for the red one when checking continuity. The A one is for checking current, you don't need to worry about that though.

[nudedaytona]

Oh, use the black in common for both, VDC for the red one when in 20v mode, and ohms for the red one when checking continuity. The A one is for checking current, you don't need to worry about that though.

Thanks. So you mean that I should connect the black common probe to the battery negative terminal, and test (both resistance and voltage) using the red probe?

[imdying]

Yes, that is correct.

[classic zed]

if you can get the bike running bring it up to me in Whangaparaoa, I will fix it for you in no time

[nudedaytona]

Cheers mate. An indicator should be a simple thing, but I have found that due to my lack of experience things tend to take three times and long and be five times as frustrating as they should be. I'll let you know if I'll be coming up your way.