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Autoswitch question


another David

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another David

Hi. I have MotoLights wired to an Autoswitch. This switch is controlled by pressing and holding the turn signal cancel switch for a couple of seconds.

 

While riding in hot stop/go traffic outside Boston Saturday (7 bars hot, one below "red"; ambient temps weren't that bad, but traffic was not moving), I noticed that my Motolights were out. I thought I must have inadvertently hit the Cancel button, so I turned them on again. About one minute later, they shut off again. I did this a few times (on/magic off, on/magic off) before just throwing in the towel.

 

Does anyone have any ideas about what might be the culprit? Or where to look/how to troubleshoot?

 

I would think "short", but the behavior was so methodical -- turn them on, they go on; one minute later, they shut off -- and repeatable that it seems like there must be another reason.

 

Thanks!

David

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another David

Thanks, Dennis. I assume you mean the relay associated with the Motolights, yes? Do you have any suggestions about how I can test that?

 

Thanks again.

David

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It would probably be cheaper and quicker just to replace the relay and see if the problem goes away....the relay costs about $4.00.

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Laffo IBA#34115

I have the same setup and my lights go out when I hit a substantial bump so I'll be watching this thread. Thanks for posting this issue as I've been meaning to. My dealer installed these lights so I don't yet know where they stashed the relay.

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Aluminum_Butt

It really does sound like a bad relay, but if you want to find out for sure, it's not too hard to troubleshoot.

 

Using a test light or multimeter, check the following the next time the lights go out.

 

1. Is the red wire to the Autoswitch hot (meaning +12V)? If not, check the connection from your parking light (or wherever it's tied in to a switched ignition source). If you still have the LED attached that came with the Autoswitch, and it comes on and stays on when the Autoswitch is activated, you can skip this step.

2. Activate the Autoswitch. Is the purple wire to the Autoswitch hot? If not, then the Autoswitch is the problem. You should check that the orange wire grounds when you press the turn cancel switch just to make sure, but it's probably not the issue if the lights are coming on at all.

3. The purple wire ties into the coil side of the relay. Is it hot all the way to the relay?

4. One of the wires to the relay comes straight from the battery (or at least the fuse box). Is that wire hot all the way to the relay?

5. If the purple Autoswitch wire is hot, and the relay connection to the batter is hot, but your lights still don't come on, it's the relay.

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Aluminum_Butt
I have the same setup and my lights go out when I hit a substantial bump so I'll be watching this thread. Thanks for posting this issue as I've been meaning to. My dealer installed these lights so I don't yet know where they stashed the relay.

 

If they stay out (until you turn them back on again), you've got a loose connection to the Autoswitch (either the red wire or the ground wire). If they come back on without any help from you, then it's a bad connection to the relay (hot wire from battery, splice into the purple Autoswitch wire, or ground).

 

The fact that it's a vibration problem screams "bad connection", not an internal problem with the relay or Autoswitch.

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Laffo IBA#34115

I have to turn them back on all of the time. They never come on by themselves. Thanks. Time to start following wires.

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