Neutral light and rear brake light blinking instead of left turn signal

[Acton67]

And, if you are looking for a short to ground from, say, a turn signal, remove all the bulbs first, as they will look very like a short to an Ohm meter.

Thanks for the tip. Im still learning the basics here, been watching a bunch of youtube videos on these topics.

If it's shorting in the switchblocks it's most likely going to be exposed wiring and not the actual switches themselves. You can check the wiring continuity for each switch with a multimeter.

But will a continuity check rule out a short? All the switches on the switchblock work to some degree.

Yes
A continuity test using an Ohms meter is how you test circuits with no current or power

Simply use the ohm setting and test each suspected lead end to end, and then to ground.

When you say end to ground you mean test continuity between the end of each wire coming off the left controls and the black and white ground wire this way I know all the switches are going to ground?

[FallenAngel]

When you say end to ground you mean test continuity between the end of each wire coming off the left controls and the black and white ground wire this way I know all the switches are going to ground?

Kinda
Useing the wiring diagram follow a circuit and test the continuity of the circuit.
A Powered circuit should not have a high Resistance to ground (or earth)
A Ground circuit should have low resistance to ground

A complete a circuit such as for a light you need power and ground to
A way to run the power and ground to the light a switch to turn the light on and off
power supply such as a battery with 1 poles one positive and one negative
The negative side is ground and is connected to the frame or any other metal on the vehicle and can be switched or just grounded to the frame
The power side goes to the part you want to energize , in this case a light,
The light will have 2 poles a positive (power side) and a negative (grounded or earth side)
When connected to the power supply(the battery ) this completes the circuit.
The switch allows control of the circuit turning the switch on energizes the circuit allowing current to flow.

To answer your question

When you say end to ground you mean test continuity between the end of each wire coming off the left controls and the black and white ground wire this way I know all the switches are going to ground?

You want to test the circuit the test the circuit to ground

All grounds or negative will have little to no resistance when checked with the Ohms meter to ground or the frame. if you have no resistance then you have a dead short or broken wire
Positive should have High resistance when checked with an ohms meter to ground
(if the needle or gauge dosent react then that is high resistance or no contact to ground )
If the positive shows low resistance when checked to ground then you have a positive short in the positive side of that circuit which will cause a fuse to blow
A circuit with a switch will have low or no resistance with the switch on and high resistance with the switch off
I use a bar graph meter because the bar is more sensitive to changes
I hope this helps
I had a lot of coffee when I typed this out

[Acton67]

So I got out this morning and checked the switches. I did a continuity test and a ground test as directed on the switches, they all seem to have continuity.

I tried bypassing the switch itself by using an alligator clamp on the blue wire coming off the switch assembly and then hooking on to the solid black wire that feeds power to my left front/rear turn signals. Still had the same issue and this time it blew the 15amp fuse after 5 seconds.

Then I tried to bypass the black wire altogether and I hooked up the jumper cable from the sky blue power wire to the power in on my rear left blinker. Still the same issue. I then disconnected the ground wire from the main harness and went straight to the main ground. Still the same issue, and the blinker still doesnt come on.

So the short isnt in the switch, and its not on the black cable in the main harness providing power to the left blinkers.

Ive ordered a new switch assembly hoping its that. How do I test the switch assembly itself?

Any other ideas?

[Acton67]

Double post.

[FallenAngel]

if your blowing fuses then you have a live short
You can make a test light that goes in place of the fuse
with all bulbs in place install the test light into the offending fuse slot, with a live short it will light when you turn the bike on and go off when you find the offending circuit.

Honestly I have found that the color codes in many wire diagrams can be miss leading and and year specific.
I use a multi meter and or a power probe,just a fancy test light, to check circuits.
Your short could be in a circuit that shares power to the turn signal circuit

So with that in mind I opened my book and noticed that the Positive Left turn signal indicator and Negative Neutral indicator light wires are next to each other in the harness connection.
If this is the connection that comes loose and you have to re connect I would take a closer look at that connection

[WintrSol]

You could take all the turn signal bulbs out and measure the black wire to ground. It should read near open. If it does move the cables around while watching the meter. If stays open, check to see that you have the correct bulbs - 1157 front 1156 rear, it Japanese equivalent (about 20W or so on the bright side). If it only reads a few Ohms, go looking for the shorted wire.

[Acton67]

Found the short! It was in the left rear turn signal. Used an allen bolt to secure the blinker that was to long. Frayed the wires. Blinker still worked fine for almost 2 weeks after that before the issue started. Didnt put 2 and 2 together. Case closed!

[Herb]

Thank you for letting us know what you found.

[navigator]

Found the short! It was in the left rear turn signal. Used an allen bolt to secure the blinker that was to long. Frayed the wires. Blinker still worked fine for almost 2 weeks after that before the issue started. Didnt put 2 and 2 together. Case closed!

Yup, a too long bolt sure would do it!