on the road with no blinkers or brake lights

[maxreverb]

SO my beloved monga f'ing red 85 AERO is finally plated and running and i'm all set to embark on some initial scooting when i realize i have no signals or break light. the headlight is on weakly. i get back on the comp and do some searches on the forum which is my new trick since obvious as it is it took me a while to find it. The data suggested battery problem. Well i bought the battery 2 months ago but i have been trying to start this a lot so there just happened to be a battery store across the street so i had them test and charge the battery. i put it back in the bike but still no blinkers or break lights. these all used to work, i'm not sure how i could have unplugged them. I traced all the wires i could see and made sure they were all snapped into each other properly. i dont have much rear brake left either i've noticed, prob need new pad.
Any ideas?

[Trafficjamz]

i'm not sure how i could have unplugged them. I traced all the wires i could see and made sure they were all snapped into each other properly. i dont have much rear brake left either i've noticed, prob need new pad.
Any ideas?

Any chance you unplugged the ignition switch?

If you need a new pad....I hear kotex is pretty good.

[maxreverb]

i guess i set my self up for that one lol

[Petrock's 1984 Spree]

I didn't have a right turn signal for a while because the bulbs kept bouncing their way out of the sockets.

Did you pull the turn signal covers off to make sure all of the bulbs are still in there properly?

[mousewheels]

Is your electric start working ok?
Just blinker and brake light problems?

the headlight is on weakly.

If your headlight is weak with the engine rev'ed up, unplug the regulator and see if the h/l brightens up at RPM. If not, check the stator headlamp coil.

[maxreverb]

ignition switch is plugged in and bulbs are in.

[maxreverb]

Is your electric start working ok?
Just blinker and brake light problems?

the headlight is on weakly.

If your headlight is weak with the engine rev'ed up, unplug the regulator and see if the h/l brightens up at RPM. If not, check the stator headlamp coil.

i only have electric start and it works.horn works too i'll try and check out yr other suggestions.

[mousewheels]

i only have electric start and it works.horn works too i'll try and check out yr other suggestions.

Good start - Ignition switch, battery and frame ground for battery good. Electric start is good and no brake light means the brake switch is ok too, so for the brake light problem its down to intact wiring, good connections, lamp, socket and ground.

No brake light -
Pull the bulb, check for voltage on the inner contacts at base of socket. Tailight contact is hot anytime Ign is on, Brake only with the lever pulled. If you've got that and bulb is ok, look for a ground fault.

Turn signals
Do you get any lights to turn on?

No turn signals - single point failures which may take out all 4 bulbs:

• Blinker
• Left/Right switch
• Open wire in the Flasher to Left/Right turn switch

Failures which would need to be multiple for no lights

• Bulbs, sockets and grounds

[maxreverb]

no blinkers headlight does get brighter when i rev the engine but cant get brake lights or turn signals.
when i got the bike one of the signals had a blown out bulb but all the others worked. i replaced that one and then they all worked. the only other thing i can think that i did was out the plastic back on the bike for the first time in 2 months, maybe i pinched a wire or something. i dont know very annoying though.

[mousewheels]

Which plastics did you pull off? Most plastic do not cover wires in common to front/back turn signals * brake/tail lamp. Maybe just the front and head plastics?

[maxreverb]

i had the front and side pieces off. i did previously the replace handle grip and throttle cable as well.

looks like im stuck until i can borrow the meter to test the electrical stuff...

[mousewheels]

Thanks for the info on plastics removed.

I looked at the '85 Aero wiring diagram, and found no single fault (loose connector etc) which would explain not brake + no turn signals + (engine and horn are working). Doesn't mean I'm dead on, but take a look at the wiring diagram, and be the detective.

-- Starting point? --
There's lots of starting points and methods to getting to the answer. I'll propose a method, you can start and go wherever your intuition wants. Generally - be complete and methodical. Some troubleshoot with a 'half-split' method. Look at the wiring diagram, and probe in the 'middle'. Then go left/right on the schematic to the next 1/2 point. This can be very effective, but in the end, methodical troubleshooting always finds the root cause. So there's no pressure to follow the 1/2 split method.

For the blinkers, you could start the flasher, then trace either through the switch then into the lamps and lamp grounds or upstream towards the flasher power.

For the Brake lamp - I'd start at by pulling the the lamp, checking the socket contacts at the bottom of the socket then work back - part of using the simplest/easiest access tests. But on a scooter nothing is really difficult to get access to, so start troubleshooting, and mark off known good vs unknowns.

[maxreverb]

All right i got my first multimeter form walmart. gonna try figure how to use it to get to the bottom of this.
mine came with a non contact voltage detector

[martynkim]

Try disconnecting all the wiring one at a time from the connector under the front cover. Check for corrosion and loose wiring.

[maxreverb]

under closer inspection i can see the only working lights are the headlight, speedolight if that different than the headlight, the platelight. all other signals and brake and rear lights out. i didint realize there was a plate light but its glowing away.

i do have the multimeter now however to be honest i have no idea how to use it to tell me anything.
i just cant seem to get any reading off the bike no matter what i do. i spent all night watching multimeter videos
to try and learn how to use the tool.i even dreamed about wiring last night. but still i have no idea what im supposed to be doing or how its done.
i think perhaps the thing that charges the battery doesnt work, but that is a completely arbitrary diagnosis.