Neutral light and horn stopped working

[monkeybrain]

Today I spent three hours doing the valve clearances and got help balancing the carbs. Got it all working and rode away from the workshop... after a couple miles I noticed the neutral light stopped working and then someone cut me off and I reached for my stebel and nothing... horn not working either.

I checked the voltage coming from the horn switch and it has 12.6V when pressed which seems right. Then I wired the horn up to a 12V source and alas - it worked. Makes no sense.

I had a long day so I put it all back and now I am charging the battery to see if it makes any difference.

Anyone know why the neutral switch would have stopped working - it is probably just a coincidence. I changed the light bulbs 3 months ago ... it is a pain the neck changing them so I hope it is something straightforward.

Thanks for your help again.

[monkeybrain]

This morning the Neutral light came on for 5 seconds and then went off again... would that be a clue?

[Pirate]

Forgive me if this is a bit simplistic! ......... Not familiar with the wiring on your bike but was wondering if you have inadvertently disconnected an earth wire (or caused an earth connection to fail/work intermittently)

[John King]

I will go along with the poor earth as well

[monkeybrain]

Now one of the indicator bulbs has blown... and the relay is funny.

How do you find a bad earth?

[Moike]

Now one of the indicator bulbs has blown... and the relay is funny.

How do you find a bad earth?

A bad earth is often a loose or corroded connector. Sometimes a broken wire.

The earth for all the stuff at the front of the bike is a thick brown wire that comes from the board in the headlight shell and connects to a bolt that attaches the coil to the frame under the tank. The first suspect would be the connection to the coil bracket under the tank. It gets a little more 'weather'. (and was a problem on my bike a while back). Try undoing it, cleaning it up and putting it back.

There are other causes, but that's what worked for me.

If that's the problem, you should also check the 12v feed to the headlight shell (which provides power to the front of the bike, including lights and ignition). This passes through the under-tank starter relay, via a pair of spade connectors that can get a bit dodgy and cause intermittent faults.