Topic: 75 CB550 - eliminate key/ignition for switch?

[Laminar]

Thank you for posting this!!  I've been looking all over the damn place for this manual!  All of the links in the FAQ seem to be dead and my Clymer manual is a waste of time.  Bless you my friend! 

Yeah, I found that posted in about 10 pieces somewhere, and it was password protected from alterations. It took about 30 seconds to tear away the password protection, then I combined all of the sections and deleted enough blank or unnecessary (special tools) pages so that the PDF page numbers match up with the printed page numbers. I was tired to having to open up four different PDFs to find the right page number.

[Dan K]

1) The front blinkers stay on solid rather than blinking.  No rear blinkers on there yet, so I'm not sure if that could somehow be the cause?  If not, where should I start looking for the cause for this?

The blinker relay is a thermal relay, it relies on current draw to operate.  So, not having rear blinkers can cause this.  Try wiring in a bulb where the rear blinkers belong and see if the blinkers blink.

I hooked up rear blinkers, but now both front and rear stay solid rather than blinking.  Any ideas on what to check next?

[mystic_1]

I'd say the next step is to get a new solid-state blinker relay at the auto parts store.  The one one may or may not be bad, with a new one you'll know.  Also, the solid state unit is a good upgrade anyway because you'll get steadier blink rates in spite of voltage and bulb variations, or LED bulb upgrades (LEDs don't pull enough power to make the stock winker relay blink).

mystic_1

[Dan K]

OK, I hooked up the turn signals in the hard cases, and everything blinks.  The stupid lights the auto parts store guy sold me, which he assured me would work, must not draw enough to get the blinking going.  I'd just mount the bags for now, but they don't line up at all.  Not even close...  I got this bike as more or less a pile of parts so I'm thinking they may not even be from this bike.  Next step, find some real rear turn signals or fabricate a bracket to mount up these cases.  Again, thanks for the help.