More light troubles

[IrishGuy]

I had the wiring in my headlamp fixed the other week after it fried (it was that service bulletin, so it was fixed for free).

It was working great until this evening. Now my headlamp is stuck with the high-beams on. :bang: If I press the low-beam switch, the head light goes out for a second and comes back on (the hi-beam light remains on at all times). Anyone know what might be up?

 

[chacha]

Cesar;

I hate to say it but this was happening to me about three months ago. Two days latter the headlight died. Troubleshot it with a meter to the EHC. Bad board inside. Replaced and problem solved.

Hope yours is something simpler!

 

[IrishGuy]

I just looked under the seat.. When I press the lo-beam button I get a red light. (the one right under the green light--if that helps any)

Maybe a plug came loose some where? No clue where to look or what to do.

 

[IrishGuy]

chacha-

What's this about a meter you speak of? Where do I get one?

How hard is the board to replace? Or is this something I should have the dealer do?

Thanks :up:

 

[Fibersnake]

It may be something as simple as the low beam element going out. More than likely one of the connectors from them adding the extension came loose or a connection broke.

I had mine do the same thing a few weeks ago and it was due to a broken terminal to the low beam. Easy fix, got the terminal from the BD shop (but you can pick one up at auto parts), replaced and reinstalled.

Check that if you find nothing obivious. You will have to take light apart and Gas Man had some good pics and info on how to do.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

 

[Gas Man]

Didn't we figure out that the EHC automatically switches to the good light when the one (hi or lo) goes out. Take the headlight apart again, check the bulb and its connections.

 

[chacha]

The post-2004 EHC will do as Gasman says and auto switch to an active filament. As he says, verify the bulb and the connectors, but it sounds like the bulb has both filaments working. You could always just drive it till the EHC fails! {I did!}

Good Luck!!

 

[IrishGuy]

I have misplaced my new bulb so I haven't tried putting a new one on yet :bang:

Here's the after shots of the headlamp wiring recall. Looks good to me.






This is the red light that goes on when I switch the lo beam on. It goes off when it defaults back to the hi beam.



Noticed something interesting today. I was riding around and my headlight and headlight indicator were blinking on and off. Not in some random manner but synchronously (every other second). When I got home I shut the bike off and turned it back on--the blinking went away. Anyone seen that happen before?

I don't know much about these H4 bulbs, how they're wired, or much about eletronics for that matter. Are the yellow/white wires the + for the hi/lo and the black the -? I'll find and slap my new bulb on there tomorrow to see if that fixes it.

Is the next step to buy a voltage tester and test the wires at the headlight plug? Any insight about what/where to get one would be helpful.

 

[Gas Man]

I would bet the black is the ground. And one of those is going to be the low and the other the high... I would just get a tester and check them. Also, it would seem that the weekest link would be the shrink wrapped connectors. Pull those apart and make sure there is a good connection. If you have one of those light testers you may be able to just stab through the wiring. Or better yet, hook up a bulb and jiggle those wires. I bet the riding was causing it all to go on and off.

May also want to check the EHC connections. Remove, clean, di-electric gel, and re-install.

 

[Raywood]

Noticed something interesting today. I was riding around and my headlight and headlight indicator were blinking on and off. Not in some random manner but synchronously (every other second).

When my headlight bracket broke last weekend I pulled the plug from under the tank and the hi-beam indicator flashed so it must be a warning. Haven't got it back together but assume it will go back to normal when I put it back together.

When my low beam has blown in the past the hi-beam comes on and toggling the switch doesn't change it till you change the bulb.

Hope you find out what's wrong.

Later,
Ray

 

[soonertodd]

replace the bulb,the low beam element is bad.when the ehc sees an open circuit it automatically switches to the side that works,if both are burned out the high beam indicator flashes.its a safety feature

 

[Gas Man]

replace the bulb,the low beam element is bad.when the ehc sees an open circuit it automatically switches to the side that works,if both are burned out the high beam indicator flashes.its a safety feature

Sounds logical!

 

[IrishGuy]

Ok guys- figured it out.

It was just a blown lo-beam--I've never had one go out on me before. Having never looked closely at a H4 bulb I had figured it only had a single filament. Also, since it just had eletrical work done I figured that was the culprit. I had also forgotten to look at the actual light bulb when I took appart the headlamp . Once I actually looked at the bulb it was obvious. It's always the easy things when you think it's the hard things.

Thanks again for you help guys

 

[Oscar Maldonado]

Good to know that you found the problem.
Good deal.

 

[chacha]

Yeah Cesar!!! Nice fix that's way cheaper....

 

[Gas Man]

Got to love when it's simple!