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Headlight Malfunction Question

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Old Apr 23, 2009 | 12:02 AM
  #1  
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viperkillertt
Headlight Malfunction Question

I havent searched, but what are the common issues for a headlight to not turn on? My headlamp didn't come on after i redid my valves. Everything seems to be connected properly. I was just wondering if people had a few ideas of what could cause it to not function. It doesnt turn on with brights on or off. Thanks for reading. I havent done any real testing yet. I will do it tomorrow. I had to drive with a friend lighting my way home yesterday. It kinda sucked..

UPDATE 4/24/09:
Well, i would have never expected this, but the bulb had exploded! Wow, the glass was shattered. That is why it wasnt working. Go figure. I never would have guess that. It was only about 2 years old, which means it has only seen maybe 5k miles.

Well, anyways, I put a new one in and it works, but not perfectly. When driving down the road, the brights click on and off rapidly. It is very strange. Also my Speedometer went out. This happened one other time about 9 months ago. it only happened once and then it never happened again. It is totally random. Does anyone know what would cause both of these problems? Random speedometer light going out and headlamp flickering bright and regular. if i put on the brights, they stay on, so i am leaning to a bad switch. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

Last edited by viperkillertt; Apr 24, 2009 at 11:26 PM.
Old Apr 23, 2009 | 03:53 AM
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Sorry, but gotta ask, did you reconnect the bulb to the 3 prong socket when you reinstalled the fairing? Next Q: fuse? Last Q: volt test at socket?

If yes, ok, and 12 VDC, then the conclusion is a bad bulb. Oh, and there is also a relay in the equatoin, but that seems unlikely
Old Apr 23, 2009 | 08:35 AM
  #3  
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Josh
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viperkillertt
Originally Posted by Riff
Sorry, but gotta ask, did you reconnect the bulb to the 3 prong socket when you reinstalled the fairing? Next Q: fuse? Last Q: volt test at socket?

If yes, ok, and 12 VDC, then the conclusion is a bad bulb. Oh, and there is also a relay in the equatoin, but that seems unlikely
Yes, i did. And then i reconnected it about 4 or 5 times in a dim parking lot So yeah, i was going to check the fuse and then use my multimeter. I was wondering if there was anything weird that might happen with our bikes. I already dealt with the bad rectifier, so i was wondering if there was anything else weird that sometimes happens that i didn't know about. Well, thanks. have a nice day.
Old Apr 24, 2009 | 11:17 PM
  #4  
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The power runs through the switch, which means that dirty contacts will cause this problem. Check your switch block and clean up the contacts if they are dirty or corroded.
Old Apr 24, 2009 | 11:24 PM
  #5  
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Josh
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From: Spokane, WA
viperkillertt
UPDATE:
Well, i would have never expected this, but the bulb had exploded! Wow, the glass was shattered. That is why it wasnt working. Go figure. I never would have guess that.

Well, anyways, I put a new one in and it works, but not perfectly. WHen driving down the road, the brights click on and off rapidly. It is very strange. Also my Speedometer went out. This happened one other time about 9 months ago. it only happened once and then it never happened again. It is totally random. Does anyone know what would cause both of these problems? Random speedometer light going out and headlamp flickering bright and regular. if i put on the brights, they stay on, so i am leaning to a bad switch. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Old Apr 25, 2009 | 02:09 AM
  #6  
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Sounds like the dreaded regulator failure.
Bright lights and burnt and melted electrical plugs
are a symptom of overcharge.
Might check regulator/rectifier.
Old Apr 25, 2009 | 02:57 AM
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it does seem to sound like a R/R overcharge situation.. Since you said you dealt with the regulator once.. What regulator did you replace the bad one with? Perhaps you got another dud?
Old Apr 25, 2009 | 08:44 AM
  #8  
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Josh
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viperkillertt
Originally Posted by lazn
it does seem to sound like a R/R overcharge situation.. Since you said you dealt with the regulator once.. What regulator did you replace the bad one with? Perhaps you got another dud?
It has an R1 regulator on it. I don't think that is the problem. The light on the dash is flipping also. I guess it could be happening, but it doesn't make sense, those regulators are awesome!
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