some advice please
 

i was gliding in nuetral downhill, to about 25, and shifted grindingly into second. about two seconds after that my low beam got reallly bright, about twice as bright, and flashed purpled-blue and went out:shock:. I hope my smack-grind-shift and bulb going out dont have anything to do with eachother, but they could. My high beam stayed working, and got brighter, like the low beam, twice for about a second. I was hoping this was common as far as lighting problems. what do you think i should check, wires, bulb, fuses? I don't have the manual or the patience to find the fuse box tonight. Figured this forum the best way to go, thanks y'all

Change the light bulb....

And after that, Change the R/R. Do it soon or your batery will be toast - may already be. Coasting down hill in neutral didn't have anything to do with it.

R/R and new lightbulb

Well at least check the R\R but it does really sound like it went but yeah, coasting didn't cause the light problems.

Isn't it true that the dash lights will get brighter if he revs and the reg / rec is gone? It seems like I read that somewhere...

it didnt get brighter when i revved. totally random. but what does R/R stand for? regulator/reciever? no idea. i always seem to have vehicle problems after i bring them to the shop.

I've had a similar issue with my headlight, going dim then bright/blue, although neither beam went out completely. Check my thread on it. I replaced the Regulator/Rectifier just to get the stock one out, and I've never had the headlight change intensity since. If your R/R is original I would replace it, it's cheap insurance to avoid a failure, and it may solve your headlight problem

I think the brightness made the bulb blow, so changing the r/r sounds like a good idea. Thanks alot ill give it a try

Bulbs burn out all the time... check voltage before you replace the r/r.

how would i check the voltage? with one of those machines with two black and red needles to check the ohmage? I also was wandering if it was safe to drive it with the bulb blown out like it is.. like it wont fry any other components because of running on the blown low beam. I have access to one of those meters to check voltage, i just dont know how to use it i know there are different settings for different tasks. thanks again

get some help on how to use the voltage meter to set it correctly, but put the leads on the battery while the engine is running. it should read somewhere in the range of 13.8 to 14.2. Check it at idle and at various RPM levels. it should be consistant. If it's not, replace the R/R along with the bulb. You can also check the readings at the bulb plug to see how they look there. again, consistancy across the rev range is what you're looking for.

Ah I see. thanks yeller and the other guy(S).

Ok, so I think you were asking for a little more explanation. You want to check DC Volate usually indicated by - - - or a similar symbol on the Voltagemeter.

You want to see greater than 12V at the batter, 13.8 to 14.4 is where it should be. You should see a slight increase as you get near 5000 RPM.

If your regulator/rectifier is/has going/gone bad, at least in my experience, you lights will get dim because you are now on battery only and no longer charging.

No, you won't fry anything by having only a high beam. You might upset some people at night, but at least they will see you coming.

I've burnt out 2 low beams, lost one bulb completely. Had one explode in the housing, don't know why, maybe I touched it and the oil from my fingers finally heated up and caused it to explode.

The filaments in the bulbs are extremely small and being subjected to high temperatures. They fail.

Check your voltages, replace the bulb and continue to monitor the situation.

Keep asking for help when needed.

hey thanks alot that finally everything i wanted to know. i removed and cleaned off some rust/corrosion on the ground wire from what i think was the r/r. it was mounted on the side of the frame underneath the back fairing. Im gonna check that voltage tomorrow. what should i do if the voltage is irregular?

If your voltage is high, then it is likely the R/R is at fault. Search the forum on this. There are lots of threads suggesting replacements from aftermarket to yamaha to second gen Honda.
Over charging the battery (high voltage) will shorten its life considerably. The way you described the bulb failure is what lead be to suggest R/R replacement. Check it for sure

NO. The R/R converts 3 phase A/C to D/C voltage. When the R/R fails you get 0 voltage to the battery. Contrary to what Steve is saying. Ordinarily, when the R/R fails you move to battery only power. When it is gone, you are dead in your spot.

If you want to test other things, you can test the stator. You can test the R/R with a diode test to see if you are forward biasing or not.

Do not focus on the R/R if you are getting charging voltage.

I can not explain the sudden brightness and the loss of your low beam, other than perhaps a surge from the stator(alternator on your car).

If you see 13 or more volts at the battery you are fine, your Regulator/Rectifier is fine.

Replace the bulb, keep an eye on the other gages, they will indicate if you have other problems. In 2 R/R failures now, the lights dimmed and the tachometer quit working, then digital display quit.

A freak sudden brightness, in my experienced knowledge of R/R failures, is not an indicator of a failing R/R.

No offense, but if you did not know that it was called a voltmeter or a multimeter, then I doubt that you know how to use it to check the diodes in the R/R.

Focus on the big problem, replacing your bulb. Then check voltage at the battery, and at the battery when running.

Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill.

Actually Eric, I have to disagree with you... The R/R can fail producing both high and low voltages quite easily... It's just a matter of which diode fails first...

The R/R is a net of diodes, like you say to reduce and convert AC to DC... But there are different paths, making it possible for the R/R to work over the entire rev range... This keeps it from overheating in minutes at full RPM, and makes it capable of charging at idle, all in the same R/R... If a diode fails blocking a path, or in a way activating another diode that isn't supposed to, you get low voltage, two out of three legs are working, if certain diodes fail open ie conducting, you get 15V+ out of the R/R... And that tends to fry batteries and electronics...

BUT... I tend to agree with you on the next course of action... Replace the bulb, check the voltages at idle, and then say 3000 & 5000 & 7000 RPM... If it's above battery voltage (ie 13V) and below 15V it's fine... If it's not, the R/R should be replaced...

Didn't know that Tweety, my 2 failures have been to the low side.

I stand corrected about the R/R failures.

http://www.electrosport.com/technica...ng-diagram.pdf

My source