[Syrinx]

Ok, I'm only posting this so it draws attention and those who do a mental filter on the chatter will have a chance to read and maybe apply their knowledge to my worries.

I'm going to copy and paste the relevant part of my trip report here. I need help tracking down the cause of my headlight issue. Does anyone know of a way to check the relay to see if that's the real cause?

Here's the data:

I got about 100 miles into my journey. Right about dusk my headlight decided it would be cool to just go OUT. No backup light, no headlight indicator, no high beam or low beam. OUT. I was lucky that I was right at a good place to pull over. I pulled the headlight out and inspected it - good connection - no bad elements. Put that back together and pulled the fuse box open. Every fuse was seated properly and nothing was blown. Put everything back together and started the bike and voila - there was light... how odd. I got a few more miles down the road and it went out again! This time, it was in a two way zone where I had no place to pull over at all. I rode behind a car with my hazard lights on. No other systems were affected. Then the lights came back on by themselves. Then off, on, off, on.... this was insane. I was wiggling my keys and the wires leading to the dimmer switch. Here and there it seemed as if moving the wires made a difference, but I could be mistaken. I set to taking the dimmer switch apart, thinking the problem was there. The dimmer had one yellow wire pinched inside. The jacket was intact, but I couldn’t' tell if the wire was damaged. I turned everything on and moved the wire. I could not get it to disconnect. I put everything back together in a wire-friendly way and set out to call Curt (Mokiman). He and I discussed the symptoms and concluded that the problem was either due to the pinched wire (which has been pinched since before I got it and had no jacket damage and no stress) or the headlight relay. Since I could not duplicate the problem with the dimmer switchbox open and moving the wires, we kinda leaned toward the relay as the culprit, but did not conclude anything. I set back out on the road and went for almost 30 miles without incident. Maybe it was the wire after all - then - as Emeril would say: BAM - dark again. $#@!$%[email protected]#@!!!

 

[jm1515]

LC...this is weird. Try tracing the wiring back from the headlight bulb connector...see if there are any kinks or breaks in continuity at the steering column. I've heard that sometimes a harness gets pinched or stretched because of the way they are routed to the power box.

Keep us posted...

 

[Syrinx]

Using the information provided by Mike Baker and Rick Koen , I've
bypassed my relay and diodes as well as fully tested the junction box.

I'm pleased to report that the tests came through fine. Regardless
of that, because of the intermittent problem, I went ahead with
Mike's suggestion to bypass the circuit by moving the blue wire on
the 8-pin connector to the empty space. This worked as expected (of
course) and I went out for a 10-mile ride to see if the light would
stay on. So far - so good... I really hope that did the trick for
me. Such a simple fix! Had I known it while on the way home, I
could have been back on the road with probably less than 30 minutes
lost. I needed a small jeweler's screwdriver to remove the blue wire
from the socket (plastic clip holds it in), but that was the extent
of the difficulty.

Thanks Rick and Mike

I'll keep everyone posted - hope that did the trick!

 

[BatMan]

headlight problems

i need some help on this one. i have been having some problems with my headlight cutting out on me when im riding. i was riding with a buddy and he said that when im going slow or come to a stop it works but when i reach a certain speed it cuts out totaly and doesnt come back on till i slow down or come to a stop. i took out the headlight and looked at it. it seemed fine.not burned out. when i start the bike it works then when i get goin it quits. any help would be much appreciated.

 

[fergy]

On a bike this old, I'd start with a connection somewhere that has corrosion. My 1980 550 was an electrical nightmare. I'd get one thing fixed and something else would crap out. I ended up nearly rewiring the whole bike, soldering and heat shrinking connectors on, using dielectric grease until I didn't have any more problems with it. Then I sold it of course.

Work your way through the system with either a meter or a circuit tester (the kind with an aligator clip on one end and a lighted spike on the other) and see if you can find a wire that when moved, cuts out etc. Hope you find it!