No Power to Headlight, hi or lo beam

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1983lux
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No Power to Headlight, hi or lo beam

#1

Post by 1983lux »

Hey guys,

I found out the hard way that my headlight wasn't working as it started getting late on a ride! It was working right up until I changed out my handlebars the other day.

Volt meter isn't finding power to the high or low beam wires going to the headlight. I'm wondering if its a short in the hi/lo beam switch?

Also wondering about the lighting unit, where is that exactly and what does it look like?

I'm not great with electrical, but ive got a test light and voltmeter at my disposal.

Any help getting me pointed in the right direction would be appreciated!

Thanks.
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Re: No Power to Headlight, hi or lo beam

#2

Post by pidjones »

First check the headlamp fuse? I had a fuse blow due to a lead from the hi/lo switch touching the handlebar.
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Re: No Power to Headlight, hi or lo beam

#3

Post by Whiskerfish »

Certainly check the fuses first. And do not trust a visual inspection. I like to use my Volt meter to check for power on both sides of the fuse holder with the key on. Here is a diagram of the parts location.
https://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... 46#p453046
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1983lux
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Re: No Power to Headlight, hi or lo beam

#4

Post by 1983lux »

The fuse is fine, and tried another just to be sure. It's the 10A one on the top of the fuse box, right? However, I noticed there's no power going to either side of the fuse when the key is on, whereas all the other fuses have voltage going to the 'fuse holder clips' on both sides.
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Re: No Power to Headlight, hi or lo beam

#5

Post by redglbx »

One thing I have found is that when I have no headlight is a bad start button in the rh switch gear. I just changed one on a 76 ltd, all the power goes through that start button which really the contacts aren’t sufficient for the load. I have found that sometimes if you pull on the start button the headlight will come on or if you flush the button contacts with electrical contact cleaner it may work for a while.

Why the headlight quits but everything else continues to run I can’t explain because it all goes through the same contact. So pull the button and see if the headlight comes on.

One thing that really kills the start button is if you’ve changed your headlight to a more powerful headlight that actually has enough light to see at night, I put my headlight on relays to take the load off the button.
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Re: No Power to Headlight, hi or lo beam

#6

Post by Shadowjack »

I had a response typed up that essentially was the same as Redglbx's, but it disappeared.
Changed the bars, you say? Is the black with red stripe wire that comes from the right switch plugged in properly? Because that feeds power to the headlight fuse. There are actually two sets of contacts in the switch, a normally-closed set for the headlight and a normally open set for the starter. The headlight is the only circuit (not the other lights) that gets interrupted when you press the button.
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Re: No Power to Headlight, hi or lo beam

#7

Post by 1983lux »

Yep, you guys are right. There was no power coming through the RH switch. I took it apart, re-soldered the connections, cleaned and greased it, but it didn't help. I bypassed the switch so the headlight is on all the time, even when cranking. Bike still seems to start fine, but I should probably get either a new button + a relay or a new OEM style switch. The relay option seems like the best way to go, I'll have to figure that out.
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Re: No Power to Headlight, hi or lo beam

#8

Post by redglbx »

You might consider adding relays (hi & low), take the contact signal from something that shuts off when cranked and the power from headlight.
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Re: No Power to Headlight, hi or lo beam

#9

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Info about the Reserve Lighting Unit and how to bypass it
https://www.randakksblog.com/headlight-troubles/

BTW: "short" is a specific electrical term meaning a current path where there shouldn't be one (such as when 2 wires are touching). A short in the switch would more likely cause both the high and low beams to be on at the same time than anything else (which could lead to premature bulb failure but you would still have voltage at the bulb if that happened)

Re "all the power goes through that start button which really the contacts aren’t sufficient for the load" and "
Why the headlight quits but everything else continues to run I can’t explain because it all goes through the same contact.", the only power that goes through the headlight contacts in the Start button is the power to the headlight and the contacts are quite adequate for that unless someone who doesn't understand electrical stuff has connected high power driving lights directly to the headlight or something like that. My own experience with sidecar lighting used the original switches with two 55W headlights for years without harming them.
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