Headlight is out...thought it was fixed, it aint.

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Omega Man

Omega Man

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:head bang: I guess the highbeam thing didn't work out for me. :roll:

I believe the 1500 uses two bulbs. I have nothing when I start the bike no low or high beam. My bike doesn't have a fuse box cover(something I've been planning to remedy) and that is where the info for what fuse does what is. I just checked all the fuses and they seem okay. To the right of the fuse box is a box of relays, that has it's cover and one spot is labeled headlight.

Any sage advice out there...maybe detdrbuzzard?

~O~
 
This?
 

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Thanks roncar that is a start, I couldn't find that on Google images(you've taught me to Google first now). I'm also looking for the most probable problem that I'm having. Does one bad bulb break the circuit, does the bulb, relay or fuse go bad first anything like that. Electrical like most mechanical things baffle me.

Changing the bulbs doesn't look too hard, I just don't want to change them to find out it's likely something else.

~O~
 
Rarely do both high and low beams burn out at the same time. Pretty rare to have two relays go bad at the same time. Not uncommon for a fuse to "look" good and actually be bad. I'd swap out that 4th fuse from the top first.
 
Use the garden hose, bucket and rag to do it Randy? Hey if you take a meter and use clips to hold the leads in place.. place the meter in the fuse slot. Doesn't matter which is where.. only looking for a reading... if digital it will show polarity . An analog will kick to the left off reversed is all.. turn key on.. off the lamp is good you will see voltage. If not no voltage. Now place the ground lead to a bolt near the panel.. place the positive lead in the fuse slot turn key on . If no voltage place positive lead in the other slot.. if you get voltage the issue is towards the head light and includes start switch... fyi you can check fuses by turning key on and measuring voltage with leads on both ends of the fuse in the panel.. the blade fuses have test ports in the tip off the the fuse body.. no voltage means fuse is good.. electricity takes the path of least resistance . The fuse is that.. meter has more.. therefore no voltage.. if you have voltage the fuse is bad..
 
There are 2 fuses, number 5 is the high current to the relays and fuse 12 is the control circuit fuse that goes through the start and dimmer switches. Make sure they are both good Randy.
 
The 1500 does have two bulbs but they are both the same number (NAPA 9003 IIRC). They are both on all the time, both dim and bright. It's not terribly difficult to replace them but hard enough that if you have to replace one, replace them both. Also, they are cheaper per bulb if you buy them in the two pack. The mirrors and the chrome trim piece have to come off to get to the headlight module off, not something you would really want to do out on the road. I would say if you have nothing on either bulb on both high and low, your problem is somewhere else.
 
the starter botton is most likly the cause of your problem. start you wing, is the headlight still out? if it is with the motor running bump the starter button and see if the light comes on and yes the 1500 has two bulbs for the head light
 
I got lucky, it was the #12 5A fuse in the relay box. It's tough getting that box out to where you can open it to get to the goodies inside. At one point I thought the left side bag was going to have to come off but with a little muscle I got the box past the grommet tab that was threatening to snap off. :shock:

Anyway thanks for the help guys, I'm going for a ride!

~O~
 
Looks like I spoke too soon. I went for that ride and as I was parking I noticed my headlight was not illuminating the cars on the other side of the drive.

Now for the really bad news, I put a 10A in place of the 5A and was planning to replace it with the correct fuse tomorrow after work. Something is blowing my fuses. There is a headlight relay in the same box as the previously blown 5A fuse. Could that be failing and causing the blown fuses? Again I have no understanding of electrical systems.

~O~
 
Okay Randy.. take the multimeter and set it to dc amps.. a range that includes up to at least 30 amps.. remove fuse.. put leads into the fuse slot.. and turn key on... see how high the current is..also.. replace the relay.. and retest... there may be several that are the same in the box.. only checking to see if current goes down... if it goes down.. you have a bad relay... stays the same.. further up the line towards the lights.. make any recent wiring additions? Added driving lights to the light circuit.. have it on a switch? ..then it off and see if lights stay on.... saw this issue corrected by turning off driving lights a po installed
 
This is the control circuit that is failing so more than likely you have a short to ground in the wiring, starter switch or dimmer switch. It may be a faulty relay but in my experience this would be my first experience of a non metal case relay that has shorted to ground through the control/ coil circuit of the relay. If you want to test the faulty relay theory put a new 5amp fuse in and use high beam only this time and see if you still have a short/failure when riding. If not it is a faulty low beam relay ( a first for me), but if it blows the fuse on high beam only the the fault is as I originally said with the control circuit. Good luck with your hunt :yes:
 

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