No low beam headlights??

RadioHowie · Mar 9, 2009

And I bet you thought we were all just yankin' yer chain when we told you the FJR would blow headlight bulbs damn near simultaneously, didn't ya?

I went throught exactly the same thing with my '04 when I bought it used in '05. Blew a bulb...and within miles, the other side went out.

Came here to the forum to ask about the chances of that happening and discovered it was pretty much status quo. One goes....the other follows soon.

As I wrote earlier, it's happened to me now MORE than once....once with a high beam bulb, and twice with a low beam.

It's spooky, but it happens.

h34r:

mcatrophy · Mar 10, 2009

Been reading about this "one bulb fails soon after the other" stuff.

On my Trophy, it was clear from the wiring diagram that the headlights were the first things supplied from the alternator. So if one fails, the voltage will go up a bit, the other is then more likely to fail.

Had a quick look at the FJR wiring diagram, found it very difficult to follow in this region, but I suspect this might be a similar issue.

Just a thought.

Fred W · Mar 10, 2009

You don't get people flashing their high beams at you at night with HIDs unless they are aimed wrong. Contary to what some pundits say, the beam pattern of the FJR headlight bucket on low beam is very tight with no spill-over the cut-off.

The PIAAs get their extra lumens of brightness by running the filaments hotter. They will burn out even faster than the standard halogens. Probably about 366 days from first use.

Harald · Mar 10, 2009

Glad I read this thread. I hate being put in the position of having to spend full retail on stuff because I need it right now, so I decided to order a set of bulbs to be prepared. A set of Osram Night Breaker bulbs is on the way: Cheap bulbs for only about $26.67 shipped.

RadioHowie · Mar 10, 2009

Fred W said:
They will burn out even faster than the standard halogens. Probably about 366 days from first use.

For one of the two bulbs. The other one will go out in 366.04666 days.

faster675 · Jun 27, 2009

Read this thread ... and said ... Oh cool, it is probably just that both low beams went out at the same time ...

... wrong ....

Replaced both bulbs, still no low beams.

I first noticed it on Friday morning getting ready to go to work ...

... I had it switched to low beams and neither light was working

Locked up the house and fiddled with the dip (high beam / low beam) switch .... lows came on so I thought everything was fine

Got to work, and no more low beams .....

My bike is an 05 FJR with a "Diamond Star" modulator from the P.O.,

everything has worked great for 11,000 miles.

I bought the bike in Dec 07. 50 miles of commuting every day.

Low beams typically get used only during winter.

Where is the High/Low Relay ?

... is it a "Yamaha only" part ?

I'm heading up to Laguna Seca on Thursday ... hope to have my lights fixed before then .... or it'll just be High Beams all the way ...

wfooshee · Jun 28, 2009

Since you say you fiddled with the high/low switch, it may be crudded or corroded. That assembly comes off the handlebar very easily, just pop it off and see what you can do to clean the switch up.

If it's not the switch, then I'm thinking your modulator's dead or disconnected or has its own fuse somewhere that's blown. The relays are behind the instrument cluster under the nose cowl. It'll take you a couple of hours the first time to get to them, but my Fairing and Cowl Removal post will step you through it. It's not anywhere near as difficult as it first appears, you just have to do it in the right order. In that post I've located the relays by testing them for function. They are different than what the service manual states. It may be that you'll find you just need to remove the modulator if you can't find what's wrong with it.

Brodie · Jun 28, 2009

faster675

I've had a headlight modulator go out on me on another bike. It took out my headlight bulb. One of the first things I think you should do is take the Diamond Star modulator out of the circuit and restore it back to stock Yamaha. Go from there.

On my '06 there are 2 relays on the headlight circuit...

One relay that turns on the lights after the engine fires up. It is located behind the black verticle panel on the left.
The other relay is controlled by the high beam switch on the left handlebar. It is normally on low beam. When actuated by the switch it redirects the power to the high beam side.

I know your bike is an '05, but I suspect it's the same. With this set up, if you have any lights at all then the delayed on relay is functioning.

You don't know anything until you get the Diamond Star modulator out of the way.

Hope this helps.

Brodie

faster675 · Jun 29, 2009

wfooshee said:
Since you say you fiddled with the high/low switch, it may be crudded or corroded. That assembly comes off the handlebar very easily, just pop it off and see what you can do to clean the switch up.

yup ...... it "pops off real easy" ... and the switch was totally clean ( low beam is the "no contact" position - so a bad contact would only kill the high beams)

Any idea what size the little ball bearing behind the spring WAS in the Hi/Lo Switch ?

(it's gone now

)

Also ... where (exactly) is relay #2 ... and which panel(s) do I need to pull to get at it ?

wfooshee · Jun 29, 2009

See, in my previous post I gave the location of the relays and a link to the procedure to access them.

Basically, you have to take ALL the panels off because it's under the nose cowl, which is the first panel installed, but it's not as bad as it sounds, really.

In the wiring diagram I see a green wire off the Hi/Lo relay for low beam, and a yellow wire for high beam. The thumb switch energizes that realy to select high beam. There's no other difference in the circuit between high and low beams. If the high beams work, then the low beams have everything they need.

And sorry about the switch thing. I'd forgotten it was a single-throw switch or I'd not have suggested it. I've had problems with mine and not been able to get high beams.

I still think now that you're back to finding the connections to the modulator and removing it to restore your wiring to stock.

faster675 · Jul 20, 2009

wfooshee said:
And sorry about the switch thing. I'd forgotten it was a single-throw switch or I'd not have suggested it. I've had problems with mine and not been able to get high beams.

OK .... now that I'm back from MotoGP, and misc other races ....

.... anybody know what exactly is inside the switch ?

was there a ball bearing under a spring which "locks" the switch in each position ?

or was it the pointy piece of metal with a spring attached that I found in my garage (which may have come from something else)

(big garage, lots of stuff, epoxy floor)

Please ..... Anyone who has actually taken apart the Hi/Lo switch .... please answer, or send me a pm .......

No low beam headlights??

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No low beam headlights??

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