Headlight failure

[Wingjon]

Took an approximately 40 mile ride in heavy rain yesterday and had no low beam headlights when I got home. High beams work fine and fuse is good. It seems a little strange that both low beams would fail at the same time although the bike is an '06 with 85,000 miles and they have never been changed.

Before I replace the bulbs, is there anything else that could possibly cause this?

Thanks for your input!

 

[Ignacio]

It seems a little strange that both low beams would fail at the same time

Not really. It's been shared time and time again that halogen bulbs often fail within a curiously short time of each other. Check the filaments and report back. You should be able to see them without evening taking the bulbs out through the nose!

 

[CCook82]

At 85,000 replace them anyway. It is time and eleminates one variable at a better time to do it rather on the road.

 

[Wingjon]

Sure enough, they were both bad. Guess it was just time.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Eric L]

one blows, power surge to the other, poof...

 

[bseelbach]

85K....I'm jealous. I'm on my 5th set at 52K and I absolutely hate trying to change them. Glad it was a simple fix.

 

[SacramentoMike]

Bet you're getting good at it though.

 

[FJR Flyer]

Yep, had both blow one early morning on the commute into work. Had the motolights as a backup.

 

[RossKean]

85K....I'm jealous. I'm on my 5th set at 52K and I absolutely hate trying to change them. Glad it was a simple fix.

I assume that you are using some of the "Premium" high output bulbs? I had my first lamp failure at ~60,000 miles and replaced both although only one failed. Using cheap generic brand H4's, I average 30-40K out of a set since then.

 

[Fred W]

I know it;'s too late, but someone may stumble across this thread in the future when they diligently search on the subject. The answer to the question in the OP:

It seems a little strange that both low beams would fail at the same time although the bike is an '06 with 85,000 miles and they have never been changed.
Before I replace the bulbs, is there anything else that could possibly cause this?

Yes. Headlight relay #2 (high/low), which is the one that switches the power from headlight relay # 1 (on/off) to the high beam or low beam filament could develop a faulty contact on the low beam side only.

However, a relay going bad is a relatively rare occurrence compared to having both headlight filaments burning out at the same time, which is fairly common.

 

[900gc]

I had a BMW E38 (740 il) that blew both low beams simultaneously (H-7 single filament). No electrical issues found, just replaced the bulbs and went years with no issues. Stuff happens I guess. Never had it happen on the FJR but I replace the 100%+ bulbs @ around 400 hours as a maintenance item.