Lost the headlights this morning 07 FJR

[bajaleo]

I rolled the bike out of the garage this morning in the dark as per usual. Got down the driveway a bit and started her up. Headlights were on for a couple of seconds, and then darkness. Bike continued to run, dash lights were on too.

Flicked the high/low beam switch a few times to no avail. Had to turn around and take the cage to work. Glad this didn't happen on the freeway!

Any suggestions where to start?

Thanks, Leo

 

[SLK50]

Relay frozen?

 

[majicmaker]

2007? The bulbs probably just died. It happens.

 

[Burnspot]

Hope you have smallish hands...changing headlight bulbs can be challenging, though some fare better than others.

 

[ahchiu]

Check your fuse and relay, having both go out at the same time is unlikely that both lights burned out at a the same time.

 

[bikerskier]

Similar situation for me and it was a headlight relay wire had come off.

 

[mcatrophy]

If neither high nor low beams worked, it's not the bulbs. Relay or fuse. Fuse is the rear-most one in the inner fusebox behind the battery.

[edit] ahchiu got in first [/edit]

 

[lnewlf]

just to con fuse

the issue, the assembly line monkey put the sticker telling which fuse is which on backwards on my feej...

 

[dcarver]

just stand on yer head when reading the fuse label? You're welcome, we're here to help!

 

[bajaleo]

Can anyone tell me where the relay is? The fuse is ok. I have the tank off BTW.

 

[mcatrophy]

Can anyone tell me where the relay is? The fuse is ok. I have the tank off BTW.

On an '06, and I think it's the same on an '07, it's under the right-hand fairing, shown in this diagram as item 13:

(Click on image for larger view)



Photo of the area, relay hidden behind the white connector just below picture centre:



To get to it, you need to take off the right-hand fairing. This is not trivial, be really sure you need to do this. I can offer some help with pictures starting here (taken after I had to change several panels after an event).

You won't need to take off as much as I did!

 

[bajaleo]

Yikes! I guess it was an event. Thanks for the diagram and pictures mc atrophy.

 

[bajaleo]

It's the relay. Off tp the dealer tomorrow to order a new one.

 

[phroenips]

Not wanting to alarm the OP, but wasn't this also a symptom of a "spider bite"?

Has the grounding harness recall been done on this bike?

 

[bajaleo]

I thought I had troubleshot the relay as the source of my no-headlight condition. The headlights worked when I swapped with the fan relay. They worked when I put in the new relay. I even took her for a spin around the block after putting everything back together, and the headlights were working fine. Got up the following morning to go to work, and NO headlights.

Why would the headlights have worked when I swapped relays? Why did they work when I installed a new relay? Could it have been because I was bending and twisting the harness while removing the fairing pieces? Heck if I know.

So I re read the comment from phroenips.

Not wanting to alarm the OP, but wasn't this also a symptom of a "spider bite"?
Has the grounding harness recall been done on this bike?

This morning I called my local dealer to see if the recalls had been done. They say yes. They wouldn't lie to me would they?

Time to do more research on these spiders.

Well, after reading this through this post https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/139511-fjrf0093-spider-failures-other-than-s4-research/?hl=spider I believe I may be a victim of a spider bite, perhaps S7?

Meanwhile my beloved FJR is sitting in the garage, NOT being ridden.

Leo

 

[bajaleo]

Tonight I started looking at spiders. I believe the S4 recall has been done. Is this what it should look like after having the recall work done?

I found the S6 & S7 spiders, pulled the spiders out and they look ok. I don't see any burn marks at all.

Hopefully tomorrow I will have time to hook the gas tank up and see what happens when I start the bike.

 

[RossKean]

The S4 fix appears to have been done on your bike.

Have a look at this thread as well.

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/158418-itsy-bitsy-spider/?hl=itsy

Non-spider connector that did funny things with lights. Other than no lights, were there other issues? i.e. windshield retract not working, horn problem, high beam indicator on, both signal lights on but dim etc. Usually an grounding failure exhibits other symptoms as well.

 

[bajaleo]

No other issues at all.

 

[Harald]

Don't forget to also check S8, which is under the right headlight. When checking spiders, makes sure to actually pull the spider metal piece out of the connector and look for any corrosion on it or in the connector sockets where it plugs in. Additionally, make sure there's good pin tension.

Other possibilities I can think of are corrosion in the connector going to the headlight relay you replaced. I ride a lot in rain and have found corrosion on all kinds of connections on my 07. Everything has been cleaned and packed with dielectric grease to prevent future water/crud intrusion (others will recommend a different product like ACF-50 for that purpose).