No low beams

[Bustanut joker]

At the risk of oversimplification.... Ya might wanna grab a multi meter. Easiest way to verify if ya gots volts eh.

Hey, ya gotta start somewhere.

:jester:

 

[DailyCommuter]

That's kinda the plan when I get home from work. I'm gonna stick it in the back of the headlight plugs (the multimeter that is) before I take anything apart. Then ill check the relays. This is kinda like daytime research for night-time work. I would rather go home with a game plan all laid out then to sit down with the FSM, for the first time for this problem having no input from the forum yet to compare it against. The FSM is only half the solution, forum experience is the other half.

No wut ah meen mista butternut jooker

 

[DailyCommuter]

I pulled the nose apart to get to the bottom of this today.

No relay problem, it was simply blown bulbs. Both of them.

So I guess after my code 12 electrical nightmare I automatically assumed the worst. Thanks for all the input from everyone on this.

STUPID aftermarket bulbs! :fuck:

 

[Bustanut joker]

Well even though it sucks, Glad to see that's all the problem was.

Hey bub with the low beams out ya see this??

:jester:

 

[SkooterG]

Interesting that it was both bulbs. What type were you using?

 

[odot]

I betcha they weren't amsoil bulbs.

 

[DailyCommuter]

Lol at amsoil...

No they were PIAA high output bulbs 110W/125W bluish purple. They were pretty bright but the bluish light isn't that good when its dark on the highway it seemed like the black asphalt sucked up the light. But the reflective signs would throw the light back at you too much. I didn't like them but I was too stubborn to change them til they blew. Any suggestions for replacements. Without goin H.I.D. Or auxiliary lights. I want to stick with plain old H4 bulbs.

 

[SkooterG]

Ahhhhh...........you bought the silly 'blue' lights. Those are probably what put water in your electrical connections.

I have been using the Philips Vision+50 lights that came highly recommend from others. They seem to work well enough.

Clicky Here.

 

[Bustanut joker]

I have been using the Philips Vision+50 lights that came highly recommend from others. They seem to work well enough when shining up in the trees or down the road when my scoots on it's side.

Hmmm, Do tell Greg

:jester:

 

[DailyCommuter]

Welllllll , they weren't exactly THOSE gay blue ones, but they had a bluish tint to 'em

I specifically didn't want those blue ones just some more brightness. The higher wattage and lumen value is what attracted me to them, but as usual they sucked! Wish there was a try it before you buy it somewhere. I do most of my riding in the dark and I'm a little iggy (no punn intended) about deer and what-not, so eventually I will probably do some lighting system farkling ala Soltek or similar, but for now I got some others on the farkle list that come first! Zumo and such. Just got the Heli tripple clamp and it rocks! Very comfortable. Rode 4 or 5 hours straight and everyone I was with was stretching and shifting in their seats, not me. Super comfy!

 

[ionbeam]

Wish there was a try it before you buy it somewhere.

There is, right here on the Forum. You bought and tried them -- and now I don't have to. Thanks for the public service message.

 

[DailyCommuter]

lol outstanding Ionbeam. I was wondering when you'd chime in for me Ionbeam... . Little late for me this time buddy. But I owed you one anyway. Didn't want to bug you with this one. Thanks Alan.

 

[dbx]

Glad to hear you figured it out and it was fairly straightforward. Now, what about the weirdness where the high beams work before the engine is started, or the 3/4 second delay when hitting the starter button before the engine starts cranking? (I just couldn't leave well enough alone. )

dbx

 

[Constant Mesh]

Wow! Those are double the wattage of the OE lamps. The relays and wiring are getting a workout with the additional load.

 

[squeezer]

Ahhhhh...........you bought the silly 'blue' lights. Those are probably what put water in your electrical connections.
I have been using the Philips Vision+50 lights that came highly recommend from others. They seem to work well enough.

Clicky Here.

BTW, Philips now makes a Vision+80. Murph sells those too.

 

[DailyCommuter]

I bought a new set of lamps yesterday right after my last post. Standard wattage at autozone. They are the Silverstar Ultra. 4100K bulbs. 55/65 Watts. Very white light, much better than the PIAA bulbs! The low beams are extra wide over the standard bulbs, and I gotta tell ya, the high beam turns night into day. I was very surprised by them. I can see a mile with them from the woods to the left of the left lane all the way to the right woods. I think I'm gonna scratch plans for auxiliary lights after trying these. I paid about 50 bucks for a set of two. You can probably find them cheaper, but I wanted to just get them done and autozone was close to work. Saw a deer standing on the edge of the woods last night on the way home, that I know I wouldn't have seen before, felt good about that, as besides drunk drivers, deer are my number 1 concern on my late night/early morning rides home from work. Pot holes worry me a bit too but, I pretty much know where they all are, and when to be in which lane, but I can definately are the road in front of me better now.

These are silverstar ULTRA a step up from the silver star lamps. They are in a brownish orange package. Couldn't find a part number on the package. But I would say they are WELL worth the 50 bucks, and even better if you can find them cheaper.

 

[odot]

Fifty fucking dollars? Yer kidding me, right? Fifty dollars for light bulbs? Must be good to be the CEO of a company.

 

[DailyCommuter]

Well like I said you probably can find them cheaper, but my time is more valuable than my money sometimes, besides I was on over time while I did the light swap, so it was kind of a wash for me, considering it only took about a half hour to do the set and I was making close to the purchase price per hour last night, I think I doubled my money there somehow, I never did get math that well.

But considering also that the soltek lights and associated brackets and stuff would be more than 10 times that dough and more time for the install, I'm happy with the purchase. Besides; 50 bucks at autozone is nothing, you should see me at Home Depot I never get out of there for under a C note.

 

[odot]

That's kinda like going to a harley davidson shop. HD....hunert dollars. Every time....

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

Lol at amsoil... No they were PIAA high output bulbs 110W/125W bluish purple. They were pretty bright but the bluish light isn't that good when its dark on the highway it seemed like the black asphalt sucked up the light. But the reflective signs would throw the light back at you too much. I didn't like them but I was too stubborn to change them til they blew. Any suggestions for replacements. Without goin H.I.D. Or auxiliary lights. I want to stick with plain old H4 bulbs.

I, too, tried the 'high power' bulbs decades ago (when my sport-touring mileage was considerably higher). I added extra relays and bought the highest wattage bulbs, etc. My results were similar -- the sign reflection was un-bearable (especially, when riding alot and you (and your eyes) are tired! I eventually determined that there are quality lights available -- but, it's not done just by brute force (max. watts). It seems, you need to 'finesse' good lights..... :blink:

Remember, you really need to see those critters out there.

On another topic: In a different thread, the "Speaker" company was linked to as a source for m/c H.I.D. lights (used on Polaris Victory). If you peruse their chart, they list the avg. life expectancy of H4 bulbs in a wide range -- double the time from earliest failure to latest failure -- not necessarily both at the same time.

With 'D.C.'s' failure of both hi-power bulbs at or nearly the same time -- one of the issues with the "Halogen" style bulb is that low voltage exacerbates failure. Extra high wattage bulb/s (also) fosters a 'low-voltage' situation.

And..., as 'dbx' alluded to: there may still be some electrical gremlins that 'D.C.' hasn't, yet, rectified? :huh: