Blowing Headlight Bulbs

[Brad]

Ok...my bike is begging for a little TLC. I know there are somethings wrong with it and I ride the stupid (I call it stupid..but I know who the dumb one is) thing anyway.
I know there are some breaks in some of the wires but I would 'fix it' on the side of the road until I could get it running and then be on my way. (I call it Mcgyvering)
Well..it has now gotten a little out of control...I spend the last 3 days really working on finding all the wires that where messed up...but now I am the headlight will last anywhere from an hour to 20 min. Well at 15 bucks a pop this is getting a little pricey.
I have a feeling I am going to hear...well..fix it all. But I thought I did.
Do I just get a new harness and hope for the best on it? 

[Steve_in_Florida]

How many volts is the bulb receiving?

Is your charging system putting out too much juice?

[yamaha fj rider]

How many volts is the bulb receiving?

Is your charging system putting out too much juice?

+1  My first thought was bad regulator, also check red connector under left side cover to see if it is damaged. Hope this helps.

Kurt

[SlowOldGuy]

Typically it is VIBRATION that kills headlight bulbs.  Make sure the bulb retainer clip is correct and the headlight itself is secure (no broken mounting tabs).  Also make sure the bulb connector is properly installed.

About the only thing the electrical system can do to shorten a bulb's life is to continually turn it on and off quickly.  Like if you 've got an intermittent open circuit that's cycling the headlight power.

Plenty of people have had over-active charging systems without blowing bulbs.

DavidR.

[Brad]

Typically it is VIBRATION that kills headlight bulbs.  Make sure the bulb retainer clip is correct and the headlight itself is secure (no broken mounting tabs).  Also make sure the bulb connector is properly installed.

About the only thing the electrical system can do to shorten a bulb's life is to continually turn it on and off quickly.  Like if you 've got an intermittent open circuit that's cycling the headlight power.

Plenty of people have had over-active charging systems without blowing bulbs.

DavidR.

I do have a couple of loose screws....so I will try that first. But man at 15t bucks a pop I am going to really kick myself in the ass for not fixing them!
I guess it is time to take the next day or 3 to pay attention to my baby.
I will keep everyone posted.
Thanks.

[fintip]

I blew two headlight bulbs (and a lot of other bulbs, and some fuses) with a loose ground cable. Something to be aware of. Check your main grounds after you confirm that you installed it correctly (removing the horn helps, but make sure you install it just like you took it off--ripped mine off somehow, figure I must have put it in the wrong direction).

[Pat Conlon]

It would be a good time to consider doing the headlight relay mod...

[Brad]

It would be a good time to consider doing the headlight relay mod...

I guess I will need to look that one up. I don't know what that mod is....

The good news is...I 'think' I fixed it.
I went down to the store..bought 2 more bulbs...just in case....took off the front end. Found a couple of spots where it looked like they could have been bad...changed a fuse that has nothing to do with the headlight wires...and I was going to wait until I went to the store to get the screws that were missing to cut down the vibration..I figured I would leave the 'bad' bulb in until I had the front fully secured...well...as I was ridding to the store I came up behind a car...and look...what is that? A reflection of my headlight?? Yep. What ever it is that I did got the headlight that I thought was burned out...come.back on.
So just to make sure, and you can ask the other Portland ridders...I rode around in the rain for a full tank of gas..just to make sure it still worked. I even tested the limits and went into a few well known cop areas. I figured if it was going to go out...it would go out in front of them...lol

So long story longer, my bike loves going for rides, but today she just wanted a little TLC.
Thank you for all of the ideas...because of them, I fixed quite a few problems today and me and my bike thank you. 

[movenon]

Sounds like a loose connection. Should be easy to locate and fix. Any bike that is 20 plus years old needs a bit of TLC it seems. Especially when there has been any number of previous owners with different skills and mind sets. Lots of help here.
George

[Arnie]

Brad,

Any time a "problem" just goes away, seemingly "fixed" without you knowing why its working again....... You have a problem.
You need to re-double your efforts at finding the original, now intermittent, fault.
Otherwise, it WILL come back at the most IN-opportune time.

Arnie

[Brad]

Brad,

Any time a "problem" just goes away, seemingly "fixed" without you knowing why its working again....... You have a problem.
You need to re-double your efforts at finding the original, now intermittent, fault.
Otherwise, it WILL come back at the most IN-opportune time.

Arnie

I found a couple of wires under the tape that the PO really butchered. I fixed them and put on some new conectors. I didn't check after each thing I did.
I was also banking on the vibrating idea...so I didn't check after each thing I did like I shoulod have.
I was having fun working on the bike and cleaning it up. I didn't even notice that the bulb that I thought was blown was on until I was behind a car...I was so sure that it was the front end being loose that I never check when I got it all back together.
I was in a good mood and glad I was fixing it. Then I pulled up behind that car and noticed it was on.
I am sure it was one of the wires I fixed.

[bigbore2]

Get your headlight bulbs here:  autolumination.com    There is a link here somewhere, but I can never find when I need to  [in the modifications section]  ~8 each, if I remember correctly. I went to this site to re-look for the H4 bulbs and could not find them. I find their site hard to find things. Hope you have better luck.

[bigbore2]

They must have shortened up the time limit to modify a post OR I have gotten a lot slower. Go to: superlumination.com   scroll down to: headlights and foglights [in blue print]      H4 replacement bulbs in yellow, white or blue beam  *8.99 each- comes with a harness extension and ceramic plug that plugs into the stock plug-these bulbs get hotter and I guess, could melt the stock plug.

[FJmonkey]

They must have shortened up the time limit to modify a post OR I have gotten a lot slower. Go to: superlumination.com   scroll down to: headlights and foglights [in blue print]      H4 replacement bulbs in yellow, white or blue beam  *8.99 each- comes with a harness extension and ceramic plug that plugs into the stock plug-these bulbs get hotter and I guess, could melt the stock plug.

Yep, the older I get.... The faster I was.....