Headlight

[mike nich]

For some reason over the past 3 weeks I Have had to replace my headlight, about 4 times.. No real pattern and no other problems seem to be aparent. Just the low beam the High beam doesn't seem to be effected..I just might be pulling it before it goes to. 79xs1100sf

[TopCatGr58]

Mike,

Check your charging system, you may be overcharging, putting too many volts to the headlight circuit. Pull the headlight plug and check with voltmeter. Also check across battery at idle and then at 2500 rpm, should NOT go over ~14.5 volts!
T.C.

[mike nich]

T.C
Thanks for the help. I was putting out 18.75 volts at the headlight and the same at the batt.. I guess a good place to start will be the regulator

[xschop]

Hey me too

My headlight low beam flickers on and off, but does not flicker when I switch to high beam. Can I just remove a relay under the tank I have heard about? I don't have an idiot light to warn of my low or high beam going out, so is this relay really needed?

[skids]

Re: Hey me too

The latching relay? No it is not needed, but you will probably want a low amp switch with a relay switch fr the higher amps to turn the lights off or on manually. Here is what I did:

http://home.earthlink.net/~sidskids/relay/relay.htm

Originally posted by xschop
My headlight low beam flickers on and off, but does not flicker when I switch to high beam. Can I just remove a relay under the tank I have heard about? I don't have an idiot light to warn of my low or high beam going out, so is this relay really needed?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Chop,

That relay is the latching relay that sends power to the RLU once the engine is started and it senses charging power being generated. So...if your headlight is coming on, then I don't believe it's that relay. You've probably got some fautly connections, or even a faulty bulb. The high beam is a separate filament, and the low beam filament shouldn't be on when on HI, so that's why you aren't seeing any flickering when on HI beam!

IF you remove that relay without connecting some wires, you won't have any headlight. And the headlight will come on immediately once you turn on the key, which puts more stress on the battery during the starting mode, so you would need to wire in a separate switch or relay to control the headlight circuit anyways!
T.C.

[xschop]

thanks T.C.

I will not mess with the lighting unit, but check the wiring in the morning