headlight and bad wiring

[the108penguins]

ok so since i had some starting issues recently, which i managed to solve (bad connections. when it comes down to electrical, check all your connections it's often the problem) i've ended up searching through my headlight bucket and discovered a PO wiring nightmare! turns out a piece of wire had been jammed into the headlight connector and connected to the the brake handle switch lights to get the headlight to come on. after i took it out my headlight doesn't work any more. i want to have it wired up properly so if anyone can help me out as far as what voltages i should be getting at the headlight socket or what i should look for it would be greatly appreciated.

[CatatonicBug]

The headlight gets all 12v (more like 14+ when running) from the alternator. There is nothing that drops the voltage to that plug. The wiring diagram is in the back of the manual, and you can see where the wires SHOULD come from. Remember there is a relay next to the coils that won't allow power to the headlight until the engine starts to fire.

[the108penguins]

the relay that turns the headlight on when the engine starts is gone and i have a switch in place of that (at least for the time being) i looked over the wiring diagrams and it looks like everything is going to where it should but still no light. i suppose i will have to check over it again because i must have missed something. oh and my reserve lighting unit has been removed and the connections have been shorted, though with the way the electrical on this bike has been done... what wires do you short to what after the RLU is removed?

[James England]

I had similar headlamp bucket problems. The space in there is so restricted after the headlamp is pushed back in. I found that, unless the block connectors are arranged correctly in there, the headlamp itself pushes them and puts strain on them. I was riding my bike when it completely lost all electrical power. I found it was a dirty, oxidised contact in a block connector. The headlamp had nudged one side of it, enough to partially disconnect it. I also had intermittent problems on other things and it was the same cause... block connectors in the headlamp shell.

Since it was such a potentially dangerous thing to happen (eg when overtaking..), I removed all of the block connectors and replaced them with brand new ones. They cost so little and are easy enough to fit. I used ones which were smaller than the originals and this gave more space in the headlamp bucket. I've had no problems since then..

[CatatonicBug]

oh and my reserve lighting unit has been removed and the connections have been shorted, though with the way the electrical on this bike has been done... what wires do you short to what after the RLU is removed?

Here's the Tech Tip on the RLU removal.

[the108penguins]

turns out the RLU fix needed some adjustment but now that i've fixed it my headlight still doesn't come on... still tracing wires

[CatatonicBug]

Don't leave out the left handlebar switch and it's connector. The contacts on the hi/low switch can get corroded and cause issues.

[the108penguins]

It's fixed, FIXED!!! I say

alright guys i got it working. i'm not sure what the PO was thinking but after tracing all the connections and wires, checking the switches, relays and any fuses that were connected to the system it turns out that due to the way the PO had it wired both elements in the bulb were on all the time. and the start relay had been removed so they were on as soon as the key was turned on. all this contributed to drain every last ounce out of my very new battery and so the headlight just refused to come on!

really that's all it was, a low battery. i'm glad that's over with so now on to the next project... finding a 79 special speedo and tach