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headlights not working

5K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  Karl Hungus 
#1 ·
After almost two years and 15,000 km I managed to drop the bike.
It was raining, poor visibility, I was a bit too fast and slid out of a sharp turn.
Fortunately I didn't hit anything and ended up in the wet grass on the right side.
I had it under control when at the last moment the front went out at slow speed and the bike slid maybe a couple of feet.
The bike looked okay, the turn signal was hanging on its wires and the foot brake pedal was bent outwards, but apart from that there were only a few scratches on the plastics.
It started right up and it rode okay like nothing happened, just a slow speed tip over.
At home I saw that where the cowl meets the black piece close to the headlight there was a tiny crack, maybe two inches.
I replaced the cowl, the lower black plastic piece, the turn signal and the brake pedal and all was well until I discovered that both headlights weren't working.
The little center running light worked, the turn signals, too, but both beams were out.
I checked the bulbs, they are okay. The fuse is also good.
Could it be the right switch cluster?
I noticed some small black gizmo when I had the side cowl off, close to the tank, close to where the cowl cracked.
Any idea what that is?
I'll have the bike checked out but I'd like to know as soon as possible what it could be.
 
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#2 ·
The headlight wiring goes through the ignition switch and then through the Hi/Low switch before going to the headlight bulbs.
So., since the fuse is (be sure to substitute a new fuse, not just visual observation), you might suspect either of those 2 switches.

It sounds like the bike slid on the right side ?

Do you have a voltage measuring meter ? It may be handy to check out the problem.

Glad you were not hurt.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Thanks, ExTex. The fuse looks normal but I tried the spare fuse just in case - no headlights, so it's not the fuse.
I fell over at real slow speed, there are only minor scratches on the stickers, there was no impact at all. I was lucky that it was wet grass! I was still sitting on the bike, more surprised than shocked.
The right clip-on didn't touch the ground, but the weight of the bike cracked the side cowl a tiny bit.
The ignition works fine, I started the bike and rode like nothing happened. That's why it took me some time to find out that the headlights were not working. I could see the center running light when sitting on the bike, I put a strong LED bulb in there, and didn't ride in the dark.
My theory is that maybe a wire got pulled or the gizmo on the right side was affected, I think it's the solenoid.
But if that's the case, the bike wouldn't start, would it?
Hopefully I can get away from work today and have it checked out.
 

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#4 ·
Turns out that the problem seems to be a faulty wire somewhere between the fuse and the high beam switch.
 
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