Low beams are 'intermittant' which is a cause for concern if I ever were to ride after dark (unlikely, too scary), and just in general for visibility. This is on the '85 RS with the Sprint fairing/dual headlight. It seems to come on when start first time of the day, after the usual dimming during starter cranking. Then at some point goes off, just random. Noted it today again quite quickly after starting, headlight came on, then off. Still have highbeam tho. Wondering if start button or load shed relay could cause it? In Canada, headlight is always on, no 'off' switch.

clubc if your high beam stays on and your low dont, then you should start looking on the left hand switch block quiet possibly the contacts are corroded high being clean is a worker but low is possibly dirty. or if you had a high wattage bulb in there maybe its warped the contacts enough to start playing up. before you dissassemble everything start with the left hand switch block. Keith

sounds like a candidate for the "eastern beaver kit " mate .....unless you already have additional relays installed already .

but yes i agree sounds like the contacts on the left switch are ....erm in need of attention

Ok, been in there once, back I go. Any other ideas please hit me. Original bulbs, no hiwatts.

hmmm even original bulbs will be twice the
"normal" loading for the switch mate .....

id be thinking the contacts are "cooking" under the load ....

interesting point on the double load. You meaning switch contacts or relay contacts?

the switch contacts mate ...ill be betting there isnt relays in the circuit ....just like our original supply

typically head lights draw 1.5 - 2 times the current durring startup ...till they "halogise" after that they drop back to normal "ratings" current

its part of what they call "inrush current" and the fillament changes value after lighting up .... dont forget the power fomular is "I" squared "r" we know the voltage doesnt change much ....before the switch ...but after the switch with current losses (because of lower conductivity) the voltage applied to the globe is reduced so the current requirement is prolonged ....and becomes a self feeding power sucking issue .. like the starter relay in fact .

I have been fiddling with the K1100 and the lights were flickering on both Hi and Lo so I pulled the switch apart and it appeared as if nothing was wrong but after a clean and reassembly it worked perfectly and then I put a relay in each beam and a relay for future driving (or should that be riding) lights.

I had a similar problem with the K100 a few years ago but it needed new contacts so I raided an old switch that had been replaced in an accident damaged bike that I fixed for a friend.

These Sprint fairings normally have relays fitted from factory.

Inge k.

Spring Fairing are not factory fitted with relays. I installed them on my K75, and the fairing support is the best place to install them.
You could have a bad bulb or connection, or the left switch has to be cleaned.
I am more thinking of a bad switch.
Club-C, I know a good cleaner and found where to buy it: It's called Deoxit and you can get it at Long & McQuade (Thanks for the tip again).

Bert

I noted you mentioned "after the usual dimming during starter cranking" I suspect the system may have been rewired by a previous owner to take the load shed relay out of circuit, because the lights should not dim they should go out completely during starting and only come back on when the starter button is released to allow the starter commutator to provide an earth path for the load shed relay. If the wiring has been fiddled with you may have to look the whole wiring harness over to see where and how they spliced it.
Regards,
K-BIKE

good point k-bike ...i missed that bit

Sorry should have been clearer. Headlights go off during cranking. I cleaned right and left side switches, no change. Jammed my hand into the bundle of wires to the headlights and it came back on. Wiggle wiggle flicker flicker. So narrowing it down...

Crazy Frog wrote:Spring Fairing are not factory fitted with relays. I installed them on my K75, and the fairing support is the best place to install them.

It`s been some differences then........ Helped a couple of friends to install this fairing on two different
bikes about 25 years ago.
They came with complete wiring and relays, just plug and play.

Inge K.

yep look for a bad spade connection could quite possibly be the hardening of the connector at the actual globe .

im sure someone said "deoxit" on those ?

but im thinking, look for the power feed connection . could be that its become loose and now arcing (not providing supply ) at current .

Old wires...it's hard to track the problem. One of my horns stopped working, everything looked to be intact until I touched one of the wires, and it fell away from the fitting. Broken off at spade terminal. Nice easy fix, and cheaper than a new horn!
Good luck finding your gremlin.

If you have yet to buy an Eastern Beaver kit get the one with the ceramic bulb socket and as someone mentioned DeoxIT the terminals throughout. I have known of wires going up to the handlebars to fracture if they have been run via a different rouote from the one set by the maker since like all wires they don't like constant flexing back and forth. I have run through a process on my bike of zip tying wires so they cannot get into oscillations moving back and forward at any vibration frequency or even due to the wind
Regards,
K-BIKE

I might have to take a look at these beaver kits. My headlight is pathetic!

lol true geord ....try it behind a smoked (dark visor )

hopeless .....but i upgraded mine ...and installed relays ..to relieve the switch mechanism from the load involved ...besides it gives better supply to the head lights ...but dont forget the ceramic connector ...we have seen melted connectors here ...especially with the 100 watt plus type globes

i think crazy frog has uploaded a simple circuit for such in the forum here ...


enjoy !!!!

The advantage of the Eastern Beaver kit is they offer heavy duty sealed relays, ceramic holders and a purose designed very high quality kit that fits perfectly. When I fitted it I moved up to 90/110 watt bulbs on my bike with a big improvement in light and visibility on the road. I run with main beam on during the day not dipped and I have only been flashed once by a car driver so clearly not a problem generaly. Just to be sure I got my wife and son to drive toward me to see if the bulb was too bright during the day or at night when changed over to dipped. The pattern control of the reflector is good so the result is excellent.
Regards,
K-BIKE

K-BIKE wrote:The advantage of the Eastern Beaver kit is they offer heavy duty sealed relays, ceramic holders and a purose designed very high quality kit that fits perfectly. When I fitted it I moved up to 90/110 watt bulbs on my bike with a big improvement in light and visibility on the road. I run with main beam on during the day not dipped and I have only been flashed once by a car driver so clearly not a problem generaly. Just to be sure I got my wife and son to drive toward me to see if the bulb was too bright during the day or at night when changed over to dipped. The pattern control of the reflector is good so the result is excellent.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Be a bit cautious about doing that. I am not sure what the law is in NZ but in Oz every state has a no high beam within 200metres of another vehicle and that applies day or night and the coppers are enforcing it.
I personally find it very annoying when a vehicle has Hi beam on diring the day as even then it can be a distraction.
They also use that law to stop you flashing the oncomming traffic about a flash for cash camera so I just turn my lights on and off a couple of times and as there is no law about warning people they can do nothing except lie and give you a ticket.

I agree with running on high beam during the day. I want to be seen on my bike rather than at my funeral! In 30 years I have been doing that I've not had any trouble with the law, and the improvement in visability is huge.

Peter

I've done the led strip in the place of the park light. It works very well as a daytime running light, however I may have to put a switch in for WoF time as I don't think I'm allowed the daytime running light on at the same time as the headlight.
I'm more concerned with improving the nigh time illumination so I can actually see the road! I've only been on a few short runs and night, and I was far from impressed. Looked at doing the relay thing myself, but if I add up all the bits and the fact that the Beaver kit will be so tidy, I think it's worth it.

Spade connector under shrink wrap had pulled apart, intermittant contact was the prob. Pushed it back together tight, all done. SOLVED.

Cheap and easy fix! Gotta love that!

good find club c

yay !!!

Excellent!
Regards,
K-BIKE

Do you blokes know whether the 'Eastern Beaver' (a bored Castor canadensis lover musta thought up that name!?) kit and the wiring diagram for such is posted on the forum? Australia's Rapid Bike magazine (Issue 64, 2011...file under 'credit where credit is due') recently did a headlight wiring upgrade article showing a similar system a coupla months back and it looks as though they intend for the user to eliminate the headlight switch...perhaps those of you with more electrical experience than me (read: looks almost like colourful spaghetti to me)...might take a look and tell me if this is so. This could be trouble for those of us whose bikes use the switch and also for the headlight 'off' relay when starting the bike. I'd like to compare their schematic with Eastern Beaver's since now that I'm back to a 55/60W H4 globe the miserly output is miserable indeed after that mighty 100/130w I had that melted the three-plug headlight socket to charcoal.

Here's a scan of their article which can be enlarged a bit. See the diagram at the top. Cheers.

hhmmmm sorta kinda like the eastern beaver ....but the finish of their kit with all the cable finished off is excellent twb....i think og got one and posted up some pics ...
the above circuit is like mine ...but i took an extra relay for driving lights (which is actived from the parkers cabling ) then a switch ......so all the relays drop out durring start up . the above implementation looks messy mate ....my 10 cents

bert had posted a equivalent circuit in here a while ago (with back emf diodes from memory (nice touch )

WELCOME BACK BERT !!!!!

I had a good long peruse of EB's website and their stuff looks the goods, and good value for money, too! But does it look like the Rapid Bike schematic eliminates the headlight switch...since they don't seem to refer to one there?

no mate the circuit as shown plugs into the headlight connector .....the switch functions are all normal ...you just get a boost in bypassing the high curent in the dicky switches and being able to get better power to the headlight via a more direct supply cable ......the most important thing for you would be the "ceramic" headlight connector to allow you to put back that 100/ 130 globe ...it sure does make a difference.
the circuit above is verry basic ...and would cover all the "simple" styles of headight switching in many applications

Ta, mate, now I owe you a cold schooner.

what the .? all verry basic and straight forward mate ....you dont owe me anything ....but hey ill share a beer with you sometime when i dont have to travel somewheres ....giggle.... especially with a dark visor at night time ...lol

horses for corses mate ....we all have talents .... just have to dig real deep to find mine ....grin

I've looked at the EB kit. Going to order one in the not too distant future. Not riding at night at the mo' . They look very well put together, compact relays and very very tidy finish. The price with postage won't be much more than I could get the part for and make one myself except I could never get it that tidy! LOL

Jim at Eastern Beaver is really helpful and will make up specials if required he did one for a friend to use on his Suzuki Intruder which he wanted to include some modifications onto. The quality is excellent and the postal service from Japan where he lives is very fast.
Regards,
K-BIKE

japan huh !!! certainly gives new meaning to eastern beaver ....cool