'06 FZ6 dead headlights

[Ben6745]

I took my FZ6 over to a friend's home this evening, parked it for an hour, and rode home at night. I started it up only to notice that neither headlight would work, not even the bright. Needless to say it was not a very pleasant ride home.

Any ideas as to what I should check first? I looked at the service manual procedures but I don't have what they call a "pocket tester." So I have no way of knowing if it's the dimmer switch, a fuse, or the bulbs themselves. Any guidance is appreciated.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Full Throttle]

Did you check your fuses?

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[fb40dash5]

Besides checking fuses, you're pretty much shooting in the dark without a meter. I had a cheap red Equus from Wally World for years until it died a month ago. Can't complain for $20, it does the job.

The odds of both bulbs burning out at the same time is slim to none.

edit: Looking at the wiring diagram, it looks like you can pretty well rule out the headlight switch. The headlight relay powers the low beam directly whenever it's on, and the high beam through the dimmer switch. That leaves (in order) the ignition switch, the fuse, the relay, and the ground wire. You can probably rule out the ignition switch if the rest of the lights work. The front signals share their ground with the headlights, so if they work, it'd have to be a fault between where the 2 headlight grounds join, and where they join the signal grounds. So I guess that basically leaves the fuse, or the headlight relay!

 

[Ben6745]

Well I was digging around in the tool box and found an old multitester. Sure enough it's the headlight fuse and the spare is gone as well. Looks like I'll be visiting the auto parts store tomorrow.

Thanks for the help, sorry to bother you all with such a trivial question.

 

[fb40dash5]

Well I was digging around in the tool box and found an old multitester. Sure enough it's the headlight fuse and the spare is gone as well. Looks like I'll be visiting the auto parts store tomorrow.

Thanks for the help, sorry to bother you all with such a trivial question.

If you hadn't asked, it would've been a burnt ground wire buried in a harness. This is how electrical gremlins work. :BLAA:

 

[Motogiro]

As full throttle says, "Check fuses". If a fuse is blown there was a short or some type of current overload. It is very rare for a fuse to just fail.

There is what is called a "Dimmer relay" on the bike. This relay actually isn't a dimmer relay. It is a relay used to keep the headlamp circuit shut off until the ECU knows the engine is running. Once that logic has been met the ECU keys the relay and the headlamp circuit comes on. This relay feeds both the low and high beam.

Assuming you have an OEM faired version bike.
This is important and I've seen this happen to one of our members. He had both his right and left headlamp filaments failed.


On the left side plug you will have a black with green tracer wire and a black wire. This is the low beam on a stock FZ6. Start the engine and test for voltage between those two wires. If you have voltage pull the lamp and I bet the filament is broken. Do the same on the right side plug only the color code is a black with a yellow tracer and a black wire. Turn on the high beam and test for voltage.
It may be as simple as both filaments went at the same time. Don't have a tester? try to look at the filaments and see if they're broken.

Hope this helps and please keep us posted!

 

[fb40dash5]

It may be as simple as both filaments went at the same time. Don't have a tester? try to look at the filaments and see if they're broken.

Personally, if I found both headlight filaments burnt out simultaneously, especially being separate bulbs, I'd be checking the voltage from the alternator. That's a pretty freak coincidence unless you use your high beam so infrequently that it could've been burnt out for a while. >13-14 volts can drastically shorten a bulb's lifespan.

 

[FinalImpact]

Personally, if I found both headlight filaments burnt out simultaneously, especially being separate bulbs, I'd be checking the voltage from the alternator. That's a pretty freak coincidence unless you use your high beam so infrequently that it could've been burnt out for a while. >13-14 volts can drastically shorten a bulb's lifespan.

FYI: Although this is 12vDC system it is rare to see it at 12V dead on. The no load output from the regulator can be as high as 14.9 volts when RPM >5000. So with a good fully charged battery and the head lamps disconnected it would not be uncommon to see the battery voltage upwards of 13.6 volts or higher.

The lead acid battery is typically 2.1v per cell or 12.6 volts nominal. To keep it fully charged, it requires an input voltage greater than 12.6 volts to properly maintain it so don't be alarmed if you measure it and see 13+ volts while above 5000RPM.

Most Autos run around 13.2 to 13.8v so the electrical systems sees these numbers on a regular basis. Connections, relays, fuse panels, wire length, etc can add up to create voltage drop between the battery and head lamp so some systems will see voltage drop across the head lamps. Meaning, if you measure battery voltage, it may be higher than the head lamp voltage.

 

[fb40dash5]

FYI: Although this is 12vDC system it is rare to see it at 12V dead on. The no load output from the regulator can be as high as 14.9 volts when RPM >5000. So with a good fully charged battery and the head lamps disconnected it would not be uncommon to see the battery voltage upwards of 13.6 volts or higher.

The lead acid battery is typically 2.1v per cell or 12.6 volts nominal. To keep it fully charged, it requires an input voltage greater than 12.6 volts to properly maintain it so don't be alarmed if you measure it and see 13+ volts while above 5000RPM.

Most Autos run around 13.2 to 13.8v so the electrical systems sees these numbers on a regular basis. Connections, relays, fuse panels, wire length, etc can add up to create voltage drop between the battery and head lamp so some systems will see voltage drop across the head lamps. Meaning, if you measure battery voltage, it may be higher than the head lamp voltage.

That's why I said greater than ~14V. I recall reading somewhere a while back that a lot of the shorter lifespan people see from headlight bulbs these days can be traced to higher alternator output voltages on newer vehicles. Used to be pretty rare to see more than around 13.5V out of an alternator. When I switched the wiring on my truck's to 4GA straight to the battery, it puts out about 14.8V to the fuse box stud, even at idle! I haven't had a wet lead-acid battery in my vehicles in years, but IIRC, that's even pretty close to the point where you start having boil-off problems.

 

[FinalImpact]

That's why I said greater than ~14V. I recall reading somewhere a while back that a lot of the shorter lifespan people see from headlight bulbs these days can be traced to higher alternator output voltages on newer vehicles. Used to be pretty rare to see more than around 13.5V out of an alternator. When I switched the wiring on my truck's to 4GA straight to the battery, it puts out about 14.8V to the fuse box stud, even at idle! I haven't had a wet lead-acid battery in my vehicles in years, but IIRC, that's even pretty close to the point where you start having boil-off problems.

I'd venture to guess there is more to this than voltage alone. Heat is the ultimate killer of incandescent lamps and Projector housings and all these dumb @ss blue coatings drive the operating temperature even higher. Then as the bulb ages the tungsten fails to return to the element leaving a deposit on the inside of the bulb. This seals the fate of the bulb as the temperature soars even more whereby the filament is so hot its molten and shock causes it to break. And/or once super heated, the filament melts sections together which in turn make it brittle and breaks when cold too.

IMO modern day electronic voltage regulators do a significantly better job of maintaining battery voltage compared to old mechanical relay jobs so I'll close by saying we're on the same page and that voltage above 14.2 or so kills lamps.

 

[sdawg17]

I apologize for reviving an old thread, however I am having this same issue on the same bike. My lights went out yesterday, found the busted fuse, replaced it and was good to go. Started it up again today after riding it to work, and the lights didn't turn on :O I put my last spare in because I had to go to class, and now I'm wondering what I need to replace. I don't find the idea of replacing my fuse every time I ride very enticing.

Some notes
-I have the dual dominator head light mod
-no front turn signals
-brights are always on.. original owner who wired it couldn't figure out how to make the switch work on them
-This just started happening after my bike was dropped at a stand still (if you remember my earlier thread on letting idiots try out your bike...)

Thanks again, fz6 forum!

 

[MoeDog]

your bike is broken dude but don't fear i can get it off your hands in no time

 

[sdawg17]

I know! I'm technically retarded! But if you're serious, I'm willing to part with it for $10k. best price. Fix it up and you'll have a brand new bike. Do it.

 

[Motogiro]

I apologize for reviving an old thread, however I am having this same issue on the same bike. My lights went out yesterday, found the busted fuse, replaced it and was good to go. Started it up again today after riding it to work, and the lights didn't turn on :O I put my last spare in because I had to go to class, and now I'm wondering what I need to replace. I don't find the idea of replacing my fuse every time I ride very enticing.

Some notes
-I have the dual dominator head light mod
-no front turn signals
-brights are always on.. original owner who wired it couldn't figure out how to make the switch work on them
-This just started happening after my bike was dropped at a stand still (if you remember my earlier thread on letting idiots try out your bike...)

Thanks again, fz6 forum!

If your headlamps are running the way I think they are you may be drawing 19.2 amps! Minimum you are drawing 10.4 amps with the high beams.

The light circuit has a 20 amp fuse and that's what you must replace it with.

You should get your bike wired properly with your headlamps switched properly.

In the mean time you may have a wire shorting or a short in one of the light cans. I've also seen lamps with faulty/damaged filaments blow fuses.
Hope this helps.

Edit: Also click on the link in my signature for a solution for Hi/Lo beams..

 

[Motogiro]

Also I'm not far from you! :rockon:

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Cliff can get the lights working properly (high and low beams), bet a six pack of something would squeeze you in his schedule .

 

[sdawg17]

Well, I'd be honored! If you ever find yourself passing through San Clemente, I'd be more than grateful for your help. And even though I'm not 21 (19...), I can still get you a six-pack of something if you so desire :thumbup:

 

[Motogiro]

:Flasho you have tools? :Flash: When would be a good time? Or can you run the bike down here? I'll bet we can find and fix the problem quickly. My brother lives in Laguna Beach so I could also go visit him. If I come up your way I'll have to bring tools/testing gear and I'd be on the SV1000.

 

[sdawg17]

San Clemente is full of tools! And in the literal sense, I have all the tools for the job, voltage meter and several of those big weird tool case kits. Anytime is good, the weekend would be great! If you came up here that'd be great, otherwise I'd have to hit palomar mountain if I came down to you