Lighting issues (Headslight blowing out, turn signal acting funky)

[nitroheadz28]

So my bike has an Aztec8 streetfighter conversion (I purchased it like this):



So far I've had one headlight blow out, replaced with a Hella 55/60 H4 bulb. I had the left rear turn signal bulb blow out, replaced with something the cycle shop gave me (Both of these approx 2500 miles ago).

Now I came back from a road trip this weekend and when I get home I had the other headlight blow out. Today I take it for a ride and the same turn signal is not firing. I replace the headlight bulb and remove/ inspect the turn signal bulb, looks good. I break it accidentally reinstalling it so I replace it with another one. Still the new bulb wont fire and the blinker on the dash flashes like the bulb is blown.

I looked through some threads but didn't come across much that stood out to me? I checked the wiring and fiddled with it to check if there was any kinks or shorts and it all looks good.

FYI I also have an issue where my HI beams will run down my battery if I ride on them, I guess I have a short somewhere? Could this be causing my troubles? I saw some complaints about people with these Aztec8 conversions blowing headlight bulbs as well.

Thanks!

 

[Motogiro]

On the headlamps. If the headlamps are H4 dual filament lamps the low beam filament must be wired so that only the low beams are on when the hi/lo beam switch is on low. When the hi beam is switched to hi beam the low beam filament must switch off as the high beam filaments become active or the lamps over heat and fail prematurely. If you don't have the proper switching the lamps can not operate properly as hi/lo beams. If the bike was originally a faired version and converted to a naked, the headlamp circuit must be modified because the OEM wiring does not provide the proper switching. If this is the case with your headlights you may get in touch with member bd43 on our forum. He makes a wire to add to the harness to give the proper switching. If your lamps are not properly wired they could also draw much more extra current which can add to your charging deficit.
On your directional lamp....Check that the lamp contacts align with the lamp socket contacts or get some good LED's rplacements and an electronic flasher!

Let us know what you find...
[MENTION=458]bd43[/MENTION]

 

[nitroheadz28]

My headlamps seem to switch fine between LO and Hi beam, they do get rather hot though. I'll have to look into this further, thanks!

Regarding the turn signals, why is it that most of the vehicles I buy have some kind of intermittent electrical bugs?

So I switch the bulbs from side to side to see if that'll do anything and my turn signals stop working altogether. I put them back in their respective places and now everything works as it should

Going to take it for a quick ride and see how my new Sidi Fusions feel , hopefully no more turn signal drama.

 

[Motogiro]

My headlamps seem to switch fine between LO and Hi beam, they do get rather hot though. I'll have to look into this further, thanks!

Regarding the turn signals, why is it that most of the vehicles I buy have some kind of intermittent electrical bugs?

So I switch the bulbs from side to side to see if that'll do anything and my turn signals stop working altogether. I put them back in their respective places and now everything works as it should

Going to take it for a quick ride and see how my new Sidi Fusions feel , hopefully no more turn signal drama.

There are 2 filaments in each lamp. When the hi beam filament goes on the low beam filament has to turn off. If both filaments are on when you are on hi beam the switching is not correct and will overheat the lamps. It may look like it's operating correctly but you must be sure the low beam is shutting off.

If you're riding in the city your charging system will be weak because of low rpms and stop n go with all the filament using power.

You're also using and extra 110 watts from your charging system when you flip to hi beam and the lo beam does not shut off.

Love the Sidi boots!

 

[nitroheadz28]

So if I'm reading this correctly, if I'm out riding and never switch on my high beams during a ride- I shouldn't be having an issue correct?

I took it out for a light thrashing with the new boots, it felt a little awkward but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Turn signals worked fine, very strange.. I'll have to really go through the wiring when I overhaul the bike never season. Might as well go through the whole thing while I'm doing a full tune up.

Thanks again :thumbup:

 

[Motogiro]

So if I'm reading this correctly, if I'm out riding and never switch on my high beams during a ride- I shouldn't be having an issue correct?

I took it out for a light thrashing with the new boots, it felt a little awkward but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Turn signals worked fine, very strange.. I'll have to really go through the wiring when I overhaul the bike never season. Might as well go through the whole thing while I'm doing a full tune up.

Thanks again :thumbup:

Yes, if you only have the low beam on you should be good even if there is no drop out for the low beam. Those H4 glass envelopes were never designed for and can not handle both filaments on for any decent amount of time. My Zookie has a passing switch that momentarily turns on the high beam without turning off the low beam but that's just a wink for passing and that's okay. When my hi beams are on by the hi beam switch the lo beams go off.

You can test yours by multimeter, one lead on the ground and turn on your low beam attach the other lead to the low beam wire. Turn on the hi beam and that lo beam wire should have no power.

 

[nitroheadz28]

So I'm back to having more electrical issues. The turn signals have been working fine, now the headlights are barely working.

A couple days ago I was doing a night ride and my high beam indicator on the cluster would start to flicker at any rpm speed over idle. The next day it remained on the entire time, and now one of my lights would barely work on LO beam (The other was weak as well). On HI beam the weaker light would go out completely.

I took the front end apart today and looked through the harness. The conversion wasn't the prettiest, but everything looked right. I used a multimeter and checked at the end of the harness (Headlights unplugged) and I was getting 13.8V. The HI beam indicator on the cluster was OFF now. I plugged my headlights in and it was back to the symptoms described above.

I'm terrible with electrical, any suggestions are really appreciated as I had a ride planned for next weekend and need my lights . Thank you!!

Pic of the harness (I also haven't been able to find what the blue wires taped off from the turn signal harnesses are for):

 

[Motogiro]

Sound just like you're loosing the ground path on your H4 lamp. I think whats happening is because the ground path is very bad the voltage from either the high beam or lo beam filament there is pathing through the other filament. It looks like the wire that's twisted is the ground. Pull that rat's nest apart and solder the connection and heat shrink them for protection.
Let us know what happens!

 

[nitroheadz28]

No go with that connection, soldered up good and still the same issue.

Remember the flickering that was happening at first? Seems like its something susceptible to vibration maybe?

I checked all the connections along the harness and they seem fine. Fuse is good, only thing I didn't check yet was the relay- but the lights wouldn't work if the relay was bad right?

Thanks!

 

[Motogiro]

No go with that connection, soldered up good and still the same issue.

Remember the flickering that was happening at first? Seems like its something susceptible to vibration maybe?

I checked all the connections along the harness and they seem fine. Fuse is good, only thing I didn't check yet was the relay- but the lights wouldn't work if the relay was bad right?

Thanks!

If the relay had a bad set of contacts it could cause a problem. The relay gets its power when the key is turned on. Once the engine starts the ECU provides a ground for the relay. Also check the plug at the headlamp relay. The reason I came up with the idea of a bad ground is because you say the high beam indicator is lighting intermittently which means there is a possible path to the high beam circuit from the low beam circuit through the bulb.

You could also have a bad lamp. Check the filaments...

Sent from Moto's Motorola

 

[nitroheadz28]

If the relay had a bad set of contacts it could cause a problem. The relay gets its power when the key is turned on. Once the engine starts the ECU provides a ground for the relay. Also check the plug at the headlamp relay. The reason I came up with the idea of a bad ground is because you say the high beam indicator is lighting intermittently which means there is a possible path to the high beam circuit from the low beam circuit through the bulb.

Sent from Moto's Motorola

Great I'll give that a shot tomorrow if it doesn't rain. What would the next step be if the relay is fine?

I lifted the tank and let the bike run while prodding and moving every inch of the harness (Including around the tail) and nada.

Thank you sir!

 

[Motogiro]

Great I'll give that a shot tomorrow if it doesn't rain. What would the next step be if the relay is fine?

I lifted the tank and let the bike run while prodding and moving every inch of the harness (Including around the tail) and nada.

Thank you sir!

Hard to say not being there but through elimination we should be able to nail it down. If the relay is okay then I would suspect an open in the harness or still a bad ground. The bad ground may be a black wire or set of wires that are bolted to the frame. The harness intermittent may be where the wires bend in the steering area.

 

[nitroheadz28]

This thing is stupid. I popped a bulb on that I knew was bad and it worked as it should with no HI beam indicator lit.

I guess I'll just have to get used to blowing a bulb every 2k and not being able to use my high beams too long.

 

[Motogiro]

This thing is stupid. I popped a bulb on that I knew was bad and it worked as it should with no HI beam indicator lit.

I guess I'll just have to get used to blowing a bulb every 2k and not being able to use my high beams too long.

Wait.....didn't we already go over the hi/lo beam requirement?

Sent from Moto's Motorola

 

[nitroheadz28]

Yes, if you only have the low beam on you should be good even if there is no drop out for the low beam.

I pretty much haven't touched my high beams since I made this thread, but when I get my replacement bulb I'll check to see if I'm getting proper switching at the harness and go from there :thumbup:

 

[bd43]

To address at least one of your issues, the bulbs burning out all the time, this can be the result of a few things:

1. Too much vibration. A bulb filament is suspended between two metal arms and is a tiny wound up wire which gets really hot when on. Any vibration that is constantly shaking the filament along with the heat will shorten the life of the bulb.

a. Check that vibration is not being transmitted through your setup. With the stock headlights and other lights on a factory bike, Yamaha has engineered dampening between the frame and the light assemblies

b. Did I read you right? As Motorgiro mentioned, switching from low to high means the low goes out. Not just that the light gets brighter. During high beam operation, if the low is also on, the heat generated will shorten the life of the bulb.​

2. This goes without saying, do not touch the bulb with your fingers. Oil from your hands transferred to the surface of the bulb will make short life of the bulb too.

3. I have found that not all bulbs are created equal. The cheap ones do not last as long. I would assume that this is because of the cheaper filament being used. Add the heat and vibration exposure, 2k per bulb sounds about right.

4. High voltage can also take out a bulb but this is highly unlikely. You have a battery that is limiting the voltage the regulator can output so I would dismiss this. Just thought I would mention this because at one time they made 6V light bulbs and when installed in a 12V system, burn up in short time.

As for the high beam indicator flickering, definitely a bad ground at the headlight end. In the low beam scenario, the ground is found through the high beam filament through the high beam indicator to ground. The flickering is caused by the intermittent ground at the headlight. The dimming of the light is caused by the additional resistance of the hi beam filament acting as a resistor to ground. If you remove the high beam bulb, your problem with the flickering should go away and your low beam will either stop working completely of flicker.

When you are doing your checks, looks at these areas and let us know what you find out.

Cheers and safe riding! :cheer:

 

[Motogiro]

Also: The blue wires that have been taped off are your running light wires which are not being used anymore. Your original front directional signals had 2 filament per bulb. one directional filament and one running light filament.

 

[nitroheadz28]

To address at least one of your issues, the bulbs burning out all the time, this can be the result of a few things....

Thank you so much for the detailed and informative response!!

Unfortunately with the way the Aztec8 conversion is, there is no safeguard for vibration with this setup.

I never knew about not touching the bulb surface :thumbup:

Wow, 2k per bulb sounds right? Thats nuts! The ones I bought the bike with were Autolites, I've been using Hella H4 bulbs.

As I mentioned I will check for switching when I get another set of bulbs, do you still make the wire to fix this issue? Thanks again!

-Moto, thanks for filling me in :thumbup:

 

[nitroheadz28]

So as [MENTION=2579]Motogiro[/MENTION] guessed, my low beams remain on while the hi beams are operating :spank:

[MENTION=458]bd43[/MENTION], do you still offer that wire setup to remedy this?

 

[2007Z6ALL-LED]

There are something called:

- Soldering ?...
- heat tube ? ..

As shown how you connected all wires together you are lucky not to have your fuses blew .

Please take your time to soldering them with heat tube to cover and electrical tape is the last thing to put on.

I even run another ground on my bike because once ground causes the issue it will be bloody to troubleshoot the electrical problem

Everything related electric on the bike doesn't like vibration as bike has vibration everywhere that's why we have to solder or connect them via plug/socket. The way you tight your wires together have many risk cause the fuse, sudden current/draw cause fuses blow-out, light bulb goes pop ..etc !


Good luck mate!