strange headlight issue.

[lather]

4  or 5 weeks ago my left headlight started failing to come on on start up. But after riding a short distance it come on and stays on throughout the ride. THe headlight out warning icon will come on and then go out when I have travelled anywhere from 50 feet to about a tenth of a mile. I should disclose that the during past actual bulb failures and replacements, the plastic connectors disintegrated on disconnect so now only the metal female terminals are connected to the bulbs but I cannot see how this could have any effect. 

I considered possibly my battery was weak although it showed no trouble starting the bike.  I did replace the battery simply because I had a long trip planned and did not know how old the existing battery was. However, the new battery did not make any difference.

Also I have tried reving the engine to about 5000 in idle before starting to ride to see if bring the volts up after the sart drain but no effect.

 

Any thoughts as to what is going on?  

[dirtrider]

35 minutes ago, lather said:

4  or 5 weeks ago my left headlight started failing to come on on start up. But after riding a short distance it come on and stays on throughout the ride. THe headlight out warning icon will come on and then go out when I have travelled anywhere from 50 feet to about a tenth of a mile. I should disclose that the during past actual bulb failures and replacements, the plastic connectors disintegrated on disconnect so now only the metal female terminals are connected to the bulbs but I cannot see how this could have any effect. 

I considered possibly my battery was weak although it showed no trouble starting the bike.  I did replace the battery simply because I had a long trip planned and did not know how old the existing battery was. However, the new battery did not make any difference.

Also I have tried reving the engine to about 5000 in idle before starting to ride to see if bring the volts up after the sart drain but no effect.

 

Any thoughts as to what is going on?  

Evening  lather

 

Yes, we have some thoughts but we need more information so the thoughts fit the failure. 

 

What motorcycle year/model are you working with? 

 

Are your headlight bulbs stock, or aftermarket, or led or ???? 

 

Typically a problem like you are having is due to an internal bulb issue, or possibly a problem with a wire terminal connection at the bulb terminal.   Are either of your wire terminals at the bulb burnt brown? 

 

 

[lather]

Thanks for the reply Dirtrider. The motorcycle is a 2013 R1200RT. The bulbs are Osram H7 Halogen. I purchased the buike in 2020 so I do not know what the stock bulbs were. The terminals do not appear burnt.  

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

Sounds a lot like a kissing open circuit.  It'll show highish resistance until heated up and closes.  That would explain the fault indication (high resistance).  FLAPS (friendly local auto parts store) carry the connectors just match to the bulb connector arrangement.....if that's where the problem is.  That kissing open could also be in a connector crimp since that is now where there is more stress absent the socket.  You might just start and let the bike idle while watching the lamp for flickering progressing into illumination.

[lather]

Thanks for the reply, Peter, that is interesting. The last time i changed the bulb I noticed the connectors seemd unusually hard to remove. I attributed it to the absense of the plastic making the connectors difficult to grasp.

At any rate I have purchased a GS-911 and just finished registering it and going to get it connected to my wi-fi and learn how to use it.

[dirtrider]

2 hours ago, lather said:

At any rate I have purchased a GS-911 and just finished registering it and going to get it connected to my wi-fi and learn how to use it.

Afternoon lather

 

If you have the GS-911 connected by WiFi or USB cable then there is a ZFE output test that should allow you to manually turn the low beam on & off. 

 

If you can get it to work (I haven't tested it on the 2013 1220RT) then  see if you can get the right low beam to come on with the GS-911 & engine not running.

 

If you can, then with the right low beam on (engine not running yet) try reaching in then wiggling the wires at the L/H bulb to see if it will then come on. If that doesn't work then try rapping on the headlight lens with the palm of your hand (see if the vibrations bring the L/H bulb on). 

 

Unfortunately this is about all the help that a GS-911 will give you on headlight operation troubleshooting.  

 

If both the bulb terminal connections are tight & not burnt brown then personally I would just install a new bulb on that side just to eliminate a bulb issue as the cause so you don't end up spending a lot of time trying to find a problem that is simply a defective bulb.

 

 

 

[lather]

Afternoon dirtrider, thanks for the reply

 

Before I read your reply I got the GS-911 connected and the diagnostic app prompted me to do an autoscan, which I did. It found several fault codes including one for ZFE:

 

Fault Code Value 41729(0xA301)
             Description Low beam headlight 2 open-circuit
                  Currently present NO
Malfunction Indicator Light   NO
    Frequency 68
Logistic (Healing) count 36
Record number 0
Odometer 12447.0 km
Battery voltage 13.51 V
Speed 0.0 km/h

I do not know what most of this means but the headlight open-circuit is obvious. I assume the frequency means this has occured 68 times. 

The kilometer reading tells me it first started long before I owned the bike. My current odometer is 99,726 km.

 

Before I disconnected the GS-911 I cleared the fault codes so that I could start fresh the next time. And now the headlight issue is resolved! 

I rode145 miles today with several stops. The headlight never failed to come on at start up.

 

 

[dirtrider]

43 minutes ago, lather said:

Afternoon dirtrider, thanks for the reply

 

Before I read your reply I got the GS-911 connected and the diagnostic app prompted me to do an autoscan, which I did. It found several fault codes including one for ZFE:

 

Fault Code Value 41729(0xA301)
             Description Low beam headlight 2 open-circuit
                  Currently present NO
Malfunction Indicator Light   NO
    Frequency 68
Logistic (Healing) count 36
Record number 0
Odometer 12447.0 km
Battery voltage 13.51 V
Speed 0.0 km/h

I do not know what most of this means but the headlight open-circuit is obvious. I assume the frequency means this has occured 68 times. 

The kilometer reading tells me it first started long before I owned the bike. My current odometer is 99,726 km.

 

Before I disconnected the GS-911 I cleared the fault codes so that I could start fresh the next time. And now the headlight issue is resolved! 

I rode145 miles today with several stops. The headlight never failed to come on at start up.

 

 

Evening  lather

 

 Description Low beam headlight 2 open-circuit-- Telling you somethin that you already know as the light was out (not working). There is/was an open circuit, either in the bulb itself, or in a wire terminal, or a wire problem. This really hasn't told you anything useful.
                 

Currently present NO-- Just tells you at time of testing the problem wasn't there.

Malfunction Indicator Light   NO--- Tells you that at time of testing the dash "light out" warning was not on. 
    

Frequency 68-- Problem has happened  68 times since the last time the codes were cleared. 

 

Clearing the stored codes probably didn't repair it, at least I would be very surprised it it actually did so keep an eye on after it cools down overnight. See if it comes back at next overnight cold start.

[lather]

Will do, thanks.