Headlight Bulb problem

[JDog]

Looking for some advice before I take the bike to the dealer. The lowbeam on my 04 R1150RT went out a few days ago. I could see that the bulb had broken. So I read up in the BMW manual and Clymer (the Clymer is incorrect as far as procedure to get the bulb out, and seems to think there is only one bulb for high and low in the RT), and in spite of the inconsistencies in both, went for it. First off, the cover does not come out, have to push it to the side, which leaves little room to get even regular size hands or fingers in there. Well, the "plug" would not pull off the back from the bulb, so I undid the clip and took the assembly out. The bulb was wired directly to the leads????? (Obviously, the previous owner did something weird). Okay, so I cut the wires and put on leads slips to fit on the terminals of the new bulb (an H7). Put the bulb on and before attempting to put the bulb in the socket, tested. No soap. Put a meter on the leads to check to see if proper connection, and the meter burned out. (Cheap meter, but obviously power). And also checked the bulb, looks fine. Put the bulb on again, still no light. And, when I turn on the ignition, there is a short fast clicking sound, appears to be coming from the just under the front of the fuel tank. I've kept the bulb off, wrapped the ends of the leads with electric tape, and been riding--the fog lamp does okay as far as night riding and the high beam works fine. But again, each time I turn on the ignition, the short fast clicking sound.

 

I'm not an electrical person, but if anyone can steer me in the right direction before I bite the bullet and go to the local dealer, would appreciate it.

 

Thanks,

John (now from Redlands, CA)

[T__]

Looking for some advice before I take the bike to the dealer. The lowbeam on my 04 R1150RT went out a few days ago. I could see that the bulb had broken. So I read up in the BMW manual and Clymer (the Clymer is incorrect as far as procedure to get the bulb out, and seems to think there is only one bulb for high and low in the RT), and in spite of the inconsistencies in both, went for it. First off, the cover does not come out, have to push it to the side, which leaves little room to get even regular size hands or fingers in there. Well, the "plug" would not pull off the back from the bulb, so I undid the clip and took the assembly out. The bulb was wired directly to the leads????? (Obviously, the previous owner did something weird). Okay, so I cut the wires and put on leads slips to fit on the terminals of the new bulb (an H7). Put the bulb on and before attempting to put the bulb in the socket, tested. No soap. Put a meter on the leads to check to see if proper connection, and the meter burned out. (Cheap meter, but obviously power). And also checked the bulb, looks fine. Put the bulb on again, still no light. And, when I turn on the ignition, there is a short fast clicking sound, appears to be coming from the just under the front of the fuel tank. I've kept the bulb off, wrapped the ends of the leads with electric tape, and been riding--the fog lamp does okay as far as night riding and the high beam works fine. But again, each time I turn on the ignition, the short fast clicking sound.

 

I'm not an electrical person, but if anyone can steer me in the right direction before I bite the bullet and go to the local dealer, would appreciate it.

 

Thanks,

John (now from Redlands, CA)

 

John, you (or we) can’t tell much until you put a decent voltmeter on those headlight leads..

 

Even a cheap meter shouldn’t burn out (sounds like you had it on AMPS not volts)..Possibly just a blown fuse inside the meter..

 

Get a voltmeter (be SURE it is set to DC volts) across those leads to see if yo really do have power there.. If so,, suspect a bad bulb.. Try the bulb on a 12 volt battery direct..

 

You can also use a 12 volt test light to test for power at the terminals..

 

Be SURE to keep your oily fingers off the bulb glass (or clean with alcohol).. Those bulbs don’t last long with oily finger prints on them..

 

On the relay clicking.. It could just be your ABS relay cycling or someone could have added a headlight relay at one time because they added a high power headlight..

 

Just out of chance (& with the light terminals being different) there any chance someone had installed a HID light system in that bike? That uses an amplifier & the power to the light bulb is high voltage..

 

Twisty

[JDog]

Hi, Twisty

Yes, very good chance it was a HID. I couldn't tell much because the bulb was in pieces, but the light was a bright light beam. I did like it. One of the wires was connected to a blue "rod" that ran to the farther end of the bulb. That is likely why it is higher voltage and the bulb won't light? And the clicking is not from the ABS, only started when I took the bulb out.

 

John

[T__]

Hi, Twisty

Yes, very good chance it was a HID. I couldn't tell much because the bulb was in pieces, but the light was a bright light beam. I did like it. One of the wires was connected to a blue "rod" that ran to the farther end of the bulb. That is likely why it is higher voltage and the bulb won't light? And the clicking is not from the ABS, only started when I took the bulb out.

 

John

 

 

John, well if there is a chance you have an HID system (sounds like there might be) you will probably have to follow the wires back to the HID module & see if there is a name on it.. Hopefully there will be so then you can research what kind or HID unit you have (& that it is really an HID unit)..

 

Pretty difficult to help you unless we know more info about your lighting system..

 

The other thing would be to completely remove the HID hardware & go back to stock.. That is a step backwards if you had a good functioning HID system though..

 

If you can identify your HID unit you can probably just buy a new plug in HID bulb (there should be pigtail plugs somewhere back up the wires a ways)..

 

Anything in this picture look familiar?..

 

Twisty

 

 

 

 

 

[JDog]

Reading a little on HID (I'm not familiar with them), this sounds like it. The noise I am hearing seems to be the ignitor, plus higher voltage would probably been the reason it toasted the voltmeter.

 

I'll see if I can do what you suggest, tho this might be beyond my ability/patience, But, just replacing the bulb sounds like a better way to go, if I can find out what I replace it with!

 

Thanks,

John

[T__]

Reading a little on HID (I'm not familiar with them), this sounds like it. The noise I am hearing seems to be the ignitor, plus higher voltage would probably been the reason it toasted the voltmeter.

 

I'll see if I can do what you suggest, tho this might be beyond my ability/patience, But, just replacing the bulb sounds like a better way to go, if I can find out what I replace it with!

 

Thanks,

John

 

 

John, are there ANY markings on the base of the bulb you pulled out? Maybe something there will allow a bulb match up.. Some of those HID bulbs are quite pricy so you really want to make sure you have the correct one..

 

Can you call the last owner to see if he/she can tell you what was installed?

 

Twisty

[JDog]

Unfortunately, the bulb was in pieces, and worse, I pitched the pieces.

 

I'll try to follow the leads and see where they go. Sounds like the ignitor is in the instrument panel. Haven't stripped down that far yet, but might be worth the time. Either way, I want to get the headlight in order. Any idea how much time if I took it to the BMW tech?

 

John

[DavidEBSmith]

Also, be careful poking around in there, since HID systems put out a few thousand volts to start the arc in the bulb.

[JDog]

Ouch. Is there anything else I need to know, although I do plan on keeping the key out of the ignition!

[T__]

Ouch. Is there anything else I need to know, although I do plan on keeping the key out of the ignition!

 

John, the typical starting voltage on a HID system is between 23Kv to 25Kv A/C (slightly above a standard ignition coil).. That will give you a pretty good poke if you are near or touching the output side during the starting sequence (don’t ask me how I know this) .. Most HID systems operate at around 70-100 volts while producing light once started so that is lower than the starting voltage..

 

Next thing to watch for is heat.. Both the ballast & bulb get very hot while operating so be careful of being burnt also..

 

Twisty

[NoHeat]

Unfortunately, the bulb was in pieces, and worse, I pitched the pieces.

 

I'll try to follow the leads and see where they go. Sounds like the ignitor is in the instrument panel. Haven't stripped down that far yet, but might be worth the time. Either way, I want to get the headlight in order. Any idea how much time if I took it to the BMW tech?

 

John

 

Sounds like there's little hope of figuring out which HID aftermarket product you've got, if you don't know where it came from, have no documentation and no bulb.

 

Your BMW dealer probably won't have much relevant experience with aftermarket HID installation (I think my local dealer did it first installation last year, using a kit provided by the customer), much less repairing the multitude of various aftermarket kits out there.

 

If that's the case, I would plan on not fixing the HID setup you've got.

 

I think your best bet at this point is to try to restore your bike so that it uses an OEM headlight bulb with the OEM cable. If your HID setup is like mine, it does still have the OEM cable and socket for a bulb, and all you have to do is disconnect the cables connected to the HID igniter and ballast. If you can't do this yourself, I'd bet the BMW dealer can handle it -- especially if you don't ask them to do anything clever with the HID stuff -- because the OEM wiring setup should be quite familiar to them.

[ArthurKnowles]

I can't say that all hid bulbs, follow this rule, but so far all the kits I have seen are ds2 bulbs with different bases. So buying a replacement bulb is easy. Just check your manual to find the right base (h7, h3, h11, etc.) and buy a replacement bulb from the vendor of your choice.

 

As an fyi, ds2 hid bulbs have two keyed round connectors that only fit one way. The ballast has these connectors on one end, and a dual pin single connector for input power.

 

H3/h7/etc. bulb use a dual flat spade connector. Even without t e buob you should be able to decide if you have h9d or not. Just follow the wires from the bulb. If they terminate in a box it is most li

ely hid. All hid boxes have a high voltage warning.

[MikeHill]

John,

 

I just installed a HID lighting system in my 2002 R1150RT. I would recommend the following site to get the H7 low beam you need.

 

If you have a HID system in there you won't want to go back to a stock lighting system.

 

http://www.cqlight.ca/index.php?cPath=22

 

 

Mike

[JDog]

Thanks, guys. I'm almost positive the base had H7 marked on it, before I chucked it (that'll teach me to throw things away before I know what's going on). It's going to be a bit before I can spend a few hours taking the TW off, as well as maybe doing some other maintenance (hmmm, maybe this week I'll do it), but I will post what I find out.

 

You're right, tho, I would really like to keep what I have.

 

Gracias,

John

[Trinity]

A few weeks ago, I installed an H1 HID from the same vendor as MikeHill used...quick service and relatively easy plug-n-play install. Light output compared to the stock (i.e., pathetic) bulb is simply amazing and so far (800+ miles), there have been no mechanical or electical issues.