Hi At some point during my engine replacement the headlight has stopped working, the fuse is ok and the relay seems ok, everything else is working and the bulbs seem ok. Any ideas? thanks
I have metered both spade connections at one bulb and they both circuit to earth but not sure if this is right as the other bulbs are still connected so I think that would give the earth via the filament..??
Ive checked wires in the past with a meter and the readings were fine, until there loaded with a current drawn on them and then they fail, only needs a few broken or corroded strands or a pinched wire to make a massive difference
I have metered the cables on the head light relay and only one wire has 12v, when I turn on the ign I can hear/feel the relay clicking which suggests the low amp circuit is working, but none of the other wires are live, I would expect there to be 2 live wires, once on the low amp and one of the high amp. Looks like the problem is the hi amp feed to the relay is dead so now I've got to try and find which wire is the feed and where it goes...
Just done some digging about during my lunch break and found the following. The light relay is supplied by the starter relay (connection 87a (middle)) as per this great pic: I think this problem started when I removed all the relays (they were filthy) and one of the wires (not 87a) came away from the starter relay connector block due to corrosion, I have put a temp wire in so the bike can be started (looping outside the connector and poked into the spade connector hole), maybe there are other problems with the starter relay so that's my next point of testing. To prove this I will put a direct feed from the battery onto term 30 on the headlight relay bypassing the starter relay, if the lights come on then I know it't the starter relay, if they don't - I'll set it on fire!!
I'll second that shout of - Your well on your way to a solution, well done no doubt very soon you'll be riding again in the dark. very interesting and en lightening post
As I thought, badly corroded wires on the Starter Relay: The purple is the supply from a 20A fuse, the blue supplies the head light relay and black to the starter solenoid (located beside the battery under the seat), the yellow/brown goes to the ECU and white/red to the starter button. As you can see in the second pic, I temp attached the broken wires directly to the relay and all is good Hopefully this will arrive tomorrow to replace the whole lot and at £2.89 I don't mind if it works or not: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262493922961
Good Job XT Bloke, I agree with you that should take care of your problems, and to be honest many problems yet to show themselves, Them wires are rotten many problems avoided very well done, Be Proud XT
Might be an idea to put some vaseline in and around the plug connector and the wires to reduce the possibility of this happening again?
Didn't you used to be able to get a special anti corrosion grease for electrical terminals - sort of dark red colour - or am I imagining this (along with many other things!)
My concern with any sticky stuff is it attracts dust. The bike had been sat in a damp garage for 3 years when I bought it so I don't expect this level of corrosion to be common place. I have 40 year old bikes with no corrosion (1976 XT500).
If I remember back to when I had a Sprint, water getting in to the relay packs was a known issue, especially if the rubber mounting strap fails and they droop on their side. I'm sure there was a recommendation to lash a crude cover over them for extra protection.
I always thought the idea of putting it on battery terminals was to stop a circuit between the connections in damp weather conditions via the moist air.
