2002 Headlight Problems

[Project9928]

When I bought my '02 R1, I noticed that the headlight doesn't come when the ignition is switched on.

When the headlight switch is on lowbeam the lights are off and then when you switch to high beam the low beam comes on. The side lights work fine.

I have been told that the headlight relay has gone. I would have though that if the headlight relay had gone, neither high beam or low beam would work.

I'm thinking its a problem with the switch or wiring.

Anyone experienced any problems like this before?

[Gradog]

Not experienced on this but if you have a wiring diagram I can probably prove the fault for you.
____________________
Grey haired bikers don't get that way from pure luck. Only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of the car window.

[finpos]

No specific experience of an R1, but I don't know of a single car or bike that comes from the factory with a headlight relay. The power for the headlight is normally fed directly through the switch. Reasons being 1. It's cheaper and 2. It's one less component failure from you being upside down in a field at 4am in the morning.

Assuming the above is correct, from what you describe, either:
a) someone has butchered the wiring, probably between the switch and the headlight.
b) someone has made an utter cock of jamming the headlight bulb(s) the wrong way into their sockets, or fitted the wrong bulb(s)
c) What you think is low beam is actually high beam, low beam doesn't work at all and the headlight is badly aligned. Side lights are completely separate.

finpos.

[gixxersixx]

[Project9928]

[Project9928]

[finpos]

If it does have relays, then between the switches and the lamps is exactly where they will be.

I've seen a couple of twin-light bikes where the headlight wiring has been, err, modified because people don't like the light pattern (one on the other off on low beam), but sounds like you have pair of H4s so that shouldn't be the case.

I'm a little perplexed about the way the headlights are wired up, though, because (supposedly) one of the reasons you have two is that they don't both go into the same failure mode if something (a relay?) breaks - then you are always left with some light. But I guess that's not the case.

By the way, you'll be suprised what people can do with H4s if they push and twist them hard enough

finpos.

[Project9928]

[finpos]

Found a wiring diagram online and had a quick look at it for you:

1. Yamaha indeed haven't bothered with using the headlights in a redundent manner. Dual headlights for looking fancy, then

2. 95% certain the suspect is the secondary relay (five-pin relay labeled "65 - headlight relay (dimmer)" in the workshop manual). From what you describe, the associated wiring should all be ok, with the exception of the wiring between that relay and the low beam filament (B/G) which hasn't been seen to work yet. (Previous owner butchery not accounted for)

3. However, that relay seems to have gone into a very odd failure mode. You should be able to whip it out and test it off the bike easily enough - it's a simple changeover relay. Alternately, you can short out the correct (B/L to B/G = low beam, B/L to B/Y = high beam, don't blame me etc. ) pins in it's socket to see if the lights come on as expected.

Good luck!

finpos.

[Project9928]

[Project9928]

Well I got the relay that the dealer had for me and it doesn't work......... probably because its for a diffrent bike lol.

They gave me a 5 pin relay and I should have a 4 pin relay..... great .

The bike is going to be taken apart tomorrow so I can get a good look at the wiring.

[finpos]

On the wiring diagram I looked at, the 5-pin relay is indeed the right one - if you found a 4 pin one, that was (probably) the primary (on-off) relay. They are the same shape.

The secondary (dimmer) relay should have the B/L, B/Y and B/G wires going to it, plus two more that I can't remember the colour of.

Keep digging

finpos.

[Project9928]

lol back to the haynes manual.

Well what I'm going to do is have a look to check that theres nothing wrong with the wiring and have a little play with the relays.

Needless to say I won't go back to the dealer.

[Project9928]

Well took a good look at the wiring today and everything is in A1 condition and nothing has been altered.

I'm going to get a headlight relay from a Yamaha dealer and see if that works, also I can pick the brains of the mechanics there.

[finpos]

Ehhh, have you not already got it - the 5 pin relay (aka. secondary relay, aka headlight relay (dimmer) ) is the suspect one. Did you find the old one on your bike and replace it with the new one from the dealer? If all you found was a 4 pin relay, you found the wrong one.

There isn't one relay per headlight, they act together on both headlights:
The 4 pin relay (primary, headlight(on-off) ) turns both lights on/off
the 5 pin relay (secondary, headlight (dimmer) ) switches both headlights between main and dip.

Or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

finpos.

[Project9928]

lol nope you've got it completely right.

Just taken a look at the wiring diagram and I got to the 2 mixed up. Also the primary relay was the one that the garage were messing around with so i don't think they would have fixed it lol.

I've got to get another relay anyway because I broke one of the clips by accident on the one they gave me before i fitted it up.

Should be fully up and running friday

Thanks mate

[Project9928]

All sorted now at last.

There was no 2nd relay present...... just a bit of wire looped back on it self where the relay should be lol. Pulled it out and pluged in the relay and woohoo I have lights

[finpos]

Smashing job. I see what yer man has tried to do there with his bit of wire, but he didn't actually short out the correct two pins in the socket.

finpos.

[Project9928]

I can't see why someone would want to do whatever this guy has, but then again I think the bike has only been ridden in daytime and no further then 10 miles lol.