Posted by oasysco on March 23, 2008, 9:00 pm
1991 Kawasaki ZX6R; 600cc 4 banger.
The symptom is; start bike and 1/2 the time the headlight doesn't come
on. Taillights; running lights, turn signals, brake lights - all work.
Bike starts up fine, too. When the headlight comes on, the high and
low beams do work.
Doesn't make any dif if the bike is warm or cold; 50% of the time the
headlight doesn't come on . you have to stop and restart.
Ideas?
Thanks,
Greg
Posted by Polarhound on March 23, 2008, 11:11 pm
oasysco wrote:
> 1991 Kawasaki ZX6R; 600cc 4 banger.
>
> The symptom is; start bike and 1/2 the time the headlight doesn't come
> on. Taillights; running lights, turn signals, brake lights - all work.
> Bike starts up fine, too. When the headlight comes on, the high and
> low beams do work.
>
> Doesn't make any dif if the bike is warm or cold; 50% of the time the
> headlight doesn't come on . you have to stop and restart.
Bad ground. Intermittent contact.
Posted by Bob Myers on March 23, 2008, 11:35 pm
> oasysco wrote:
>> 1991 Kawasaki ZX6R; 600cc 4 banger.
>>
>> The symptom is; start bike and 1/2 the time the headlight doesn't come
>> on. Taillights; running lights, turn signals, brake lights - all work.
>> Bike starts up fine, too. When the headlight comes on, the high and
>> low beams do work.
>>
>> Doesn't make any dif if the bike is warm or cold; 50% of the time the
>> headlight doesn't come on . you have to stop and restart.
> Bad ground. Intermittent contact.
And intermittent electrical problems absolutely suck
to try to fix. Outside of agreeing with Polar that it's a
bad/intermittent contact somewhere (either in the ground
or the "hot" line), about the only advice I could give would
be to get a wiring diagram for the bike, and check
everything having to do with the headlight getting juice.
Pull on the wires, tap and jiggle the switches, etc..
Question: once the bike is started and the light IS on,
does it stay that way or is it intermittent while you're
riding? Assuming it DOES stay on, my guess would be
a sticky relay, which , once pulled in, keeps the circuit
closed OK.
Bob M.
Posted by David T. Ashley on March 24, 2008, 3:12 am
>> oasysco wrote:
>>> 1991 Kawasaki ZX6R; 600cc 4 banger.
>>>
>>> The symptom is; start bike and 1/2 the time the headlight doesn't come
>>> on. Taillights; running lights, turn signals, brake lights - all work.
>>> Bike starts up fine, too. When the headlight comes on, the high and
>>> low beams do work.
>>>
>>> Doesn't make any dif if the bike is warm or cold; 50% of the time the
>>> headlight doesn't come on . you have to stop and restart.
>>
>> Bad ground. Intermittent contact.
> And intermittent electrical problems absolutely suck
> to try to fix. Outside of agreeing with Polar that it's a
> bad/intermittent contact somewhere (either in the ground
> or the "hot" line), about the only advice I could give would
> be to get a wiring diagram for the bike, and check
> everything having to do with the headlight getting juice.
> Pull on the wires, tap and jiggle the switches, etc..
> Question: once the bike is started and the light IS on,
> does it stay that way or is it intermittent while you're
> riding? Assuming it DOES stay on, my guess would be
> a sticky relay, which , once pulled in, keeps the circuit
> closed OK.
To the OP: your post sounded that way to me as well (that the connection
wouldn't exhibit intermittency once the bike was started).
I would guess a relay as well.
I don't know anything about bike electrical systems (but I do know something
about cars) ...
If your bike turns off the headlight and any other electrical accessories
while cranking, there is probably a relay in there to accomplish that logic.
If the connection doesn't go intermittent once the bike is started ...
sounds like a failing relay rather a bad ground or similar problem.
If this seems plausible, I would drill a small hole in the relay case (or
just find an opening), squirt in a bunch of WD-40, drain out any excess, and
see what happens ...
Or buy a new one ..
Posted by Rob Kleinschmidt on March 24, 2008, 1:03 pm
> If your bike turns off the headlight and any other electrical accessories
> while cranking, there is probably a relay in there to accomplish that logic.
> If the connection doesn't go intermittent once the bike is started ...
> sounds like a failing relay rather a bad ground or similar problem.
> If this seems plausible, I would drill a small hole in the relay case (or
> just find an opening), squirt in a bunch of WD-40, drain out any excess, and
> see what happens ...
> Or buy a new one ..
Before drilling holes in stuff or replacing parts, pull the
relay, clean the legs and try to check if it's getting full
power. Could well be crapped up contacts anywhere
between the battery and relay.
XML Sitemap
>
> The symptom is; start bike and 1/2 the time the headlight doesn't come
> on. Taillights; running lights, turn signals, brake lights - all work.
> Bike starts up fine, too. When the headlight comes on, the high and
> low beams do work.
>
> Doesn't make any dif if the bike is warm or cold; 50% of the time the
> headlight doesn't come on . you have to stop and restart.