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FJR w/no headlights

Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
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Location
San Antonio, Tx
Went out to my bike (09 FJR/Gen 2) this morning, hit the starter and had no headlights. No high or low beams. When I rode it last (Sunday) it was wet, but everything was working fine. I checked the fuses, found one burned out 3a fuse, replaced it to no avail. Where do I go from here? Not even sure what to check. I assume the bulbs are good, since the likelihood of them both failing at the same time is pretty slim (they're different age bulbs...) Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Chris
 
you should always check the bulbs. work from the problem back.

check bulbs
bulbs good? check for power at the plugs
No power at the plug? trace back to the relay or fuse (fuses can look good, but be bad)
 
Well, another reason I know it's not the headlights is my driving lights are hooked into the same wiring and aren't turning on either. So it's safe to assume there's no power at the plug. Not sure where the relays for the headlights are...Tested the fuses w/a test light, so I know there's power on both sides of them...
 
Check your throttle-side switchgear/starter button. Have seen some bikes get corrosion inside keeping the headlights from coming back on after the bike is started.
 
ok on the fjr 1300 there is a headlight fuse that sends power to the headlight on relay and to the high beam switch, the headlight is turned on by the ECM providing a ground to the headlight relay. when that relay is energized by the ecm closing the ground circuit it sends power to the relay that switches between low and high beam.

old Yamahas and Kawasakis had a interesting circuit in their voltage regulators that only powered the headlight when there was positive charging voltage, I think the FJR uses the ECM to turn on the light when it see's positive charging current.

check voltage with bike running, if it has positive charging voltage check the turn on relay for power and also ground when engine running.\
that relay should be marked #1 it will have a blue wire with black marks, red wire with yellow marks, green with blue marks and a yellow with black marks.
the yellow with black marks wire is the ground/ control wire to the ecm.
 
Since you said your last ride when they were working was wet check all plugs on that circuit. Water and/or corrosion may be causing a short or loss of continuity.
 
This is key. I don't know how long I had my bike before I realized that the headlights didn't come on till the bike was running vs just turned on like all my previous bikes. :giveup:

my ZRX and other kawasaki use a nifty latching relay, on the old late 70's 80's bikes there was a dedicated output from the R&R to power the headlight.

the FJR ECU controls the headlight, in this case from easy to expensive, bulbs burned out, #1 relay has failed, critter has chewed through wire/s/ wire rubbed through, ECU has failed internally and is not completing the ground circuit.

the three amp fuse was likely in the number 4 slot, that is power fuse for windshield.

there is also the ground for the bulbs, it ties in with other grounds, is the front turn signals working or is just the rear lights lighting up? that would be a bad main ground for the front lights.
 
Leon's idea was the first thing that came to my mind. There were a lot of bikes that wouldn't turn on the headlights if the charging system wasn't working. Other than that, start at the bulbs and start working backwards to find voltage. A wiring diagram would be a big help.
 
some research on the subject (you caught me on a unexpected vacation) shows that gen 2 bikes are somewhat prone to the relay failing.
that's the good news.
bad news is the whole nose has to come apart to get to it.

they also have ground spider issues.
 
Check your throttle-side switchgear/starter button. Have seen some bikes get corrosion inside keeping the headlights from coming back on after the bike is started.

This was an intermittent issue with Honda NT700's. A squirt of WD40 was a quick fix. Good luck finding a solution.
 
Yamaha does in fact install spiders, and they are prone to failure. There's some fixes for them out there though. They are good to check up on from time to time. Most is included or referenced in my link above about headlights not coming on.
 
Well, had to tear the fairings off to find the problem...After it mysteriously resolved itself, I went to put things back together and it broke again (stopped getting power to the headlight ports.) Then it magically was fixed again, then broken, then I took a look at the headlight connection just past the battery and figure out the problem. The connector was scorched and so it was only making intermittent contact. This afternoon, I'll run a jumper over that connector so that I've got working headlights...I also found in the course of this that both of my headlights had burned out. Probably from getting hit randomly w/full power...So I've got new headlights to go in as well.

Picture of the guilty connector - https://goo.gl/photos/fcxu4AMHr7vGk5hR9

Thanks for the help y'all!

Chris
 
Ah the wonderful cheap low grade plug that has driven cyclist batty for close to 40 years now and the big 4 keep using them.
 
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