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Headlamp/Passing lamps went out!!

james

New Member
Howdy,

I got an 04 FLHR. Like new condition. Has Headwinds dresser front lites setup. Went to store few nites ago and lites were all shining good. Low beam and spotlamps (or passing lamps) were on and working fine. I come out of store, turn bike on and now I have no hi/lo beam or passing lamps. All other lites work fine. No fuses blown. I have scorpio alarm system. I have the HD garage door opener feature (you toggle back and forth w/Hi and Lo beam to activate garage door). The blue lite on dash that signals Hi beam does not come on. When I got home, could not activate garage door. I've checked the wiring. Is there a relay for the Hi/Lo beam function? Thought there was one somewhere since the Hi/Lo handlebar switch is just a toggle back and forth type button switch. Would seem that by toggling the Hi/Lo beam, you are activating a relay somewhere that provides the correct power. I just ordered the H-D elec. manual w/troubleshooting tips for my bike but thought I'd ask here while I wait. All the grounds look good. All connections are clean.
 
With the garage door hooked into the system and the replacement headlight unit (headwinds) , I would check the wiring in the nacelle for a loose/bad connection with a test lamp after rechecking the fuses.

I've also seen a bad ignition switch (contacts) cause this problem too.
 
I was thinking about the ignition switch as well. Been through all the wiring. Either the ign. switch, a relay or I lost ground for this one particular circuit. I've already bypassed the H-D garage door module to see if that was the culprit, but no change. Weird that just the one Hi-/Lo beam and passing lamp circuit stopped working.
 
Check the pins in the plug for the lights and the passing lights. I think they are blue and purple for the passing lights that join into a common plug, If one works the other should too. Sometimes the pins work out of the socket enough to break the connection. A safety pin bent open inserted in the back of the plug on the top of the wire terminal just between the crimp on the end terminal will release the pin from the socket if need be.

The passing lamps are wired off JUST the low beam circuit too, so if you find the culprit why the low beam isn't working, you'll no doubt find the problem for the passing light as well. Maybe try a 12v jumper to the low beam plug housing and see if the lights all come on then. Back track from there to see where you loose the 12V in the circuit with a test light, easiest way.
 
Recently had a similar problem on my RG. After checking all the electric, switch etc. I found that the headlight fuse was blown. This was a smaller fuse assembly that was seperate from the main fuses. The biggest problem I had was finding the darn thing. (I had to refer to the manual to find it). Once discovered I changed the fuse and the headlights were back on.

In case you interested...it is under the cover, to the right of the regular fuse assembly tucked in the back a little.

BTW - while I was in ther I changed the fuses to Blow-N-Glow to make it a lot easier to find a problem the next time.
 
Thanks to all. I may have to do the glo fuses too. My problem was the PM micro switch for the Hi/Lo beam cannot handle the current normal for headlite/spotlamps. Switch is quite small. Dare I say built for looks over performance? Installed new PM micro switch (royal pain in the arse) and they charged me for the dang switch! Now I have to install a relay so I do not continue to blow the switch. I need a wiring diagram on how to install a 12 V relay so that the PM handlebar micro switch only powers (toggles) the relay and the relay in turn handles the current/voltage draw of the lites.
 
I had a similar problem this weekend while on my '08 FLSTC and asking for some advice since I can't get to a dealer for a while. While doing a HOG run, my headlights/passing lamps/fog lights went out (brakes, turn signals and all marker lights still on). I replaced the 15A fuse in the main fuse box under the seat (it was blown), and all good. The next day I rode to our skydiving drop zone (all lights on), but when I left, no lights again. I have 2 spare fuses but obviously I want to find the problem.
Does anyone have some troubleshooting tips for a mechanical rookie?
 
You (or the dealer) will have to go through the wiring to find where the short is in order to eliminate the problem.
 
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