Argh. Headlight and Taillight Only Work Sporadically

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  • MadCapsule
    • Feb 2026
    #1

    Argh. Headlight and Taillight Only Work Sporadically

    They just cut out randomly.

    It seems like it may be vibration related. The headlight will flick on for a second when I'm shifting. I can sometimes get the light to come on momentarily if I'm stopped and I turn the bars all the way to either side, but if I straighten them out the headlight shuts off again. I can also get the light to flicker on sometimes by bouncing on the seat. The strange part is that I can't get the headlight to come on by jiggling any of the wires coming from the gauge cluster or the headlight bucket.

    The taillight only seems to work when the headlight does.

    I checked and cleaned all the connections when I installed the wiring harness Chuck sent me, but I'll go over them again. In the meantime, any thoughts on what the culprit may be would be greatly appreciated.
    Tags: None
    • cowboyup3371
      Forum LongTimer
      Past Site Supporter
      • Apr 2010
      • 13996
      • In Ohio Now
      #2
      Check to see if your fuse isn't properly inserted...it's possible it might be coming out or the slot is so dirty it's not making a proper connection.
      Cowboy Up or Quit. - Run Free Lou and Rest in Peace

      1981 GS550T - My First
      1981 GS550L - My Eldest Daughter's - Now Sold
      2007 GSF1250SA Bandit - My touring bike

      Sit tall in the saddle Hold your head up high
      Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky and live like you ain't afraid to die
      and don't be scared, just enjoy your ride - Chris Ledoux, "The Ride"

        Comment

        • Guest
          #3
          Wire

          If you can make it go off or on by moving your handlebars, it almost has to be a wire. The wiring bundle that comes out under your headlamp moves slightly every time you turn your bars from side to side. You should be able to easily isolate the problem with a decent wiring schematic and a multimeter (or even without a multimeter).

            Comment

            • Guest
              #4
              Dirty ignition switch, maybe?

                Comment

                • Guest
                  #5
                  One more try

                  It looks like your bike only has one fuse so I don't think that could be the problem. There is a ground wire that goes between the headlight and tail light that grounds to the frame (I don't know where). It should be easy to find that and check it out. Also, your connections could be really good but if you have a broken wire, that could easily be the problem.
                  Last edited by Guest; 09-01-2011, 03:42 PM.

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                    • MadCapsule
                      #6
                      Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I'll give them all a shot tomorrow and report back.

                      Let's hope it has absolutely nothing to do with the ignition switch.

                      How Do I Remove the Ignition Switch? - The GSResources Forums
                      http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=178539
                      I've tried searching and I come up with threads for members that have already removed it and have a different question. The wires leading into the ignition switch on my bike are fried and I need to remove the switch to get at them. Do I just pry up that little plastic crown on top? It seems like it would break.

                        Comment

                        • MadCapsule
                          #7
                          Well, I cleaned up all the bullet connectors all grounds again and that seems to have fixed the problem.

                          I'm not sure exactly where the problem was, but at least I can see and be seen, so I'm happy and safe once again.

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