• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Bright then Dim headlight

  • Thread starter Thread starter TBucket32
  • Start date Start date
T

TBucket32

Guest
Hi folks.

Towards the end of the 2006 riding season, I noticed the headlight on my '83 GS550ES was starting to get really bright, then rapidly dim as I rode. This usually happened for the first 10 miles of riding, then I didn't notice it after (maybe because the sun was coming up by that point). The bike had a new battary in mid season of 2006. This started all of a sudden too.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
 
TBucket32 said:
Hi folks.

Towards the end of the 2006 riding season, I noticed the headlight on my '83 GS550ES was starting to get really bright, then rapidly dim as I rode. This usually happened for the first 10 miles of riding, then I didn't notice it after (maybe because the sun was coming up by that point). The bike had a new battary in mid season of 2006. This started all of a sudden too.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

A shift in brightness/dimness of the headlight is almost ALWAYS a problem with the headlight GROUND connection. Bolts connecting the headlight bucket to the forks, and any wires that are tied to ground anywhere near the headlight bucket should be checked to ensure they are not dirty or 'intermittent'... That's where I'd look first. If anyone has any better ideas they may speak up.

But any time you get BRIGHT then DIM then BRIGHT indicates a ground problem (or an alternator problem with intermittent charging, which is another can of worms....)

Good luck.
 
My 550 did that once. The negetive battery cable had come loose from the frame.
 
wharrah said:
...any time you get BRIGHT then DIM then BRIGHT indicates a ground problem (or an alternator problem with intermittent charging, which is another can of worms....)
Click to expand...

If the problem seems to occur on High Beam but not Low Beam, do you still think its a bad ground problem? My '79 850 is doing this.

Tomcat
 
tomcat24551 said:
If the problem seems to occur on High Beam but not Low Beam, do you still think its a bad ground problem? My '79 850 is doing this.

Tomcat
Click to expand...
Sure. More current is being puled on high beam. Listen to the folks here. 95% it's a bad ground.
 
I had problems with my 79GS850 too. Headlight would dim when any load was placed on the electrical system. TAKE a close look at the ign switch
 
The reason it happens on high beam is that without a ground, it ALWAYS tries to go through the low beam. When you have low beam selected, no problem. When you have high beam selected, it is trying to go through BOTH of them, and the extra draw is just a bit too much.

Just a quick rule of thumb for electrical problems...

If it is doing really strange stuff...IT'S A BAD GROUND. 8-[


.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top