FIXED Odd, low beam very dim, all else works OK

Switched bulbs, check
checked battery, check
started looking around to see whats a miss, and I'm stumped.
Low voltage at plug.....suspicious as I JUST washed it, could be coincidence..
Looking around the fairing, its dry however.

You should have 12 volts on both high and low beam setings.

HEADLIGHT
RED with BLACK stripe, High Beam.
RED with YELLOW stripe, Low Beam.
BLACK with YELLOW stripe, the ground circuit.

If not, start by checking the condition of the headlight switch, as I suspect dirty contacts, or failing solder joints there.

Also do this:

Cleaning Motorcycle Electrics

1. Get some of the De-Oxit electrical contact cleaner and figure on spending a good day going from the front of the bike to the back. It’s a plastic safe cleaner/preservative. www.deoxit.com is their website. It can be purchased at most Radio Shack Stores or any electronic supply places. Or use any plastic safe electrical contact cleaner(NOT WD-40 !).

2. On the older Kawasaki's, a majority of electrical connectors are inside the headlight housing requiring removal of the headlight, then the fun begins.

3. Do one set of electrical connectors at a time to avoid mixing up what connects to where. Usually disconnecting, spraying with De-Oxit and reconnecting is about all you'll need.

4. However, when encountering the green crud of corrosion, a brass wire brush may be needed on the pins you can reach. Some 400-600 grit wet and dry sandpaper strips rolled into a tube should reach the male and female pins in the more difficult to clean connectors.

5. Smoker’s pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and wooden toothpicks work as cleaning aids.

6. Really small electrical connectors may require the use of a welders tip cleaning tool assortment.

7. Most pins in the connectors are coated with a thin plating of tin, and others may be nothing more than copper or brass.

8. If moisture is added, the resulting corrosion lowers the voltage/current being carried causing dim lights, slow engine cranking, slow turn signal responce and lower input voltage to the ignition coils resulting in weak spark.

9. The left and right handlebar switch pods will need attention too as they have circuit functions like turn, horn, run/stop, and start. The older Kawasaki’s have reports of the soldered connections crumbling, if your bike has this problem, just ask, as I’ve got a repair procedure for this.

10. Usually a spritz or two with actuation of the switch is about all needed for these switches unless corrosion is detected and then careful disassembly is required.

11. The ignition switch may or may be not sealed to allow spraying the internal contacts. I urge caution if attempting to open this up as springs, and ball bearings may fly out never to be seen again!

12. If your bike has the older style glass tubed fuses, I suggest replacing them as vibration can cause internal failure. AGX is the type used, and most auto parts stores can get them for you, along with boating supply stores.

13. Clean the fuse holder clips, looking for signs of overheating(discolored insulation, signs of melting). I use metal polish on a cotton swab, followed by spraying another clean swab with the De-Oxit and then rubbing the inside of the fuse clip.

14. All battery cables must be clean and tight for maximum current transfer. Check the cables going from the Negative(-) battery terminal/post to the engine mounting bolt

15. Also the one going from the Positive(+) terminal to the starter solenoid and from there to the starter motor.

16. If any battery cable feels ”Crunchy” when flexed, replace it as possible corrosion is inside the insulation. Inspect all heavy duty battery cables and the smaller wire terminations(Bullet Connectors), for failed crimps, and those used in the electrical connectors, as they can fail over time.

17. Each "Bullet Connector" will have to be sprayed to ensure good connectivity, especially the ones going to the energizing coil of the starter solenoid.

18. The alternator output “Bullet Connectors” are usually behind the engine sprocket cover and will need inspecting and cleaning too.

20. The turn signal light sockets will benefit from a spritz from the contact cleaner along with the tail light/brake light socket.

21. Some brake light switches can be sprayed on the actuating rod, with the spray running down inside to the electrical contacts, others may be sealed requiring replacement if the switch is intermittent in operation.

22. Some people put the Di-Electric Grease on cleaned terminations/connectors, I don’t, as I’ve read/heard it can cause problems when it gets hot, actually insulating the connections, so the choice is yours to use or not.

I think I've covered about all of the electrical systems on the bike.........

“I spent a weekend going through every electrical connection and switch on the bike with a little scotchbrite pad and DeOxit - what a difference! Everything was brighter, gauge backlights, indicator lights, turn signals, I was getting a nicer spark, it fired up quicker, etc. Well worth my time. WELL worth it! “

From a forum member at www.kzrider.com





Why WD-40 Should Not Be Used On Motorcycle Electrical Items.

For many years, I was proponent of the use of WD-40 on fuse clips, fuses, switches and connectors. After hearing of other peoples experience with intermittent and sporadic activity, I shrugged it off as maybe they did something wrong in the application of the product.


It wasn’t until the time I rode my 1982 GPz1100 B2 model to downtown San Diego that I encountered the problems others had gone through.

After concluding my business downtown, I walked to where my bike was parked, turned the key to unlock the forks, and prepared to start the engine. The key was in the "On" position, yet I had no lights in the dash panel, the fuel pump was not running(I have FI), and the horn and tail light were not working.


Puzzled as to why nothing electrical was happening, I remember my earlier conversations about how WD-40 will over time become a non-conductor(more like an insulator). I had some pieces of 400 and 600 grit sandpaper in my tool kit and with them was able to scratch away the coating from the WD-40 on the fuses and clips.

After removing the insulating film, the bike started and ran like it should. Since that time, I’ve told people about the problem with WD-40. If you must use a contact cleaner, I recommend getting some "De-oxit" from Radio Shack Stores or any good electronic supply store.

If while cleaning the electrical switches, you dicover failed or failing solder joints, here's a repair procedure:

Read this for a primer on hand soldering: technologyinterface.nmsu.edu/fall97/electronics/solder.html

Repairing Motorcycle Soldered Connections on the older bikes.

When repairing soldered wires on motorcycle switches or light bulbs sockets, have the following on hand:

1. A 25 Watt soldering iron or one that the wattage can be adjusted.

2. Rosin core solder of 60/40 type. SN60 or SN63 is preferred.

3. Rosin flux or soldering paste (Never use solder or soldering paste designed for plumbing work, as it contains an acid that will corrode the electrical joint, ruining it).

4. 91% rubbing Alcohol, or 70%. The lower percentage will clean up flux residue, but not as good as the higher percentage stuff. Acetone does a good job of removing excess solder flux too.

5. A cut down ½” paint brush, or acid brush for scrubbing the repaired solder joint.

6. Clean rags or paper towels

7. A damp sponge to keep the soldering iron tip clean.

8. Some “Solder Wick” a braided bare copper wire designed to collect heated excess solder, aiding in joint preperation, available at electronic supply stores.

9. Some wooden toothpicks.

10. Small Hemostats or clip on heatsinks.

A. Before soldering, “Tin” the soldering iron tip by plugging it in or turning the iron on, allowing it to get to operating temperature(2-3 minutes).

B. Unroll about 3” of solder from the roll of rosin core solder & then using a clean rag or paper towel moistened with Alcohol, wipe the unrolled solder, removing the finger print oils that will create a poor solder joint.

C. Apply a small amount of solder to the now heated soldering iron tip, wiping the excess off with the wet sponge, keeping a thin layer on the soldering iron.

D. The soldering iron is now ready for use, but before applying the heated tip to a wire, wipe the tip on the damp sponge, this removes any oxidized solder and makes for a much better connection.

E. If the joint to be repaired is grey in color or appears “Crumbled”, apply some rosin soldering paste or flux to the joint with a small toothpick or screwdriver, and then apply the soldering iron tip for a few seconds.

G. The fluxed joint should clean up, allowing for a better connection. If no luck, use the solder wick to remove all traces of the old solder by apply in it between the soldering iron tip and the bad joint.

H. Hemostats and clip on heatsinks will be used to prevent the wire insulation from burning, overheating & pulling away from the connection.

I. Apply a small amount of flux to the joint to be repaired & then a very short duration of heated soldering iron tip & solder(like a few seconds or so).

J. Clean off the repaired joint with the brush & rubbing Alcohol or Acetone, the newly repaired joint should appear clean and bright, almost as if it were polished, with no voids or holes.

K. When repairing the bad or "Cold Solder Joints" (as the Electronics industry calls them), it takes really no special skills, just patience, and a place to work(along with the mentioned tools. You've got to be sober, and not stoned, as the soldering tool can be at 700 F, possibly giving the impaired bike owner severe burns.

L. If you have fine muscle control problems, have a friend do the soldering for you. Moving a wire before the electrical joint has properly set up, can create "Cold Joints" too. If possible, practice on the bench top with some scrap wires before attempting repairs on the bike.

M. This information comes from years of missile test cable and equipment assembly, when I worked at General Dynamics/Convair Division in San Diego California, on the BGM-109 Tomahawk and later on the AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile. This was from 1983-1993. The company had a week long soldering school, where you learned to solder meeting “Mil-Spec” standards.

Ok fairing off, I got 2.5 volts at low beam, 8.5 at high beam.
I've got the tank off and I've gone from headlight to the, whats is called, the headlight reserve, or lighting reserve system?
Whats the symptoms of that going bad?

(good list by the way, first thing I do on all my bikes, its cheap, its effective, and you see immediate gains with a voltmeter, feel like a pro!)

HOW do I bypass that passive headlight reserve system?

The "Reserve Lighting System" is designed to turn on high beam at reduced voltage so not to blind on comming drivers. This allows you to get home at night if your low beam burned out.

I've got it on my bike, and used a double pole, double throw toggle switch to turn off the headlight when starting the engine, otherwise it would come on when the ignition switch was turned on.

BLUE with YELOW STRIPE is one circuit.(High Beam)
BLUE with ORANGE STRIPE is the other circuit.(Low Beam)


The reserve ligting system has a small 6 pin connector, with the following colors:

1.BLUE, the power source.10 amp fused.
2.LIGHT GREEN with a RED STRIPE, powering the headlight failure indicator.
3.RED with BLACK STRIPE,spliced with the RED with BLACK STRIPE going to the high beam circuit.
4.BLUE with YELLOW STRIPE,high beam power.
5.BLUE with ORANGE STRIPE,low beam power.
6.BLACK with YELLOW STRIPE,ground circuit.

electrically challenged....so is it possible to bypass the RLS?
I think mine is defective. Its only allowing 3 volts to get to the low beam.
high beam goes on, the white power fail light goes off.

I did the jump test, inconclusive- didn't change.

Find "Loudhvx", he's real good at figuring out circuits.

well, its certainly the reserve system.

I took apart the 6 pin connector, looking at my diagram, blue is hot
blue yellow high, blue orange low
putting blue to either makes either work, dandy. no error "white" dash light on
putting all three touching, high beam light stays on, no low beam.

Red black is the key...need to stare at the book more

Baffled running tests twice and getting differing results. I ran an ohm test on each wire in that run found one twice the resistance of the rest.
Will replace in the morning. Outsides of the wires looked good.
Fixed

Yep, the old internal resistance problem, I read about this happening more on Negative(-) ground wires, although it can happen on Positive (+) battery wires too.

Forget the color but the low beam from switch to light reserve. About half way under the tank. Looked fine. If I wiggle/twist it suddenly white warning goes out low works. Twist more white light comes on low beam gets 2 to 4 volts

Possible broken wire, making and breaking contact as it moves. Look for signs of pinching,or where the wiring makes a sharp bend.