Headlight assembly issues and removal

[MFP]

Good evening all,
Since I picked up my '13 S10 this past June I have an ongoing issue with the headlight assembly:
Condensation droplets and fogging on the inside of the assembly, the location of where it appears indicated by the yellow arrow callouts.

I have removed the headlight bulbs and used a hairdryer (on the warm setting not hot) many times to dry out the inside of the headlight assembly which works initially however every time I ride the bike regardless of the weather the droplets and fogging reappear. Regular H7 bulbs (55W) are presently installed however when I picked the bike up it had PIAA Extreme White Plus H7s (same 55W rating) which I hated and replaced with Osram/Sylvanias.
I think there is a compromise somewhere within the headlight assembly. Perhaps a hole, a crack or a dried out part of the assembly gasket (if such a thing even exists).
I know that during the time the original owner had the bike it fell over on the right side while parked on a dirt/gravel driveway.
Everything up front was protected as the bike had ALT Rider crash bars (they got a bit scratched) and the rear, right OEM Yamaha
pannier received some bruises as well.
My next project is to remove the headlight assembly and throughly inspect it for a seal compromise and then really try and dry out the inside
with a hair dryer once again. I have the Yammy S10 service manual and it seems like the headlight assembly removal is somewhat straight forward if a bit time consuming. The manual does mention disconnecting the meter (gauge cluster) wire harness which makes no sense to me.
Anyone out there ever have condensation/moisture issues within the headlight assembly?
Anyone ever fully remove the headlight assembly?
Although it is really not affecting the performance of the lights and the condensation always evaporates and does not seem to leave any residue
marks or stains it literally drives me nuts to see it when it happens.

 

[Jeff Milleman]

I think your on the rite track ,got to have a gasket or something leaking air into the unit .. Good luck .

 

[Don in Lodi]

No moisture issues on my '12, but I pull the headlight assembly to replace bulbs. No fumbling with the weird indexing, no fiddling with the latches, inspect the harness. Easy. I wonder if you can rig up a submerged positive pressure test, or maybe positive pressure and soapy water sprayed about.

 

[Cycledude]

What’s the beak mounted to ?

 

[MFP]

No moisture issues on my '12, but I pull the headlight assembly to replace bulbs. No fumbling with the weird indexing, no fiddling with the latches, inspect the harness. Easy. I wonder if you can rig up a submerged positive pressure test, or maybe positive pressure and soapy water sprayed about.

Don in Lodi,
What do you mean by “no fumbling with the weird indexing, no fiddling with latches, inspect the harness”?

 

[MFP]

What’s the beak mounted to ?

The beak is mounted to a metal bracket that attaches to the holes in the lower part of the headlight assembly that is unused on Gen1 S10s.
Gen2s have a plastic trim piece in this area.

 

[WJBertrand]

Is it possible you are missing one or more of the o-rings that seal the rear caps?

 

[MFP]

Is it possible you are missing one or more of the o-rings that seal the rear caps?

Both the O-rings and caps are intact and making a solid seal.

 

[squarebore]

I had condensation on and off for 4 years on my gen 1. Varied depending on the weather. Was always gone after a decent ride. I never worried about it and it didn't seem to affect performance of the lights. BTW, in oz our lights are always on so after a few kms the light heats up enough to get rid of the condensation.


Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

 

[MFP]

I had condensation on and off for 4 years on my gen 1. Varied depending on the weather. Was always gone after a decent ride. I never worried about it and it didn't seem to affect performance of the lights. BTW, in oz our lights are always on so after a few kms the light heats up enough to get rid of the condensation.


Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

Here in the US headlights are always on as well.
It is always after a ride that I notice the condensation fogging. Perhaps the heat from the bulbs becomes trapped.
Does anyone know if there are vents located anywhere in the headlight assembly?

 

[EricV]

It's simple to remove the entire assembly. Some plastic bits, then four bolts up front, a plug for the marker lights and a plug for the headlights. You will notice that there is a built in vent, (or two), for the headlight assembly. Check those carefully. If they look fine... I suspect the beak is blocking air flow to those vents that would normally help avoid condensation build up.

BTW, the beak is probably not bolted to the headlight assembly. I'm pretty sure it's bolted to the front subframe, which is that heavy black plastic piece in there that everything on the front end is bolted to. A single very long bolt runs down from the top into a captured nut at the bottom in front of the triple trees to secure that front subframe to the bike. You do not need to remove this to remove the headlights! Just giving you some info.

 

[Sierra1]

Maybe it's the bike's way of rebelling against the beak. None of the other cool kids have beaks.

 

[MFP]

It's simple to remove the entire assembly. Some plastic bits, then four bolts up front, a plug for the marker lights and a plug for the headlights. You will notice that there is a built in vent, (or two), for the headlight assembly. Check those carefully. If they look fine... I suspect the beak is blocking air flow to those vents that would normally help avoid condensation build up.

BTW, the beak is probably not bolted to the headlight assembly. I'm pretty sure it's bolted to the front subframe, which is that heavy black plastic piece in there that everything on the front end is bolted to. A single very long bolt runs down from the top into a captured nut at the bottom in front of the triple trees to secure that front subframe to the bike. You do not need to remove this to remove the headlights! Just giving you some info.

EricV,
Thanks for your helpful response.
My bad, you are correct the beak is attached to the subframe where the red arrows indicate:

I just installed the beak two weeks ago, the condensation has been occurring since I picked the bike up this past June.
Do you know exactly where the headlight assembly vents are located?

 

[MFP]

Maybe it's the bike's way of rebelling against the beak. None of the other cool kids have beaks.

My S10 fully embraces the addition of the beak.

 

[EricV]

EricV,
I just installed the beak two weeks ago, the condensation has been occurring since I picked the bike up this past June.
Do you know exactly where the headlight assembly vents are located?

That's great, probably rules out the beak as a factor. It's been a while, but I recall a rubber 90º little boot on the bottom of the headlight housing. Maybe two. It will be self evident once you take it off the bike.

 

[MFP]

That's great, probably rules out the beak as a factor. It's been a while, but I recall a rubber 90º little boot on the bottom of the headlight housing. Maybe two. It will be self evident once you take it off the bike.

Thanks again. Hope to get around to dealing with this issue sometime in the next month or so when I can get a nice stretch of time to myself.

 

[EricV]

Don't wait that long. You'll laugh when you see how quick and easy it is to pull the headlight.

 

[Cycledude]

Did the previous owner maybe use LED headlights without the extended covers installed ?

 

[MFP]

Don't wait that long. You'll laugh when you see how quick and easy it is to pull the headlight.

It will most likely be sooner rather than later. I also have some fiddling to do with another bike of mine.

 

[MFP]

Did the previous owner maybe use LED headlights without the extended covers installed ?

No LEDs, just the PIAA H7 bulbs that I mentioned in my original post.