High Beam not working

[bnschroder]

I just returned from Colorado to Atlanta doing both Saddle Sore and Bun Burner and when I hit the road at 3: 30 AM I noticed my high beam switch didn't do anything, though the blue light on the dash came on.
Has this happened to anybody else? Is there a quick fix, like a fuse? My bike also hit a few hard bumps on the various unpaved mountain passes, so I wonder if the actuator for the lens may have broken? I am open to a quick fix, but since I don't use the high beam much, I wouldn't take it in for an expensive repair.

 

[bmac]

If the blue light came on clearly the switch did something. Have you replaced the bulb?

 

[WJBertrand]

If the blue light came on clearly the switch did something. Have you replaced the bulb?

If the low beams are working then the bulbs are ok. The Tenere uses single filament H-7 type bulbs. Maybe there's a separate fuse for the H/L beam shutter mechanism?

 

[EricV]

If the blue light came on clearly the switch did something. Have you replaced the bulb?

Super Tens use only one H7 style bulb for both high and low beams. High beam is triggered by a solenoid operating a system that changes the focal point of the bulb. IIRC, it moves in and out to do this. I'm on the road, so don't have access to my FSM. I think there is a separate fuse for the relay or solenoid that triggers the high beam. It's possible it's stuck, but if this were the case, I would expect only one to not go to high. Possible the relay is not functioning. So the high beam indicator would go on, but the bulbs would stay in the low beam position.

 

[moaralpha]

Interested to know what the cause is. If it's just a relay that would be pretty easy.

 

[Sierra1]

My money is the specific part that moves. Of course what do I know; I thought that something just covered the top of the bulb, and that's what caused the dramatic flat line on the top of the beam. ???

 

[Don in Lodi]

My money is the specific part that moves. Of course what do I know; I thought that something just covered the top of the bulb, and that's what caused the dramatic flat line on the top of the beam. ???

I too thought it was a shutter moving up and down. ::017::

 

[OldRider]

I too thought it was a shutter moving up and down. ::017::

Bingo !! Let's put this high beam mystery to bed once and for all. High and low are the same bulb. The shutter moves up or down to make the opening bigger or smaller. I took a video of the shutter going up and down, but I think it's too big to load.

 

[Nikolajsen]

WTF.... ???
Never heard, or seen this before, anywhere...

 

[Xclimation]

WTF.... ???
Never heard, or seen this before, anywhere...

I thought the SAME thing as you! My 2013 Honda Accord does pretty much the same thing. I'm not a fan of the way modern day vehicles handle the high/low beam the with cut offs and shutters!

 

[WJBertrand]

I thought the SAME thing as you! My 2013 Honda Accord does pretty much the same thing. I'm not a fan of the way modern day vehicles handle the high/low beam the with cut offs and shutters!

Add my 2013 Mustang GT with HIDs to the list of shutter controlled H/L beams. Seems to be the way of the future...

 

[Sierra1]

I also believe, pure speculation, that the mechanism covering the bulbs could also be adding to shortened bulb life. If the mechanism is in front of the bulb....reflecting the heat back toward the bulb....that can't be helping bulb longevity. ONE of the reasons I ride, in the day time, with my high beams on. ::001::

 

[Ramseybella]

::021::

I also believe, pure speculation, that the mechanism covering the bulbs could also be adding to shortened bulb life. If the mechanism is in front of the bulb....reflecting the heat back toward the bulb....that can't be helping bulb longevity. ONE of the reasons I ride, in the day time, with my high beams on. ::001::

I would burn a bulb at least both once a year.
I installed LED's lets see what happens with them, good thing the LED's i bought are half the price or less of a set of good H-7's.

 

[OldRider]

I also believe, pure speculation, that the mechanism covering the bulbs could also be adding to shortened bulb life. If the mechanism is in front of the bulb....reflecting the heat back toward the bulb....that can't be helping bulb longevity. ONE of the reasons I ride, in the day time, with my high beams on. ::001::

I don't run high beams during the day for the same reason I don't run them with oncoming traffic at night, you are blinding the drivers you are meeting.

 

[RonH]

OK, I believe I've read and understand the system somewhat at least. It looks to me like when the high beam is turned on, 12v goes to the indicator, and also to the headlight assm via the yellow wire. The high beam lamp is on, so this proves 12v is there. About all left to check is for 12v on the yellow wire on the headlamp plug. Don't even know if it's accessable, but if so, lack of 12v would mean break in the yellow wire somewhere. If 12v there it means the problem is in the headlamp assm. It appears other than bulbs, the headlamp assm is replaced as an entire unit. Odds are the headlamp assm needs replaced to fix the high beams. Also possible the headlamp assm could be removed and repaired if possible. Could be broken connections somewhere internally. Don't know if this is possible or not though.

 

[Xclimation]

I also believe, pure speculation, that the mechanism covering the bulbs could also be adding to shortened bulb life. If the mechanism is in front of the bulb....reflecting the heat back toward the bulb....that can't be helping bulb longevity. ONE of the reasons I ride, in the day time, with my high beams on. ::001::

Looks like you're on to something! My 2013 Honda Accord used to go through incandescent bulbs 2 times a year! way more than any vehicle I've owned. I switched to LED bulbs and so far they haven't blown and It's been almost a year.

 

[Sierra1]

....It appears other than bulbs, the headlamp assm is replaced as an entire unit....

I had a car that had the same type of lights. The adjuster portion broke, and the WHOLE assembly had to be replaced; thankfully under warranty. But, I would imagine that if you're skilled enough, you would be able to remove the assembly, find/fix the malfunction, and put it back together. It's going to be the "little flipper thing", or the wire to the "little flipper thing". Getting to it will probably be the hardest part.

 

[RonH]

Headlight assembly is $400.00 give or take. This sounds like a lot, but compare to a new FJR1300 with LED headlights which is $1,100.00, and a new Goldwing with LED lights is $1,300.00. On those you can't even buy the bulbs, the whole thing is replaced if a lamp goes out.

 

[Ramseybella]

$400.00 is a good price.
I wouldn't own a new Gold Wing nice bike smooth mile muncher.
But it's ridiculous to justify replacing even the air filter on one.