VFR 400 NC30 L Relay or headlight bulb problem?

[tigerclaw]

When I pull the "passing" trigger I hear a relay click but the brights / high beam doesnt come on, also I only hear the relay click if the thumb slide is on 0 (off) or p (park) or on h (headlight?) if the low beam is selected (hi low button out).

If it is on headlight and high beam the relay doesnt make a noise - which would probably make sense, you cant flash your brights when you are on bright.

Next thing to consider, only headlight (H) low beam (button out) turns the headlights on and the low beam seems very bright, it almost seems to me that low beam is full brights.

What also may be causing confusion is that the halogen bulbs dont look standard (55w) because they dont fit the headlights properly (tabs are in the wrong places)

So.... is it a faulty relay?, or bulbs which are not meant for the bike and they give high beam when low beam is selected and do nothing when high beam is selected? or is there some other dodgy wiring problem?

At this point I am leaning towards bulbs because they look like the only thing that doesnt belong... (as I am writing this I'm thinking I should just take an ameter and make sure that power is arriving at the headlight plug when I select hibeam and then it has to be the bulb but maybe someone has had this happen before?)

[CMSMJ1]

switch will be melting inside I reckon...

[magg]

If the H4 bulb (55/60W) tabs are in the wrong position then it suggests your bike should have H4R (35/60W) bulbs. H4R bulbs do not have a low beam relay and if H4 bulbs have been fitted this can cause problems with the handlebar lights switch.

Is the bike a UK spec model or a grey import? UK spec has a low beam relay and H4R 55/60W bulbs, grey import comes without a low beam relay and H4R 35/60W bulbs.

[tigerclaw]

Hi Magg, I am not actually sure how to tell if the bike is UK or grey, all I know is most VFR400's in SA are grey (my bike has park lights in the headlights? dont know if this helps?) Also the bike was first road registered in 2006 so I suspect it came in from Japan rather than from the UK (assuming that UK bikes stayed in the UK or if it was a UK spec it would have come straight form Japan to here - ie be registered in the 90's)

The current bulb has a flat on one side which is supposed to seat somewhere to give them the correct orientation but my headlights are round so the flat seat has no purpose in my headlights - where do I look to try and find the low beam relay?

[magg]

Ah, SA that kind a shoots down the UK spec idea. Expect that SA imports are like Australian, no low beam relay and fitted with H4R bulbs. H4R bulbs are rare and expensive better to use H4 but relay needs to be added otherwise handlebar switch may be overloaded. Also headlights and/or H4 bulb needs minor mods to fit together correctly. Sounds like you have H4 55/60W bulbs badly fitted.



H4 bulb has similar construction to the H4R above but the tab angles are 45 deg and there is no notch in the base. Wiring connection for both types below.



Low beam relay if fitted is located behind instruments, but in your case probably does not exist. Once we have worked out what you have we can then develop a solution.

[scotjell]

I was going to ask a similar question whilst on my project I've noticed various mods done to the bike and would also like to know how to spot if a mod has been done or not for the lights. The last thing I need is a decent switchgear down the pan.

[magg]

Tigerclaw, re-reading your last post got me thinking. By any chance do you H7 bulbs fitted. This bulb type has a flat on one side of the base and only a single filament and would help explain why you only have one beam.

[tigerclaw]

No, they look like the H4 bulb pic you loaded up.last night I spoke to the guy who owned the bike before me and he said that he had the same issue - later he put an aftermarket kit with cats eye type headlights on and then he said it all worked fine until he returned it to standard which sounds very odd to me - but tonight I am going to use the pic you loaded and make sure that I am getting power to the high beam circuit

[tigerclaw]

Okay so I couldnt wait for tonight :) Had a quick look on the way out the door this morning. There is no power to the high beam connector on the headlight when the headlights are on high.

Power only happens when the bike is on low beam - but when it is on low beam there is 10.55 V to the high beam connector (thats why it looks like they are on bright when the bike is on low beam, because actually the high beam circuit of the bulb is on) and 0.09 V runs to the low beam circuit when it is on low beam at the same time)

So I am thinking there is a short somewhere or maybe the relay is fried? When I had the hi low button on the handlebar open it looked fine (didnt look cooked), but how would it look if it wasnt happy?

[magg]

Usually the switch contacts over-heat and melt the plastic components of the switch so that the contacts loose tension and the switch stops working. If the plastic components are ok then switch should be ok too. Should also check that the switch contacts are ok.

Do you have H4 55/60W bulbs and if so you need hi and lo relays, are both types fitted? Do you have a copy of the Honda wiring diagram? The description of your problem points in the direction of a wiring mis-match not a switch/relay failure.