Electrical help required for faulty lights R1150GS

[Rushy]

Need some help because my mechanical ineptness is only exceeded by electrical ignorance.

On my way home last night my PIAA driving lamps (hooked up to main beam ) wouldn't switch off. I decided to ‘face’ them down to avoid dazzling people and then solve the problem when I got home. However, when I got home I found that even with the ignition switch turned off ( and the keys in my pocket) the lights still stayed ON !! 85W x 2 burning brightly

I had to lift the tank and pull out the inline fuse in the end.

How could this be????? Whats the cause.

I connected them ( 4yrs ago) using the PIAA wiring kit and handlebar mounted switch provided. They are connected directly to the battery for power, there is a feed spliced from the main beam to switch the relay ( I presume that’s how it works) and then the PIAA handlebar mounted switch merely isolates the power so you can choose to have them come on with the main beam or not come at all. What you can’t do is choose to have them on permanently , they only come on with the main beam.

I have taken the handlebar switch apart and it looks like there maybe some mild corrosion which could possible be shorting something , maybe

But HOW/WHY are the lights permanently live ???? Any electrical geniuses supply an answer, in laymans terms?

Alan , Les , Colebatch, anyone?

Trust them to fail just when the dark nights arrive

Thanks in advance - Ian R

 

[Womble]

The switch on the handlebars should be wired through a relay. The relay is a remote controlled switch that is meaty enough to carry the power for the lights, without having to take a meaty wire up to the handlebars and back down again. It also means that you can control the lights with a small switch, rather than some sort of chunky lump.

Follow the wire from the inline fuse to the lights and you should find a little black box. The contacts in there are probabaly siezed together. All you should need to do is to unplug the relay and get a new one from a local motor factors or other supplier.

If the relay isn't in some sort of socket, make sure that you keep a careful note of where the wires go.

 

[roddy]

Ian,

sounds like the relays failed and the contacts have fused together, so taking the power directly from battery through the in-line fuse, so even though you switched the ignition off. the batterys still feeding power via the faulty relay.

The handlebar switch I sounds like it interupts the head beam signal to the relay, so with the switch off the relay can't activate as it isn't getting a signal from the high beam, and vice versa when the switch is on, I assume you had the handlebar switch on when you switched on the high beam so activating the relay, which then failed so leaving your lights with a permanent supply (at least till the battery went flat).

HTH

 

[Rushy]

THANKS GUYS

Thanks for the replies.I suppose it really could be only the switch or the relay and based on your knowledge the relay must be the culprit.

So I popped into Motorworld yesterday and picked up what I figured would be the correct relay ( 4 blade 30amp) . Just got under the tank and took off the old one today and its like no proprietary relay available. Its an applicated PIAA one to be used in conjuction with their wiring harness.

Because I reallly dont want the hassle of re-wiring I would rather buy a new one but after much googling I cant find any mention of the relay anywhere or anybody who appears to be selling PIAA spares.

Any suggestions where I may get a PIAA PL 5F relay from?

Ian

 

[Womble]

Relays are very simple beasts - you put a voltage across 2 pins, and the other 2 pins connect together.

On the relay you bought there should be a little diagram, a bit like this:

The 2 pins that are joined together by the curly squiggle are the wires that connect to the switch and earth. The other 2 wires go to 12V and the lights. The only thing that you don't want to do is put the pins with the squiggly line from the switch to the lights - they'll turn on very briefly, closely followed by another trip to the shops

 

[DrFarkoff]

Even better there are numbers on the base of the relay by the terminals

30 is the fused supply from the battery

87 is the load i.e. lights

So from battery to fuse to term 30 then term 87 to light positives (no breaks)

then you go from Ignition live to term 85 and from term 86 to earth or to an indicator lamp and then earth

Wanna know How I know about the numba's????

Cos I fitted a Meta alarm to a K1200LTSE (Never ever ever wanna do that again!!!)

p.s. 15 sometimes appears it's an earth connection

 

[Bigtwin]

Thanks for the replies.I suppose it really could be only the switch or the relay and based on your knowledge the relay must be the culprit.

So I popped into Motorworld yesterday and picked up what I figured would be the correct relay ( 4 blade 30amp) . Just got under the tank and took off the old one today and its like no proprietary relay available. Its an applicated PIAA one to be used in conjuction with their wiring harness.

Because I reallly dont want the hassle of re-wiring I would rather buy a new one but after much googling I cant find any mention of the relay anywhere or anybody who appears to be selling PIAA spares.

Any suggestions where I may get a PIAA PL 5F relay from?

Ian

Any with the same pin pattern and numbers will do, but in any event Halfords only sell the PIAA ones anyway. I know on account of a problem with my ones a while back. Pay through the nose of course, but that's Haulfrauds.

 

[Rushy]

Thanks again peeps.

I'l try Halfraudfs.

As a few have stated there is an international standard for relays and all relays have the pins numbered as described ............ALL except the PIAA one that I have got.

Its a sort of inline relay with 2 very large pins on either side. A large PIAA block type connector pushes into each side.

I was hoping to just buy a replacement without messing about cutting the connectors off and working out which wire is which.

 

[Rushy]

Thanks again peeps.

I'l try Halfraudfs.

As a few have stated there is an international standard for relays and all relays have the pins numbered as described ............ALL except the PIAA one that I have got.

Its a sort of inline relay with 2 very large pins on either side. A large PIAA block type connector pushes into each side.

I was hoping to just buy a replacement without messing about cutting the connectors off and working out which wire is which.