LampF

[chipsonfriday]

I have had a HID dipped headlight on my GS for a couple of years now and all has been well. However over the last couple of months I have had a problem where the headlight fails to come on when starting the bike and I get the LampF indication.

Doesn't happen every time...

I've changed the lamp and the ballast/stater but it still happens occasionally.

So, I can only assume it is something else. My thoughts are with the 12volt feed to the ballast (which previously supplied the 12volt bulb). Could there be an issue with voltage level or current supply to the headlight connector? Or do I have a canbus issue.

I wondered if I had a 'bad' contact which produced some additional resistance at the 12volt connector that would introduce some intermittent issue. I have 'cleaned' the contacts by inserting and removing the plug several times but still get the problem.

Any thoughts?

Chips

 

[ghiribizzo]

Does it work once the bike's been running for a little while and then restarted?
Battery. Not enough voltage after starting to fire up the lamp. You still on an original or orginal type battery? Buy it a Motobatt or Odyssey (if you want to spend more).
Cured that very same hassle on mine which was like that after fitting HiDs when bike was a month old.No problem after a battery type swap.

 

[G5RJO]

Which contacts have you checked?

There's a multi plug on the back face of the headlamp unit, pull that and check for corrosion.....

Roger.

 

[chipsonfriday]

The battery is just over a year old. I keep it on an optimate this time of year.

Strangely on occasion it has been fine on starting in the morning but fails after filling up with fuel ten minutes later and restarting...

Will check the multi-connector this weekend.

Thanks for the responses.


Chips

 

[Bear]

I've had one of Les Wassell's HIDs fitted for just over a year and a couple of months ago it started not starting (if that makes sense) when the engine fired up but would light after a few miles. Les and I went over it with a fine toothcomb (top class customer service from Les ) and in the end changing a 2.5 year old battery had everything working correctly. The voltage from the alternator was fine so I can only assume that a failing battery (although the starter motor still turned) was a few millivolts short of what the HID needed.

 

[Bendy toy]

@Bear shows how it can be the battery. It's really quite small for such a big lump. Also check the connectors in case any have corroded.

Does anyone know if there is any value in fitting a headlight switch (maybe with warning lamp) that could be turned off for cold starting?

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

........
Does anyone know if there is any value in fitting a headlight switch (maybe with warning lamp) that could be turned off for cold starting?

Doesn't the 1200 not switch on the headlight (automatically) until the engine starts?

Andres

 

[ghiribizzo]

Exactly Outtomunch. Turns the lamp on when the bike starts rolling and turns it off when the bike stops even with the motor off as well.
Besides which, there is already the possibility of turning off the headlamp when the motor starts up...

Glad to see you're up to speed Bendy toy. I mentioned the battery in post #2.

 

[Pukmeister]

Go to maplins or similar and buy a fibreglass pencil for cleaning joints prior to soldering. Use it to clean up all the respective connectors for the lamp.

 

[JPR]

This annoying little problem regarding HID,s has been discussed at length before.Do a search.
I spent a weekend stripping out connectors etc,thought Id solved it,only for it to happen again.
Ignore it.If the lamp fails to come on,turn off,and start engine again.Always works for me.
Lifes too short to stuff a mushroom.

 

[Tyddewi]

This annoying little problem regarding HID,s has been discussed at length before.Do a search.
I spent a weekend stripping out connectors etc,thought Id solved it,only for it to happen again.
Ignore it.If the lamp fails to come on,turn off,and start engine again.Always works for me.
Lifes too short to stuff a mushroom.

As above, turn off start again always rectifies itself

 

[chipsonfriday]

As above, turn off start again always rectifies itself

Not this one. I've tried starting several times (at least six with a few seconds wait in between) and the damn lamp still doesn't light.

Weekend job is to clean all relevant contacts to the dipped headlight.

Then we'll see...

I'm tempted to run a separate fused 12 volt switched circuit to the dipped headlight so that I can switch the lamp on manually after the engine has started.

Anyone tried that before?

Chips

 

[Beemerman59]

35watt or 50watt? I have had the identical problem - in my case it was a slowly going bad 35watt ballast on dipped beam. No problems with the 50watt now fitted.

 

[chipsonfriday]

35watt or 50watt? I have had the identical problem - in my case it was a slowly going bad 35watt ballast on dipped beam. No problems with the 50watt now fitted.

It's a 50 watt. But I've swapped the ballast and the lamp with an new unused set so that sort of eliminates those and focuses the issue on the more basic stuff.


Chips

 

[Beemerman59]

Does it work if you pop the standard H7 bulb back in?

 

[chipsonfriday]

Does it work if you pop the standard H7 bulb back in?

Yup.


Chips

 

[Beemerman59]

If its all hunky dory with the standard H7 and you've tried two different sets of ballasts/bulbs then your either unlucky with those or my guess is that your battery is not performing as it should.

 

[chipsonfriday]

Well it looks to have been the battery after all. I have recharged the beast and kept it on the Optimate overnight for last week or so...

Result is the HID had fired up on every occasion.

Lesson learned - keep the battery in top condition and it will behave as you expect it to.


Chips

 

[Spike Riley]

LAMPF probem solved...?

I found the same thing as the original part of this thread. LAMPF comes on, change bulb, start bike, bulb flashes momentarily, doesn't blow, just switches off and LAMPF is back on display.
I tried another bulb, all cheap blue ones from Hong Kong but have been ok before, problem persisted.
Luckily I had an old spare bulb that was a different make, a brilliant white one, popped it in and hey presto! So it's just the type of bulb that causes the problem, I would say...

 

[trainman]

I found the same thing as the original part of this thread. LAMPF comes on, change bulb, start bike, bulb flashes momentarily, doesn't blow, just switches off and LAMPF is back on display.
I tried another bulb, all cheap blue ones from Hong Kong but have been ok before, problem persisted.
Luckily I had an old spare bulb that was a different make, a brilliant white one, popped it in and hey presto! So it's just the type of bulb that causes the problem, I would say...

did the bulbs have different wattage ratings?
my 1200 seems to eat a bulb every 6 months or so, i have tried the special blue and high power type brands but have now reverted to a bog standard H7 from the car section in halfords, you can get double packs so cheap is best!
i had an 1150 for 3 years and i think i changed the bulb once