PIAA relay gone again????

[Big Lee]

Bugger it, my PIAA relay has gone again on my running lights It lasted about 2hrs before going pop I tend to ride with my running lights, PIAA 002`s, on all the time.
Does anyone know what might be the cause of my relays popping? I did smear some silicon grease on the contacts for a bit of waterproofing & the relays are fitted horizontally under the tank.

Cheers

Lee

 

[BTBR]

Can you define "gone" please?

Is it that your lights have stopped working?

Does the relay click when you switch on the lights, if yes then I would suspect that your problems are elsewhere.

If no, check that you still have you a live feed?

Have you a good earth to the relay?

To be quite honest, it is very rare for relays to fail, and then when they do its normally associated with to much current going across the contacts. In effect it welds them together.

Have you std 55w bulbs fitted?

What amp rating is the PIAA relay?

Normally a twin 55w spot/running light setup draws just under 10 amps. Most automotive relays are capable of taking 30amps, or even 40amps on the better quality ones.

Does that helps, maybe not I suspect!

PS
As I suggested the last time it happened, cut the dam things out and fit std ones.

 

[Big Lee]

Yep lights stopped working

Haven`t had the tank off yet to check it with the other set of lights, I`ll do that later.

Standard bulbs are in.

Peeled the sticker off the old relay & it`s a 20amp one.

When you say about the current welding them together I would`ve thought they would be on pemanently

I can see me doing as you suggest & chopping them off With me being a beginner with this electrikery lark what relay would you suggest? Please be patient as I`ve not done a lot of this before so it`s all exciting and new

BTW Al did you do your trip up to the lakes yet? If so was the route any good?

Lee

 

[roddy]

Lee,

Don't know if this of any help, but if it's a 1200GS wasn't there an issue with Aux sockets switching off after a period even though the bike was running, if you've taken the relay or light feed from one of these wires, this may be an issue ?

I'm sure somebody will be along shortly to correct me.

HTH

 

[Big Lee]

Non of the wires are fed from there roddy so thats ok

Now here`s a strange one I think. I`ve just had the tank off & tried the relay & the 2 old ones click the same as the one that works but don`t
I would`ve thought there wouldn`t be any clicking?

 

[roddy]

Lee,

sound like you need to go back to basics, if you have a volt meter.

can you explain how you've wired the lights up it'll help. but some basics you can try are,

check all your wiring is correctly fitted and all grounds are secure and clean
check voltage going to the relay and contacts that switch the lights (the feed side not the activated side).

when checking the voltages don't use the same ground as you've used for the lights or relay in case you have a bad ground.

switch your aux lights on and check the voltage to the lights if there getting voltage then your relays okay and the problem lies else where, I would start by checking the ground conection is good and solid

if your not getting voltage to the lights, then your back to the relay, check the wiring and voltage for the circuit you created to activate the relay. is the relay staying on when activated ? if yes then I would say the power feed to the relay contacts for the lights is a possible issue.

you don't mentoin if you using a Autoswitch but if so is your indicator button okay and not sticky maybe sending a signal to kill the lights by accident ?

I think I have covered most things without actually seeing the set up it's hard to diagnose remotely.

HTH

 

[Big Lee]

Thanks for that roddy, I`ll try my best

I`ve wired the lights in directly to the battery.

They are activated by a switch seperatly from the rest of the bikes system. The switch has an LED when on & so seems to work ok.

The relay signal (is it called that?) comes from the dipped beam wire that is scotchlocked on.

All the other lights are wired in excactly the same to the battery earth as is my GPS & heated jacket.

If I replace the relay its ok but not for long. I`ll take all my junk thats wired into the battery off & give it a clean & a check.

Lee

 

[roddy]

Lee,

can you clarify this

>The relay signal (is it called that?) comes from the dipped beam wire that is scotchlocked on.

does the dipped beam signal power the relay constantly or just to activate the relay circuit ?

if it constantly powers the relay, being mindfull of how electronic the 1200's electrical system is, is there a possibility of the bike electronics thinking there a problem with the dipped beam circuit as it's drawing more power than needed and switching the power to the dipped beam circuit off, so you lose your Aux lights

A typical wiring diagram for Aux lights would look some think like



this way when the dipped beam is activated it will power the relay coil "1" via contacts "2", the activated relay will then pull contacts "3" and "4" closed powering the relay coil and powering your Aux lights, but will also open contacts "2" so theres no unnecessary power drain from the dipped beam circuit

contact "5" ( it isn't shown but there should be an identical set of "5" contacts before contacts "2") is in case you wish to switch off the Aux lights but keep the dipped beam on, also if you feed the relay using a switch 12v supply when you switch off the bike ignition, the circuit will be dead so your aux lights will go out as well

Sorry if you already know the above, thought I would try and clarify what I meant.

HTH

 

[Big Lee]

Thats brill roddy That is how my lights are wired in, unless the engine is running the dipped beam isn`t powered so the relay is dead. Only when the dipped beam is powered up can I switch the aux lights on

Believe me when I say that any of this electrical stuff is new to me so don`t think you`re teaching granny to suck eggs I`m learning all the time