High beam not working.

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steadysteve

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2013 GS LC.
First time I've been allowed out at night on my GS only to find the high beam isn't working. It passed MOT in July so I assume it's only just packed in working.

Anyway, there is no warning on the dash-- 'lampf' or anything similar so I assume the headlight unit itself is okay.

It's the led headlight, not normal bulbs

Just wondered if anyone has had similar issues?
And does anyone know if the switchgear has a known weak point and if it can be fixed/ mended without simply changing the whole unit.
Any info appreciated. Thanks.
 
steadysteve said:
2013 GS LC.
First time I've been allowed out at night on my GS only to find the high beam isn't working. It passed MOT in July so I assume it's only just packed in working.

Anyway, there is no warning on the dash-- 'lampf' or anything similar so I assume the headlight unit itself is okay.

It's the led headlight, not normal bulbs

Just wondered if anyone has had similar issues?
And does anyone know if the switchgear has a known weak point and if it can be fixed/ mended without simply changing the whole unit.
Any info appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...

As there is no Lamp warning, I suspect the high beam is not switched on, i.e a switch failure.

Try the flash function on the switch, does it flash the highbeam when you pull the switch towards you?

I may be wrong in my assumption. The best way is to run a test on the switch gear, using GS911 or similar equipment.

2013 was still within the periode where the switchgear was prone to fail. If it is a switchgear failure, it needs to be replaced.
I have seen threads where someone actually have repaired the switch gear, but It requires a high level of skills, and beyond the scope for the most of us.
 
Does the switch actually click into place when you push it forward for high beam, and if so do you see the blue light on the dashboard.
 
Smogbob said:
Does the switch actually click into place when you push it forward for high beam, and if so do you see the blue light on the dashboard.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pointers smogbob-- switch clicks into the high beam position and also moves freely into the flash position. No blue icon on the dash at any time.
I've taken the covers off to reveal the inner workings-- nothing obviously wrong, no broken wires or signs of water ingress/ corrosion / green furry stuff. The part of the switch that presses on the microswitch is okay and not damaged or worn. The switch looks okay and moves freely.

Quite happy to fix stuff if it's mechanical or if there was a wire chaffed through etc but the electronic side of it is beyond me. It's got one of those ribbons with loads of solder tracks inside-- the only actual wiring I could see was the bunch running up to the switch block along the handlebars from the loom.
 
steadysteve said:
Thanks for the pointers smogbob-- switch clicks into the high beam position and also moves freely into the flash position. No blue icon on the dash at any time.
I've taken the covers off to reveal the inner workings-- nothing obviously wrong, no broken wires or signs of water ingress/ corrosion / green furry stuff. The part of the switch that presses on the microswitch is okay and not damaged or worn. The switch looks okay and moves freely.

Quite happy to fix stuff if it's mechanical or if there was a wire chaffed through etc but the electronic side of it is beyond me. It's got one of those ribbons with loads of solder tracks inside-- the only actual wiring I could see was the bunch running up to the switch block along the handlebars from the loom.
Click to expand...

You could try re-seating the connector to the switch block. There are two cables going in - the smaller one is the heated grip and its 2 way connector has a locking tab to keep it in position if I remember correctly. The larger of the two cables is the one which goes to a six way connector and I don't think it has any locking mechanism, just the friction of the rubber seal holding it in place. If you click off the cover where the two cables enter the switch block, you should be able to try unplugging and re-plugging this connector to make sure it is making proper contact, or try wiggling it while testing the switch.
 
fred_jb said:
You could try re-seating the connector to the switch block. There are two cables going in - the smaller one is the heated grip and its 2 way connector has a locking tab to keep it in position if I remember correctly. The larger of the two cables is the one which goes to a six way connector and I don't think it has any locking mechanism, just the friction of the rubber seal holding it in place. If you click off the cover where the two cables enter the switch block, you should be able to try unplugging and re-plugging this connector to make sure it is making proper contact, or try wiggling it while testing the switch.
Click to expand...

Good idea fred-- I fitted up and back risers recently and might have disturbed the wires. First time I've needed the high beam since. Off to try that now....standby standby
£363 new from BMW . Roughly half from the usual second hand sources.
 
steadysteve said:
Thanks for the pointers smogbob-- switch clicks into the high beam position and also moves freely into the flash position. No blue icon on the dash at any time.
I've taken the covers off to reveal the inner workings-- nothing obviously wrong, no broken wires or signs of water ingress/ corrosion / green furry stuff. The part of the switch that presses on the microswitch is okay and not damaged or worn. The switch looks okay and moves freely.

Quite happy to fix stuff if it's mechanical or if there was a wire chaffed through etc but the electronic side of it is beyond me. It's got one of those ribbons with loads of solder tracks inside-- the only actual wiring I could see was the bunch running up to the switch block along the handlebars from the loom.
Click to expand...

Might be worth checking if the fan is working on the headlight, if fan is not working, high beam will not work for sure. interesting info in thread below about connection the ZFE, that links up with Fred connection problem, but fingers crossed the up and back was the problem.

https://advrider.com/f/threads/solu...-headlight-aux-light-questions.1293136/page-5
 
FWIW:
Re. checking the connector for the switchgear.

The switches are LIN-bus, i.e the switch operation is evaluated by the electronics inside the switchgear and then transmitted as serial data to the ZFE.

For fault finding, this means that if there is a connector problem ALL switches in the switch cluster are dead. Thus, in this case, if the signal switch, horn switch etc is working, the connector is ok.

So.. to repeat the suggestion given above regarding the blue high beam indicator. If it is a bulb problem, the blue lamp should still work, along with the Lamp Fail warning. If no such thing occurs when switching to highbeam, there is a switch problem. No use wasting time on other faulty sources. The switchgear needs to be replaced.

My 2c.
 
Yeah it's looking that way knutk-- tried the connectors and both are okay, worth checking though thanks Fred. All other functions on that cluster are okay and the only time the high beam lights up is when the ignition is switched on and it goes through the self-check process.
Going to get a replacement and then might take this one apart and see if I can find the fault.
 
Smogbob said:
Might be worth checking if the fan is working on the headlight, if fan is not working, high beam will not work for sure. interesting info in thread below about connection the ZFE, that links up with Fred connection problem, but fingers crossed the up and back was the problem.

https://advrider.com/f/threads/solu...-headlight-aux-light-questions.1293136/page-5
Click to expand...

My headlight main beam on my 2008 F800GS stopped working.

Turned out to be a corroded wire from the ZFE

The loom dropped down from the ZFE unit and had been chaffing deep down in the network of the frame and wiring :eek:

:beerjug:
 
Micky said:
My headlight main beam on my 2008 F800GS stopped working.

Turned out to be a corroded wire from the ZFE

The loom dropped down from the ZFE unit and had been chaffing deep down in the network of the frame and wiring :eek:

:beerjug:
Click to expand...

Cheers Micky, yep that is basically the problem the guy had in America ZFE wiring, that is why I posted a link in post number 7. :beerjug: no use buying a new switch if the problem is the wiring to ZFE.
 
Smogbob said:
Cheers Micky, yep that is basically the problem the guy had in America ZFE wiring, that is why I posted a link in post number 7. :beerjug: no use buying a new switch if the problem is the wiring to ZFE.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, interesting will check that as well. Thanks Micky.
 
Thanks chaps for the input--- got this sorted today. It went in for investigation a few weeks ago and "mechanical failure" inside the switch block was to blame. Of course Sods Law showed its face and the switch started working intermittently when it got to the dealer.

New switch block fitted at Marshalls BMW Laceby. Good service as always. It's been a fair while from failure to fixing it but the delays were down to me and not the BMW parts/ repair process.
 
steadysteve said:
Thanks chaps for the input--- got this sorted today. It went in for investigation a few weeks ago and "mechanical failure" inside the switch block was to blame. Of course Sods Law showed its face and the switch started working intermittently when it got to the dealer.

New switch block fitted at Marshalls BMW Laceby. Good service as always. It's been a fair while from failure to fixing it but the delays were down to me and not the BMW parts/ repair process.
Click to expand...

At least you have seen the light now Steve, off to get my coat. :hide
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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