| Author | Message | ||
     Easyflier |
Strange problem. If ignition switch is turned on and high beams are on they will glow dimly. Start bike and no lights, low or high beam. Bike seems to start and run fine. If high beam switch is on bike will continue to run with ignition in OFF position, switch to low beam and it shuts off like it should. With high beam on and ignition in OFF position using the kill switch shuts motor off as it should. All other lights, brake and turn signals work correctly. I've looked at exposed portions of wiring harness and don't see anything that looks like it's rubbed through however I haven't examined every inch of it. I know it's hard to diagnose something like this over the internet but I was hoping that maybe someone has had the same problem and found an easy fix. Otherwise I have to take it to my local dealer tomorrow afternoon and let them have a shot at it. TIA | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
you have a short in the harness where the wiring for the ignition/kill switch/highbeams is at causing the circuit to stay open. | ||
| Easyflier |
Wycked, I'm guessing that you're pretty good at reading schematics to come up with the solution so quickly. Thanks. At first I thought it might actually be a faulty ignition switch, sounds like it could still be a place to look. Now I guess it's a choice of trying to blindly locate it or let the guys with the proper tools and know-how track it down. Probably be best off to let a tech track it down and save me the aggravation.  | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
if it is still in warranty, let the dealer handle it. | ||
| Easyflier |
Unfortunately the warranty has long since run out. I've owned this one since Nov 2002 and didn't get an extended warranty. First real problem I've had so I guess it's about time the dealer made a few bucks this time around. | ||
| Easyflier |
For Wycked and anyone else that owns an XB and might have read these earlier posts. The problem turned out to be extensive corrosion on the connectors and particularly in the fuse box. The shop had to replace one multi-connector (not sure which one yet) and coated everything heavily with dielectric grease, something you might all want to do if you tend to ride year around in the midwest or in areas that tend to have salty air. The tech spent over 7 hours trying to track the problem down, fortunately the shop only charged me for 4 of them. Hope this information helps some of you to save some money down the road. | ||
| Coldwthrrider |
Wow, how timely!!! I've been having the exact same issue on my '03 9R in the last two weeks. It started with the ignition switch not turning the bike off, it could run without the key. On my way home just now I realized that my headlights were off (maybe they were just dim like you said). I always leave the high beam on so I didn't notice that it turns off properly if the headlight is on low beam until today when I flipped the switch to get the lights working. One other symptom is that even though the headlight switch makes it keep running or not, it does not turn off the high beam indicator light. I'll try the grease trick with the contacts and hopefully it fixes the problems. Thanks Easyflier for posting a follow up, you may have just saved me a lot of money in shop time! | ||
| Easyflier |
Eric, glad that finding the cause of my problem might be saving you some time and money. Not certain how the dealership cleaned the contacts, maybe an aerosol electrical cleaner. (Message edited by EasyFlier on June 02, 2005) | ||
| Coldwthrrider |
I just got my bike back together from other problems (that I caused) and rode to work. When I left the bike would NOT start at all, it cranked but something was bad in the ignition. The headlights did not come on at all (they were dim before). I pulled all the connectors I could and put grease on them, many were blue/green with corrosion but not too bad. Then I got to the white connector that goes to the headlights (has yellow, black, and white and 4 wires on the other side). This connector was visibly corroded inside but it would not come apart. I ended up destroying it and splicing the wires together. Bingo, the headlights are as bright as ever and the hi beam switch works. |
