headlight prob

[bsrhkr]

hello people, i got a bit of a problem here, headlights! right, when the switch is on the low beam, the two bulbs switch on but when the switch is on the high beam, the only thing is ON is the little bulb underneath what could be the problem?
thanks

[cargo]

It could just be that the high beam filament of your bulbs is blown..................

Or perhaps the bulb conection is faulty/ coroded

I might be wrong but I dont think it's a separate fuse for high beam

[rover220]

ive had a pin snap off on the back of the bulb that caused this same problem.

[bsrhkr]

It could just be that the high beam filament of your bulbs is blown..................

Or perhaps the bulb conection is faulty/ coroded

I might be wrong but I dont think it's a separate fuse for high beam

thank you, but say one of bulbs had its h/b filament blown, what happens to the other bulb?

[bsrhkr]

ive had a pin snap off on the back of the bulb that caused this same problem.

hey mate, what pin do u mean? there are 2 pins on the back of each bulb, do u mean one of them could be snapped off? thanks

[bsrhkr]

just 1 more detail that might help abit... the hight beam indicator light does not turn on when the switch is on high beam.

[RedexRobB]

What happens when you press the 'pass' button? the high beam bulb on the dash shouldnt cause you any problems with the head light if its not working. If thats not working as well as the high beam id suspect they are both just blown filaments.

Get the headlight bulbs out and have a look, you should be able to manage it just by turning the forks out the way, its fiddly but saves the hassle of stripping the front nose cone off.

[bsrhkr]

What happens when you press the 'pass' button? the high beam bulb on the dash shouldnt cause you any problems with the head light if its not working. If thats not working as well as the high beam id suspect they are both just blown filaments.

Get the headlight bulbs out and have a look, you should be able to manage it just by turning the forks out the way, its fiddly but saves the hassle of stripping the front nose cone off.

hey rob, pass button does nothing at all and yea i will have a look 2day if i have the time. thank you

[parby81]

should be three pins on the back of the bulb, one is ground the others are low beam and hi beam.
black and yellow is ground
i believe that red and yellow is low beam and red and black is hi beam.

Use a multimeter and check at the bulb connectors what your getting. Inside the left handlebar switch gear you can also test the power coming in and going out. trial and error my friend

[rabidnz]

i've got the same prob, bulbs test ok so will have a probe around the switch tomorrow and report the findings

[bsrhkr]

i've got the same prob, bulbs test ok so will have a probe around the switch tomorrow and report the findings

hi mate, did u figure out what problem was? cheers

[rabidnz]

still havent worked it out, hasnt been worrying me enough, but now i need a warrant of fitness so it is an issue once again.

My brain is turned to spaghetti trying to read this wiring diagram, i cant follow what is coming and going.
the switch tests fine just as it should, the relay clicks, both ways fine , even tried the one off my cbr to the same effect so i dont think its the relay.

when i continuity test with one end in the black/red highbeam socket up front, i get continuity with all the pins on the highbeam relay except the red/black, does this indicate a short in the wiring somewhere?

[bsrhkr]

yeh same here, the rely clicks, the switch works fine but still got nothing! i got my MOT soon so i need to sort it out. have u found out the problem yet?

[gavinfdavies]

ONLY TWO PINS?! As far as i'm aware ALL zxr's use a bulb that contain two filaments, one for high, and one for dip beam, meaning 3 pins (actually flat blades, arrange like a square with the bottom missing). The bulbs are a wierd version of the normal H4 bulb; zxr bulbs have a different base plate and a low power dip beam (35w to 60w i think), H4s are useually 55w/60w. H4s can be made to fit by removing two off the tabs on the base plate, and grinding a little notch on one side. all explaioned in this article:

http://www.zxrworld.co.uk/zxr400/iridium.html

If you're bulbs have only ever had two pins, then i'd suspect that some one has fitted a single filament bulb, so no hi beam! you can get a good pair extra bright of H4 bulbs for about £20, or a SINGLE 35w/35w HID xenon bulb & kit for about £80 (but it'll be alot brighter than even two good H4s, and uses alot less power (1 x 35w on either beam, compared to 2 x 60w on hi beam with H4s). My other bulb is left in the lamp, but unplugged, just acting as a) a spare, and b) a way of stopping crap getting in. The HID bulb also allows me to run my heated grips at full power (55w, the same as your bathroom towel rail ) without draining my battery. And i can see well enough to race around at over 100mph at night on dip beam!

check my article on HID bulb conversion for more.

[bsrhkr]

Problem solved!
theres a white round plastic box which has a glass type of fuse inside on the left hand side of the bike (by the headlight relay). one of the copper connectors from either side may have been corroded so it doesnt connect power anymore. that was the problem i had! hope that helps.