No power to headlights

[tdragger]

The exorcism of the ghost of Lucas has begun. BE GONE!! YE DEMON!!

I disconnected the EB kit from the main harness and checked voltage at those points. Everything checked out perfect. I also disassembled the dimmer switch housing and everything checked out there, too. Voltage on the low beam circuit when it should be and voltage on the high beam circuit when switched to it.

Reconnected the kit and pulled the relays on the EB kit to check the sockets. Everything good. When switched to low beam I got voltage on the line side yellow pin and the red pin (power source connected to the PC-8 and ultimately the battery). On the other (white) relay socket I got voltage on the red pin only as expected. When switched to high beam, the appropriate voltages showed up where they were supposed to.

The fun begins when one or both relays (tested both ways) are plugged into their socket(s). With the low beam selected, I would expect to see voltage at the yellow wire pin in the H4 connector. Nope. The voltage shows up on the black wire pin in both bowls. ??? On high beam, the same occurs. Voltage on the black pin but not on the white pin.

And the weird thing is, back on the wiring harness I get voltage on both the low and high beam circuits!!

Obviously there is a short somewhere in either the relays, H4 connectors or in the wiring downstream of the relays. Taking a break to get some more Holy Water.

 

[atomsplitter]

The exorcism of the ghost of Lucas has begun. BE GONE!! YE DEMON!!

I disconnected the EB kit from the main harness and checked voltage at those points. Everything checked out perfect. I also disassembled the dimmer switch housing and everything checked out there, too. Voltage on the low beam circuit when it should be and voltage on the high beam circuit when switched to it.

Reconnected the kit and pulled the relays on the EB kit to check the sockets. Everything good. When switched to low beam I got voltage on the line side yellow pin and the red pin (power source connected to the PC-8 and ultimately the battery). On the other (white) relay socket I got voltage on the red pin only as expected. When switched to high beam, the appropriate voltages showed up where they were supposed to.

The fun begins when one or both relays (tested both ways) are plugged into their socket(s). With the low beam selected, I would expect to see voltage at the yellow wire pin in the H4 connector. Nope. The voltage shows up on the black wire pin in both bowls. ??? On high beam, the same occurs. Voltage on the black pin but not on the white pin.

And the weird thing is, back on the wiring harness I get voltage on both the low and high beam circuits!!

Obviously there is a short somewhere in either the relays, H4 connectors or in the wiring downstream of the relays. Taking a break to get some more Holy Water.

So is the ground wire carrying voltage from the line? It seems likley you don't have a ground but are circulating the volts in an endless loop. The black wire to the H-4 connector is the ground. The white and yellow are your hi/lo beam lines. If the black is carrying voltage then somehow the relays are reversed.

Use a test lead from the battery + terminal to the back of the H-4 connector on the white or yellow plug. The ground should be constant (unswitched) and the light should illuminate, if not then the ground isn't a ground.

 

[tdragger]

With much spiritual guidance from this board and from Jim at Eastern Beaver, I finally exorcised the ghost of Lucas from my machine for now. You know Lucas, a.k.a. the prince of darkness, is never that far away.

While checking the ground (black wire) side of the PC-8 fuse block, I heard a distinct CLICK coming from the H4 relays. Everything was back to normal. Poking around a little further I discovered that one of the ground wires was loose and must have been making only an intermitent connection. I tightened it down so here's hoping that this issue is resolved.

Thanks again for the guidance. See ya (yeah, even in the dark!) at Maggie Valley!!!

 

[atomsplitter]

Hoorah! Connections that are loose are such a nuisance.

 

[Gothlander]

It's amazing how many electrical problems turn out to be a bad earth, so much so it's my catch cry. People think I'm crazy as I go around muttering..... Bad Earth....... Bad Earth.........Bad Earth in reply to their electrical plights.

 

[atomsplitter]

It's amazing how many electrical problems turn out to be a bad earth, so much so it's my catch cry. People think I'm crazy as I go around muttering..... Bad Earth....... Bad Earth.........Bad Earth in reply to their electrical plights.

Yeah, a bunch of posts back I suggested the ground was the problem. Queue the Twilight Zone theme, I was right. (That never happens in real life (or at least mine))

 

[HellFire]

Yeah, a bunch of posts back I suggested the ground was the problem. Queue the Twilight Zone theme, I was right. (That never happens in real life (or at least mine))

Was that number 39 or 38? lol

 

[fat frank]

So before installing the EB relay kit on my Roadster, can I assume that the problems here are due to the install and not the kit? Don't need to be losing the headlights working nights.lol

I've been holding off installing the upgrade on my bike. Wanting to see where this leads. Considering soldering the main power lines instead of using supplied connectors.

 

[tdragger]

Yeah, let me be very, very clear. This issue was Installer Error, self-inflicted. All of the EB components that I have installed (PC-8 fuse block and H4 Relay kit) function as they should. Jim makes a **** good kit with quality components.

 

[atomsplitter]

So before installing the EB relay kit on my Roadster, can I assume that the problems here are due to the install and not the kit? Don't need to be losing the headlights working nights.lol

I've been holding off installing the upgrade on my bike. Wanting to see where this leads. Considering soldering the main power lines instead of using supplied connectors.

Having recently installed the kit I would offer a few suggestions.

One don't cut the 4-pin wiring block from the headlight too short, it makes stripping wire a ***** (again some experience). Get some heat shrink tubing that just fits over the wires. When you are ready to seal the yellow and black wires (on the block you're using) slide the HS tube over the ends and leave a 1/3" long. After heat gunning the tube double it over while hot (wearing gloves helps ease the pain) and it will stick to itself permanently sealing the wire end. (Electrical tape doesn't age well). Seal the other block's four wires similarly and you can plug it back in, no problem.

The posi-locks are OK since they are compression fit and you anly need a little exposed conductor to make a good connection. If you opt for soldering (a good choice) use heat shrink tube to seal the joint. It's not as flexible as the posilock so you'll need to tie-wrap the wires to prevent vibration working the solder joint.

Good luck.