Topic: HID headlight problems FML.... need help with pics

[xsmooth69x]

so i have an hid kit.... and i cant get the high beam to work

its a plug and play system.....

i can not get the high beam to work. the low beam works fine but the high beam does not......

i hooked up the stock light up to the harness running all stock and the high/low beams work (ruling out that the switch is faulty). i had to quickly shut off the system because i think it started to make the control switch start to melt because i could smell it. i opened everything up and checked and everything was ok. the spring and slider is all good. now thinking about this do i have a grounding problem? the ground wire coming out of the H4 plug hooks into the green (ground) on the bikes wiring harness right? or does is plug into the black wire in the harness......? i always get mixed up if the stock wiring harness used the green or black wire for the ground. on the massively confusing wiring diagram for the 550 the black and green wires both look like they are grounds......

im wondering now if there is something special u have to do to get an HID kit to work on these bikes or do i have a defective system.

the HID bulb looks good there are no scorches or burns in it. the bulb can move around in the H4 housing conversion thing so it should work?

this is the last thing that is holding me back finishing up all the electrical.

**** also a side question is does the headlight stay on all the time with these bikes? because on the right hand control has an on/off switch is for the lights. all the LED tail lights, gauges and licence plate LEDs turn off when that switch is toggled on/off. wiring things up to use the switch is a brown wire with a stripe and the green (ground i would imagine)

so to toggle the headlight on/off with everything do i plug the ground into the brown with the strip wire?*****

[xsmooth69x]

bump

[MoMo]

Green is ground on Honda, black is 12v, white is low beam and blue is high beam. Do you have a voltmeter?  with the lamp disconnected put the neg. probe to ground and the positive to  white- should read 12v.  switch pos probe to blue and turn high beam on-should read 12v.  If those readings are correct, you have a defective lamp.  Verify that with the ohmeter. neg. probe to common and pos to low-should have continuity., neg to groud and pos to high-should have continuity.  If no continuity the filament is bad...Larry

[xsmooth69x]

Awesome i will try that!! This is a great dumb question but my multimeter is probably what NASA uses so what do i set it on to check this lol

[MoMo]

DC volt scale (0 to 20 or whatever is close) to check supply at the connector and the ohm scale(0 to 100 or whatever) to check lamp continuity...Larry

[xsmooth69x]

DC volt scale (0 to 20 or whatever is close) to check supply at the connector and the ohm scale(0 to 100 or whatever) to check lamp continuity...Larry

awesome thanks!!

[xsmooth69x]

ok im not getting 12v anywhere from the switch.....

so i take it the brown with red strip wire is supposed to read 12v right? because the other lead white and blue also comes from the switch then switched from high/low should then read 12v......

[xsmooth69x]

this is my switch

u have white and blue on its separate sections of the switch and a brown and red strip wire that runs across both of them





then i have the brown with red strip in the head light bucket



then i have 3 choices that looks like it would work



the one with the brown and red with the yellow sheath is the color coded match to what comes off the switch but it does not supply a 12v current.

the black with the red also does not supply 12v

the straight brown wire does supply a 12v current. and when i switch the lights on and off on my right hand control the 12v cuts off and on.

now is this the wire (brown) i connect the brown and red wire coming off the switch that provides the 12v current?

******** so my big question does the 12v current run through the switch? because is swear it melts my switch or am i just crazy?

[LesterPiglet]

I know nothing about your setup but if you think the switch is getting hot then you need to add a relay switch.

Can you post a link to the HID kit you got please?

[xsmooth69x]

unfortunately the company does not make the hid kit anymore

its a 35 watt motorcycle hid kit

but problem at had the switch itself is supposed to emit a 12v current right?

because it has to since there is only one wire the brown and red strip wire connecting to the harness and the blue and white are just telling the headlight if its supposed to turn on the high/low

so 12v does go through the switch

[MoMo]

Are you sure the fuse is good?...Larry

[RAFster122s]

From reading your posts it is apparent you haven't a clue about current (also referred to as amperage...when measuring),  voltage, what a switch does, or some of the basics of Direct Current (DC) electrical theory.

There are lots of resources to educate yourself on this if you go look on the web.

Your handlebar switch will not withstand the load of your headlamp in a higher current HID setup on startup and possibly operation. You will need to use it to turn on a relay to operate your HID low and HID high beam.  The startup current for HID lamps can be initially 2x the operating current.

Often a switch is interrupting the voltage and thus the current for the power wire. Although, I have seen switches controll the ground for the circuit.


So, questions for you: 
1) what is the wattage of the HID system you bought?
2) what color temperature bulb did you get with the system?
3) Is it a dual element or dual bulb HID system?
4) Did you cut the stock wiring or are you looking to just add this to the stock wiring to run the HID system?
5) Can you tell me what you have done/changed/wired so far?

[wrenchmuch]

+1 on the relay . Your switch won't last long with that lamp . Consider running a fused feed for just the headlamp to take the stress off your key switch as well .

[RAFster122s]

35watts is an appropriately sized for a motorcycle.
 Can you scan your wiring instruction sheet and diagram and post it?

Be careful or you can unplug things in the headlight bucket and mess with circuits unrelated to the headlamps. Just because there is a ble or white or brown wire in the headlight bucket doesnt mean it is part of your headlight or related wiring.

[xsmooth69x]

1) the hid is 35 watt
2) 6k color
3) single bulb and when it switches from high to low beam the bulb physically moves up and down

HID H4 High-Low Moving Bulb

that is not my bulb. i know there enough clearance for the bulb to move. i suspect my hid kit might be ok but because of the wire problem it might not be functioning properly.

at the moment im completely disregarding the HID kit and just trying to get the stock huge light bulb to work properly. then ill get back on the hid kit.

4) there is no cutting of my harness at all! but this is the problem my previous PO butchered the harness of the 1975 harness with the stupid saftey red box thing on it. i did get a new used harness from a 1976 i believe that replaced that stupid red box safty thing with just some kind of by bass relay thing. so the wire colors dont match perfectly.

h4 connecter thing was from the 1975 harness that my PO butchered



although the colors dont match up the plug is clearly labeled and i have this diagram



5) i have not changed anything regarding the headlight wiring. nothing has changed

im using the stock wiring diagram provided by this site for the cb550 and i understand the diagram it makes sense but the some colors dont match up.

=================================================

the kit is a straight up plug and play system. it has its own power cord with fuse included, 2 grounds (which i have properly grounded), and they have a male H4 connector that fits straight into the stock female H4 connector pictured above and thats it.

all the wires are color coded and u cant accidently connect thing backwards because all the connectors are flip flopped and all that. its idiot proof.

[xsmooth69x]

fuses are 5a, 7a, 15a

[xsmooth69x]

so mostly my big question is that the 3rd wire not the blue or white wire coming out of the left hand control in regards to the high/low beam switch that wire that connects into the stock wire harness (mine is brown with red strip) does that wire have a 12v current in it when u put a multimeter on it?

[RAFster122s]

I think the issue is isolated to the square DOT lenses but itmight be more than just those...when I converted an old Volvo to European H4 lamps there was a connector jumper in the kit that corrected the bulb wiring for ths sealed beam DOT lamps to the H4 wiring. The ground and low beams were switched if I recall correctly. So you should back track your headlamp wiring back to its splices to find out the color of the stock wires they are connected to. Verify your low beam voltage is connected to the correct terminal, etc.

Measuring from ground to that wire you should have voltage on that wire if your switch is properly assembled and in the proper position.  Sohoron has a great thread on rebuilding/restoring 550 control switch assemblies. Go to his page then browse his posts until you run across it...

[RAFster122s]

What are the wire colors from the left hand switch?

[xsmooth69x]

white, blue, brown w/ red strip

[xsmooth69x]

when re building the controls i desoldered one wire then re soldered it. i did no other mods.....

the stock huge bulb is a H4 plug. same ground position and high low.

earlier in the thread i was supposed to test if i got a 12v signal with my multimeter on the blue and white wire switching to high/low switch accordingly. then i used the ohlm test thing to see if the switch was good and i set it to beep if there is a good connection with it did.

the only thing i could not accomplish was getting that 12v signal from the blue and white wire. i made sure the multi meter setting  was right because i tested it putting it straight on the battery which read 12v

so with all my connections im missing that 12v signal

[RAFster122s]

Check first one side of the fuse for 12v and then move your positive probe to the other side of your fuse. If you dont have 12von both sides and only have it on the one your fuse is bad. With the fuse removedand your meter on continuity setting you should get tone from a good fuse. 

Is there 12v coming to the switch in the left handlebar controls? If the 15amp headlight circuit fuse is good you should find 12v into the switch. You will only get 12v coming out of the switch on the blue and white wires if the switch is working. Sohoron's thread will show you all the switch components and how it is assembled

[xsmooth69x]

yup getting 12v from both sides of the 15a fuse

does the headlight wire from the wire harness should say 12v also? the one that connects into the control?

[xsmooth69x]

checking all the fuses the 5a and 15a both have12v when the bike is on.

the 7a fuse on the other hand i get nothing..... is this fuse just for like the starter of should this one allways carry 12v current though it

[xsmooth69x]

might have found the problem.....

this is the wire that comes out of the left hand control (brown with red strip)



the top wire the brown with red strip with the yellow sheath is what is coming out of my wire harness



now on my fuse block connector the very top 2 wires are the brown with red strip wires



on my fuse block now....

the 5a fuse has 2 brown wires, the 7a fuse has the ***brown with red strip*** wire, and the 15a fuse has 2 red wires

the 5a fuse has 12v
the 7a fuse section the brown and red strip wire has nothing, switching the on off switch for the lights or any combinations of switches switched produces nothing
the 15a with the 2 red wires has 12v



how do i get power to the 12v to the 7a fuse that i think corresponds with the headlight.