Topic: high beam indicator

[evinrude7]

my high beam indicator/idiot light starts glowing as the rpms increase.  brighter with more rpms.  pulled the head light checked all royal blue wire connections.  seems fine.  any ideas what might cause this?

[Bodi]

The simplest answer is that voltage is increasing with rpm. Measure voltage while revving her.

[evinrude7]

i figured that much bodi.  why it's getting the extra voltage i can't find that answer. 

[bryanj]

Are you saying its on all the time or only on with main beam but gets brighter with revs?

[TwoTired]

The alternator makes 1/3 the power at idle as it does while being revved.
If you have all the lighting on, or have electrical add-ons that increase the electrical load on the bike, the battery supplies the power that the alternator can’t make.  This makes the bike system voltage fall as the battery depletes.  When the alternator revs up, the system voltage increases and recharges the battery.

This all assumes the electrical switch contacts are in good condition, as well as all the connections to the harness haven’t oxidized and lost voltage through them in the 40years since  new.  The effective use of a voltmeter can tell you if connections and switch contacts need attention.  Step one is to measure the voltage getting to the lamp that annoys you, and see how close that is to the actual battery voltage.

Cheers,

[evinrude7]

Are you saying its on all the time or only on with main beam but gets brighter with revs?

all the time but not at idle regardless if high beam is selected or low beam selected. 

[evinrude7]

The alternator makes 1/3 the power at idle as it does while being revved.
If you have all the lighting on, or have electrical add-ons that increase the electrical load on the bike, the battery supplies the power that the alternator can’t make.  This makes the bike system voltage fall as the battery depletes.  When the alternator revs up, the system voltage increases and recharges the battery.

This all assumes the electrical switch contacts are in good condition, as well as all the connections to the harness haven’t oxidized and lost voltage through them in the 40years since  new.  The effective use of a voltmeter can tell you if connections and switch contacts need attention.  Step one is to measure the voltage getting to the lamp that annoys you, and see how close that is to the actual battery voltage.

Cheers,

no extras on the bike as far as electrical.  everything is clean as far as connections.  been through them all before.  what does testing the voltage going to the problematic lamp prove?  we know it is getting voltage when it should not. 

[Bodi]

Ahh. Misunderstood. Lamp is coming on when it should not be! I thought is was with hi beam on.
Since that indicator lamp is wired across the high beam filament itself, there may be a leak to the high beam wire.
That circuit is pretty much isolated, it comes from the hi/lo switch which gets power from the lighting switch then goes directly to the headlight connector plus the indicator. So the leakage must be inside the switchpod I think, maybe in the switchpod harness if the wire insulation is damaged.
I suppose it could also be a strange ground fault in the indicator assembly (or speedo, you don't say what bike you have). Some indicators get switched power (hi beam, signals), some switched ground (neutral, oil pressure).
A low voltage will dimly light the tiny indicator bulb but barely warm up the headlight filament. If you have an LED indicator it will light dimly with miniscule current once the voltage gets to its Vf, usually 2 or 3 volts. That can happen when converting to LED lamps, tiny leakage that doesn't light the original one now gives a dim glow. Neutral switches and brake light switches sometimes do this.

[evinrude7]

Ahh. Misunderstood. Lamp is coming on when it should not be! I thought is was with hi beam on.
Since that indicator lamp is wired across the high beam filament itself, there may be a leak to the high beam wire.
That circuit is pretty much isolated, it comes from the hi/lo switch which gets power from the lighting switch then goes directly to the headlight connector plus the indicator. So the leakage must be inside the switchpod I think, maybe in the switchpod harness if the wire insulation is damaged.
I suppose it could also be a strange ground fault in the indicator assembly (or speedo, you don't say what bike you have). Some indicators get switched power (hi beam, signals), some switched ground (neutral, oil pressure).
A low voltage will dimly light the tiny indicator bulb but barely warm up the headlight filament. If you have an LED indicator it will light dimly with miniscule current once the voltage gets to its Vf, usually 2 or 3 volts. That can happen when converting to LED lamps, tiny leakage that doesn't light the original one now gives a dim glow. Neutral switches and brake light switches sometimes do this.

K6 750.  only bulbs that are LED on the bike are the dash lights.  i'm thinking it's in the switch as well.  i'll have to open up the clam shell. 

[TwoTired]

no extras on the bike as far as electrical.  everything is clean as far as connections.  been through them all before.  what does testing the voltage going to the problematic lamp prove?  we know it is getting voltage when it should not.

The amount of voltage matters.  And you haven't tested the switch contacts.

But, if the hi beam indicator is on without high beam switch selected, you have a connection problem, whether it is clean or not.

Refer to the wire diagram and check connections.

Always nice to have full information for troubleshooting.

Good luck!

[evinrude7]

no extras on the bike as far as electrical.  everything is clean as far as connections.  been through them all before.  what does testing the voltage going to the problematic lamp prove?  we know it is getting voltage when it should not.

The amount of voltage matters.  And you haven't tested the switch contacts.

But, if the hi beam indicator is on without high beam switch selected, you have a connection problem, whether it is clean or not.

Refer to the wire diagram and check connections.

Always nice to have full information for troubleshooting.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

[bryanj]

You say led in dash lights, that means to me you have an led in the high beam indicator, i have lots of problems with these glowing when not actualy on probably semi bad grounds, if you have do yourself a favour and go back to incandescent bulbs for the idiot lights, just get the right size ba9's as most now have long glass bits that get too close to the jewels

[pekingduck]

Curious, since this is a K6, headlight should be on all the time, right?  Is there a separate headlight on/off switch that interrupts the ground wire, like added on top of the headlight?

[evinrude7]

You say led in dash lights, that means to me you have an led in the high beam indicator, i have lots of problems with these glowing when not actualy on probably semi bad grounds, if you have do yourself a favour and go back to incandescent bulbs for the idiot lights, just get the right size ba9's as most now have long glass bits that get too close to the jewels

i have the original bulbs that were in it when i got the bike 4 or 5 years ago.  have had LEDS in there for a few years and haven't had a problem until now. 

[evinrude7]

Curious, since this is a K6, headlight should be on all the time, right?  Is there a separate headlight on/off switch that interrupts the ground wire, like added on top of the headlight?

on all the time.  no switch for headlight. 

[Alan F.]

Lo/Hi switch would be my first stop.

[evinrude7]

Lo/Hi switch would be my first stop.

that's where i'm going. 

[Alan F.]

So you have LEDs in your indicator panel, it won't take much voltage to partially light an LED, 1/8-1/4 volt will light them enough to notice. I could imagine a dirty switch or a lightly pinched wire causing that.

[evinrude7]

So you have LEDs in your indicator panel, it won't take much voltage to partially light an LED, 1/8-1/4 volt will light them enough to notice. I could imagine a dirty switch or a lightly pinched wire causing that.

thanks alan.  yeah i'm going for the switch.  i did find a break in the coating of the royal blue wire but not a cracked or split wire.  i put some heat shrink tube over that.  it's been at least 5 years since i've been in the left hand control. 

[Don R]

 I had a car that did that, it was a weak ground in the dash panel.

[Kevin D]

I have LEDs in my gauges and I have an occasional faint flicker from my neutral lamp, when I’m not in neutral. I don’t get too jazzed up over it, the bottom of the motor is the dirtiest part of the bike. I get a perfectly bright light when in neutral and no issues with the other lamps.

[evinrude7]

turns out the issue was with my headlight.  today i noticed the high beam indicator was super bright no matter if the hi beam switch was on or off, or if the rpms were low or high.  reached over the bars with my hand and no headlight at all.  looked a bit closer.  the bulb looked burnt inside the sealed beam.  changed out to a spare i had laying around.  no more high beam indicator problem.

[kerryb]

Thanks for the follow-up.