• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Headlight Problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter oldschool2
  • Start date Start date
O

oldschool2

Guest
This may sound strange, as I find it to be strange. I have a gs1000 that has had two headlight buckets replaced. The buckets seem to be getting hot from the headlight and they become brittle and brake. The headlight has a 55/60 watt bulb. The reg/rec., stator, and battery have been replaced. I have just ordered the third bucket and I would like to resolve the problem before installing the new one. I am in the process of cleaning all the electrical connections and grounds. Testing voltages and resistances, so far everything has been relativily clean and in the ballpark concerning testing. Any ideas and help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Oldschool2 :confused:
 
Not saying your wrong but could they be breaking from mounting too tightly?
They are 30 years old.Does the bucket fell hot to the touch?
 
The last one I put on was only a couple of months old. There appears to be some melting and as I said the plastic has become brittle and crumbles between my fingers. The first one was original to the bike and was in good condition. I was wondering if there could be some electrical problem going on causing excessive heating of the head light. I'm in the process of doing the various checks listed in the stator papers and checking all the electrical connections. I was hoping that maybe someone else has had this problem and might shed some light.
 
oldschool2 said:
This may sound strange, as I find it to be strange. I have a gs1000 that has had two headlight buckets replaced. The buckets seem to be getting hot from the headlight and they become brittle and brake. The headlight has a 55/60 watt bulb. The reg/rec., stator, and battery have been replaced. I have just ordered the third bucket and I would like to resolve the problem before installing the new one. I am in the process of cleaning all the electrical connections and grounds. Testing voltages and resistances, so far everything has been relativily clean and in the ballpark concerning testing. Any ideas and help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Oldschool2 :confused:
Click to expand...
Where are you sourcing the buckets? Sometimes I'll see old plastics that have been stored near/around/over solvents, and those solvents (especially acetone) have a particular ability to change the properties of plastics, usually rendering them soft at first, and then very brittle as the solvent outgases.
 
Any of the wires inside the bucket show signs of excessive heat ? Might also be brittle?

The factory bucket on my GS1100 has antivibration pads that fit inside the bucket. I wonder, but doubt, if a lack of anti-vibration material could be causing the issue....
 
I got the replacement buckets from Bike Bandit. They look OK to me. The first one was original to the bike. I checked the wiring and the connections appear to be in good shape and there is no burning or stiffening of the wires. The part that I suspect is the Headlight reflector, it and the metal attachment pieces. The bucket is damaged where the pieces connect and are screwed. I'll be able to tell more this weekend when I can get some time to test the voltage at the headlight with the bike running. I plan to do the various checks listed on this sight as well. So far I have tested the battery voltage with the bike off that was 13.5 volts a little high from what I have read so far. The battery was fresh off the battery tender the day before I tested and I had not run the bike very much.
 
While you are at it order one of their ceramic replacement plugs for the bulb.
 
I spent the day working on the GS I did the tests as described on the GS sight. I started the bike and checked the voltage at the battery and headlight finding 12.45 and 11.95 volts respectively. Next I revved the bike up to 5000 rpms and noticed no difference in voltage. I tested the stator resistance and found 0 ohms. I then tested the rec/reg following the steps listed. I found o volts when applying voltage in one direction. The directions said I should have had 1.5 volts. I then switched the leads on the multimeter and I got .5 volts on each wire. The directions said .5 volts is what I should have found. Now I'm not sure what to think. I spent the rest of the day cleaning connections and grounds. When I checked the resistance of various ground connections I found some up to 40-50 ohms after cleaning I got them down to .2 to .3 ohms. When I cleaned up the fuse box I found a bad fuse. Now I wonder if that could affect the testing. I also connected a ground between the engine and the bike frame. While I was tearing into things I removed the battery box so I can sand blast and repaint. When I get that done I will replace the battery and do the tests again with a good fuse. Thanks for all the replys and the info on the reflecter on the headlight web sight. I looks like the new stator that I had the shop install needs replacing. Thanks again for the help oldschool2
 
Put a stainless steel star washer on both sides of your ground connections. It will dig in and give you a much better ground.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top