Headlight problems '83 GS850GL

[wolfman]

If I hook up the headlight like the wiring diagram shows, I have no headlight. If I hook it up to the spare brown wire in the bucket, it works, but no high beam. What gives? I feel like I am going around in circles. I have tested the white wire and it has continuity up to the headlight switch

[flyingace]

Does the white wire have voltage at the headlight plugin when the switch is set to low beam? How about the yellow wire when set to high? It is the yellow/white wire that is the hot lead into the switch, the yellow wire is the high beam lead and the white is the low beam lead. The black/white wire is the common ground out of the headlight.

[wolfman]

I don't get anything.

[flyingace]

Then you need to see if you get voltage into the switch. Do you have voltage at the Y/W wire coming into the dimmer switch with the ignition on?

[wolfman]

I do get voltage about 10V in the switch for the high and low beam. However I don't get voltage for the signals and horn.( could that be my problem with the signals)

[flyingace]

At low beam then, the switch should charge the white wire. That wire goes directly to the headlight plugin. If you don't get voltage at the white wire with low beam on, that pretty much suggests the dimmer switch is bad (or that the switch leads have been messed with). Please also check the yellow wire for voltage at low beam, maybe they are different on your bike.

To test this, you could jumper the yellow/white wire to the white wire and see if your low beam lights. Warning!! I have never done this, but don't see how it could hurt.

[wolfman]

tried to jump it. no go

[flyingace]

Then you will have to trace the white wire from the switch to the headlight plugin and see if it is broken or miswired or what. If you jumpered a known hot wire to it, and it has no voltage at its end terminal, it must have gotten lost along the way.

PS - Hope not to insult here, but is your negative voltmeter lead connected to a good known ground (I use the triple clamp)?

[wolfman]

I grounded it to the negative terminal on the battery.

I am thinking it may just be the switch. The headlight is pretty much the only thing getting voltage on the switch. I will do some more testing, but that my be the answer.

[mortation]

I grounded it to the negative terminal on the battery.

I am thinking it may just be the switch. The headlight is pretty much the only thing getting voltage on the switch. I will do some more testing, but that my be the answer.

Did you check the fuse? Its the top one on your fuse block. Also, being that there is no "off" but the system is wired to have an off it is jumpered on the plug if I recall correctly, check their too.

[wolfman]

All the fuses have been checked. In fact they have been taken out and put back in to check for corrosion, connection, etc. All fuses are good.

What plug are you talking about that you say it is jumpered at?

[flyingace]

I grounded it to the negative terminal on the battery.

I am thinking it may just be the switch. The headlight is pretty much the only thing getting voltage on the switch. I will do some more testing, but that my be the answer.

Not sure what you mean. I thought you said the headlight wasn't getting voltage.

If jumpering the white wire with the hot yellow/white wire didn't produce voltage at the headlight plugin, it is NOT the switch since that is what you bypassed.

[wolfman]

Going back through some of the steps to make sure I did stuff right.

What is the orange wire at the switch?

[flyingace]

Looks like the orange wire goes from the ignition switch to the fuse block.

[wolfman]

The orange/red is constant voltage. Yellow/white, white, and yellow also have voltage. Nothing else does.

I am going to quit for the night and hit it with fresh eyes tomorrow. Maybe that will help.