Headlights with different wire colors!

[viclioce]

So I changed out headlamps because only the low beam worked. Now have a full functioning headlight bulb. But the wires are different colors.

The lamp I have contains a white, a medium blue and a medium green wire set.

The manual calls for the wires to be yellow, medium blue & light blue.

I have no problem connecting the medium blue to medium blue in the correct location. And I’m assuming the white goes to the yellow? But I don’t find a solo light blue on the harness in the bucket in which to plug, the green? Any hints here? Also I have the high beam indicator light working, but it works in both positions.

Anyone out there who can help me with these differing colors? Thanks! Victor

[Hydraulic Jack]

Pretend all the wires are the same color and determine which headlight wire feeds which bulb element.

[taber hodaka]

Could use a small battery charger, put your (poetry in motion). --------------Clarence

[rlkarren]

You must first determine the function of the wires on the headlight before you can effectively move forward. Which one is ground? which one is High Beam, and which one is low beam. This is the first step when I received a new headlight. On the Honda lights, which sounds like you have, the green is ground, and I think the blue is low beam, and the white is high beam, if I remember correctly.

To marry up to the harness: blue -> light blue, white -> yellow, green -> blue.

$0.02

Roger

[viclioce]

Thanks Roger! I’ll give it a go! Victor

[viclioce]

This headlight thing is driving me nuts!!!

Had an OEM Headlight in the unit initially which had a burnt low beam, but the correct colored wires, yellow, blue & LT. Blue. But, at least it lit the high beam.

Replaced it with a same wattage Stanley with different colored wires, White, Blue & Green.

Now NEITHER lamp will light up on the bike! Tested both lamps on a straight connect to a new battery & everything works as expected. The first lamp only works on high beam because you can see the break in the low beam filliment.

So why the He!! won’t either lamp work on the bike now? We know there’s not a separate fuse for the headlight.

The brown wire from the AC/DC switch had broken loose & at first I thought it was that. Pulled the AC/DC switch & resoldered the brown wire & re-installed switch. Still no go, no head light!

What can I do to trouble shoot this? We were going to get it registered today and I know it won’t pass inspection with the headlight not working! Suggestions, PLEASE?!?!?! Thanks! Victor

[taber hodaka]

which color of wire is ground on your headlight Victor? ------------ Clarence

[viclioce]

Clarence, Blue is ground, white is Hi & green is low. Victor

[taber hodaka]

Victor do you have electricity to the headlight, Juice in the wire's? Seems like we are starting at the beginning. -------Clarence

[Hydraulic Jack]

Trouble shooting the wiring is going to require verification of function using a multi-meter. If your headlight has an emergency switch (AC/DC) either the engine has to be running to test the headlight on AC or the switch has to be in the emergency position to test DC.

[Bullfrog]

Um, Vic . . . have you ever heard the phrase, "Slow down. You'll go faster."???

Several people have suggested recently (and in past weeks) that you really ought to break out the multi-meter and establish whether or not you have voltage at the connector(s) for the head light. (and mayhaps make some notes on what wire color matches the function you are testing - you know, some basic electrical sleuthing). One of the pieces of sage advice offered was to pretend that you don't know ANY of the wire colors, then trace down what they connect to.

It might be time to take the advice of those who have given of their own time to offer the benefit of their knowledge.

Ed

[viclioce]

Uh.........I have provided the following, but maybe you missed it?

Tested both lamps on a new battery, determining which color wires provide, A. ground & B. Power to high & low beam. C. Already also advised I had power through the harness.

Only thing left to do is pull the tank, AGAIN, and check if the voltage regulator has possibly failed. Fortunately, if my METER indicates this is the case, I have a spare. This was last resort because I have pulled the tank so often I have already damaged 2 sets of fuel line.

I’m out shopping with the wife & grabbing a late lunch. I’ll know on the voltage regulator when I get home and have a few minutes to once again disconnect the fuel lines & pull the tank.

And while I’m at it, I’m going to rejet down from a 160 main to a 140 main on the carb since I’ll have it apart. Seems I’m fouling a spark plug a day so I’m convinced I need to go to a 140 just as I did on my 125 which isn’t reed valved to compensate for the 7,000 foot elevation.

[viclioce]

OK. So my brain fart stopped long enough to “stop guessing” about the color of the wire. Instead, I peeled back the rubber insulator and compared where the different colors are connected!!!

The OEM light (upper pic) is wired, Blue is ground, (on left) Light Blue (LB) is Low Beam (LB!), in the center position,and Yellow is High Beam, on the right side.

The “Other” Light (lower pic) when the wires are compared both by position and by testing with a direct connection to a fresh 12v battery, Green is in the ground (left) position, White is in the Low Beam (center) position & Blue is in the High Beam (right) position. So I am confident this is how they need to be connected, and is currently how the headlight is connected.

The issue STILL remains that it appears no power is being supplied to the headlight any longer. Visual inspection of both the wire schematic & the inside of the Hi/Low light switch indicates that power is supplied to the headlight by the green wire coming from the Voltage Regulator Green wire, Before the AC/DC switch.

This means the AC/DC switch does NOT control whether power gets to the headlight because the AC/DC switch is after the connection from the Voltage Regulator to the headlight switch.

So, either I am not getting power from the output side of the voltage regulator, or, the voltage regulator is somehow grounding out before the power makes it to the Hi/Low switch on the bars.

The Hi/Low switch is both complete and also has no shorts in it, as the solder joints are not broken and the ball, which makes the connectivity between two of three wires, which pair together by contact with the ball bearing in the switch, which can be adjusted between the Green/LT Blue or Green/Yellow, providing power to the headlight filliment of choice by the switch.

Tomorrow, (when I have available ambient light from outside) I will connect a spare wire from the battery to the green wire supplying power to the light. If the lamp lights up on one or both positions with the switch, this would be a good indicator that the connections at both the Hi/Low switch are working but not getting power.

Since the power passing through the green wire to the Hi/Low switch comes directly off the connection provided from the Voltage Regulator, I can then try switching out regulators and see if there is a failure of the Voltage Regulator.

Now, can anyone tell me IF there is a way to test the Voltage Regulator for output and/it connectivity? I am not 100% certain ifctge spare Voltage Regulator indeed works. However, if I swap them out and the headlight works again, I will at least know the current regulator quit working.

So that’s where I am.

Regarding meter testing, that was indeed strange. I was getting voltage readings of anywhere from .5v to 11+v from both the Hi and Low Beam wire connectors when paired with the common ground. Voltage fluctuated quite rapidly with throttle position, which could be another indicator that the voltage regulator is not functioning correctly.

More to come......... Bictor

[Bullfrog]

No, Vic - I got that you broke out the multi-meter and tested a few things. Good job. Hold that thought.
Ed

[taber hodaka]

Victor you are going to re jet, are you running 3/4 to wide open when you foul the plug ?? ------------Clarence

[viclioce]

Clarence. I’m fouling. Fouling quickly. It’s set up to OEM config, which is just too rich for 7,000 feet. Had the same issue with the Wombat. 160 main was too rich.

The Toad starts cold, without the choke too easily. The most I ever have to do is 1/2 choke. And that’s in a total cold start, and almost immediately closing it back off. So I am going to drop to the 140 main and see if I can strike “honey gold!” The plugs are showing it’s way too rich, turning black almost immediately with a mile of riding on the street, even when pulling higher RPMs all the way around the subdivision.

[matt glascock]

Victor, you probably know this, but have you performed a leak down test on the motor? If the bike is "burning" gear oil and blackening plugs in the process, a clutch-side leak is the concern.

[taber hodaka]

I would suggest reading the tuning section in the ace90 book, pages 99 through 109. ---------------Clarence

[viclioce]

Clarence. Other than running rich because the main jet is a bit too big for this elevation, I’m almost there. Victor

[taber hodaka]

Victor
Others that are beginners should be aware that you should tune the bottom end and work up to the main jet. The main jet could be too rich, but it has little effect on lower RPM ranges including the choke circuit. Victor have you read the Ace90 carburetor tuning section? I would suggest anyone that wants to tune on your own to read it, it really covers the sequence. I would expect the OEM specs to be overly rich, I would just tune by the book. Good to see your progress and glad to hear you are almost there. --------------Clarence

[Hydraulic Jack]

Clarence is making a valid point here. Unless you have been doing wide open throttle jetting runs, assuming the main jet is causing plug loading is only an assumption, and would not necessarily be right. It is quite possible to foul a plug without ever getting over half throttle. Search the Internet, or read the recommended jetting procedure, and you will find a graphic that shows how the various jets in the Mikuni overlap. Flow is restricted by the smallest orifice or most restrictive combination of parts. So while the main jet does supply fuel to the needle and needle jet, it isn't until the needle is lifted more or less out of the way that flow is ultimately limited by the main jet. Until you reach a throttle setting that allows the main to control flow, you could ride without a main jet at all, and still not necessarily foul a plug.

If your bike starts cold, at altitude, without the starter circuit, you either have the wrong pilot jet, or your starter circuit is bleeding fuel. If the starter circuit is bleeding fuel, no amount of jetting will fix your problem. When the starter circuit plunger is fully seated (choke off) there should be zero fuel passing through that circuit. You could have debris under the plunger, or the plunger rubber could be cracked, hard as a rock and unable to seal, missing entirely, or the plunger could be hanging up before seating. Any of these conditions would cause what you are experiencing, and none have anything to do with jets.

[viclioce]

OK Jack. That makes sense to me. I’ll pull the choke and check the plunger again. I don’t recall it being bad, but I can’t say I remember if it was hard or not. If it is, I’ll change it out and try runnning it again to see what happens. Thanks! Victor

[viclioce]

Well, I went back to work on the lights again today. Dropped the tank to make sure nothing had come unplugged from the regulator. Nope. I found one of the blue power wires disconnected and plugged it back in. Nope. And now, the left turn signal is not flashing!

It got dark so I had to stop. Need to get that overhead light installed now that the wiring is in place.

Boy, these things sure like to turn into multiple problems don’t they? Now I’m going to have to pull the battery box down and check to see if anything else came loose from the harness.

BTW Road Toad owners. Are the connection points for the wires coming out of the harness stored up under the seat through the circular hole in the frame, or are they stashed somewhere else? No previous point of reference, and I’d like to know where it normally is on the RT traditionally. Matt? Victor

[Hydraulic Jack]

If there is no power at the headlight connections, follow the dead wire or each dead wire backwards and check for voltage at each connection all the way back to the magneto, or the battery, depending on how the E-switch is set. It may be the only way to isolate the fault without relying on guess work.

[viclioce]

Jack. First I have to pull the battery holder. I suspect a few things may have come loose there when remounting it last time. I’ll keep you posted what I find. But I’m not getting out to the garage as often now with the colder weather & the plumbing issues I’m recovering from. Thankfully, it’s just about all done now. It’s been a pain in the butt redoing the flagstone sidewalk for the 3rd time this year! :ugeek. Victor