Highbeams won't come on even after bulb replacement - help? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Highbeams won't come on even after bulb replacement - help?

M

mars

Well-known member
Hey Forum,

Just bought a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250r and noticed on the weekend the high beam isn't turning on. I thought it was the bulb so I went to Canadian Tire and purchased an H7 12v 55w pair (figured might as well replace both while i'm at it). After replacing both bulbs, bike started up normally but still nothing. The low beam come on but the high beam won't (neither will the high beam indicator) the rest of the lights work as intended. I checked the connector to see if there was something blocking it and switched the bulb from the lowbeams to the high to see if it was that, but no luck still the same problem. Also tried to see if I the connector was the wrong way, and still nothing. I was wondering if anyone has come across this issue and might have some insight as to what might be the culprit.

Cheers,

Mars
 
The circuit is common up until the switch, the high beam has its own circuit only after the switch. So either the switch is bad, or there is a broken wire in the high-beam circuit.

Time to get out the wiring diagram and a meter, and find which wire is supposed to be getting power with high beam selected, and why it isn't and what's stopping it. Start with the switch.
 
And don't forget to check that the other side of the plug at the bulb has a good ground. Normally Kawasaki ground wires are black with a yellow stripe. Measure resistance between that terminal on the bulb connector and a good metal point on the chassis. If it's not very close to zero ohms, find the break in the ground circuit.
 
Thanks Brian and DoubleJ, appreciate the feedback. Ordered a multimeter online and once it arrives I'll test out the connections. I'll keep you all updated.

Cheers,

Brian P said:
And don't forget to check that the other side of the plug at the bulb has a good ground. Normally Kawasaki ground wires are black with a yellow stripe. Measure resistance between that terminal on the bulb connector and a good metal point on the chassis. If it's not very close to zero ohms, find the break in the ground circuit.
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CruisnGrrl said:
if the switch was working properly wouldn't the low beam go out when the high beam was activated? Unless someone has monkeyed with the wiring coming out of the switch and both connectors are going to the low beam.
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Many bikes, including the original poster's bike, leave the low beam bulb on when high beam is selected. The low beam bulb is on all the time, and the high beam switch just connects that power circuit to the high beam circuit.

Most vehicles that use a separate bulb for high and low beam are like this.

The old skool headlights with dual-filament bulbs (like H4) have to switch low beam off when high beam is selected to avoid overheating the bulb.
 
have you replaced the switch yet?
 
@CruisnGrrl — as @Brian_P pointed out, the low-beams stay on when the high-beams are selected. Both bulbs, at least on my bike, are the same and interchangeable. But thanks for mentioning it :)

Rob said:
have you replaced the switch yet?
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No, still waiting on the multimeter to arrive. I might pick one up at a local store to try and diagnose this quicker. If I have to replace the switch, that's gonna have to be another issue since I have no idea right now where to start.
 
I82l8 said:
Did you check the fuse?
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Going to check it when I check the switch and wiring. It's a single fuse that regulates both the low beam and high beam. However, I'm thinking if maybe there's only a small fractures if only the high beam wouldn't work. I could be wrong but I figure it wouldn't hurt to try.

@CruisnGrrl yeah that's cool, mine doesn't but thanks for mentioning it. At the very least it's something that could be ruled out.
 
Same fuse on that bike. If low beam works, fuse is OK, and so is everything in the circuit up to the switch - that's where the circuits split.
 
There's usually a relay under the seat that powers the high beam. Make sure it's getting both battery power and the trigger voltage when the switch is operated. It may have a bad coil or just be stuck.
 
shewie said:
There's usually a relay under the seat that powers the high beam. Make sure it's getting both battery power and the trigger voltage when the switch is operated. It may have a bad coil or just be stuck.
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Thanks for the tip @shewie I'll check that out too, that also sounds like a likely culprit.

@CruisnGrrl I thought of it, so I had swapped out the low beam bulb (and assembly) with the high beam bulb and still nothing.
 
The highbeam indicator should still turn on even if the bulb is out. Indicator isn't coming on, so the circuit isn't switching.

While waiting for the multimeter, I would open the left control housing and check the switch connections. Clean them up and try again. Just takes a few minutes.

If using a philips driver instead of JIS, make sure to apply a good amount of force to the screws to avoid cam-out and stripping the heads.
 
DaveTheCanuck said:
The highbeam indicator should still turn on even if the bulb is out. Indicator isn't coming on, so the circuit isn't switching.

While waiting for the multimeter, I would open the left control housing and check the switch connections. Clean them up and try again. Just takes a few minutes.

If using a philips driver instead of JIS, make sure to apply a good amount of force to the screws to avoid cam-out and stripping the heads.
Click to expand...

@DaveTheCanuck thanks for the suggestion. I'll give a clean this Friday since I'll have some time to mess around with. I might pick up a multimeter in store and deal with the whole thing instead of waiting on it. Quick question though, would I need to disconnect the battery before cleaning the switch or is having the motorcycle off sufficient?
 
No need to disconnect the battery for switch cleaning.
 
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