[The professor]

Low beam headlights quit on my 2006 GL, the high beams work fine, so I read a bunch of threads about this and so far this is what I've tried:
1) checked fuse - it's good
2) checked low beam bulbs - both are good
3) tried bike in reverse - low beams still do not come on
4) cleaned starter switch and reverse switch with contact cleaner -still nothing
5) I swapped the high and low headlight relays and nothing changed, high beams still work and low beams still do not.

What should I try next? Thanks for any tips.

 

[ROUGH RIDER]

Trace wire from relay to low beams. Could be broken or pinched wire.
Check ground wire off of plug connector on back of lights. Check connector at the relay.

 

[GLblinded]

And take the seat off then check the low beam relay. Power to relay, continuity from relay position to headlight bulb sockets, then go from there.

 

[michael2480]

I'm guessing they both quit at the same time?

 

[Tangleyes]

How do you know the bulbs are good?
I would try a new bulb in one side first. Many times when one bulb shoots, the other will follow.

 

[The professor]

Trace wire from relay to low beams. Could be broken or pinched wire.
Check ground wire off of plug connector on back of lights. Check connector at the relay.

ok, I've checked all those connections and wires and they seem fine, no broken or pinched wires anywhere in sight.

I even pulled the relay and sanded the contacts to make sure there was a good connection...still no low beams, but thanks for the suggestions.

 

[The professor]

I'm guessing they both quit at the same time?

yes both at the same time

 

[The professor]

How do you know the bulbs are good?
I would try a new bulb in one side first. Many times when one bulb shots, the other will follow.

I pulled both bulbs and did a visual inspection, both filaments look fine, nothing broken or burnt inside bulb.

 

[Retired60mech]

A simple check is go get you new bulb and try it. You might be surprised!

Greg
2004 GL1800
Rider 123, 2019 Tour of Honor
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[JoeHall]

Twice, within six months and 20,000 miles, both beams went out on my 2008. Both times, new bulbs fixed it. Both times, one of the bulbs looked to be OK, but the other one was obviously burnt. I'd try one new bulb; if nothing else, you'd know what it's not.

 

[GLblinded]

Professor, can you check for power to the relay? If so, then you can make a jumper lead to test the lights from the relay socket terminals. Basically bypassing the relay action. Then if that makes the low beams work, you will need to find out why the relay isn’t being activated. Starter button, reverse circuit, you get the idea.

 

[techdude2000]

Low beam headlights quit on my 2006 GL, the high beams work fine, so I read a bunch of threads about this and so far this is what I've tried:
1) checked fuse - it's good
2) checked low beam bulbs - both are good
3) tried bike in reverse - low beams still do not come on
4) cleaned starter switch and reverse switch with contact cleaner -still nothing
5) I swapped the high and low headlight relays and nothing changed, high beams still work and low beams still do not.

What should I try next? Thanks for any tips.

Start it up, put it into reverse, then take your voltmeter and check all 4 wires on the low beam relay for power. You should have power on all of them except the green wire. Let me know what you get. I’m guessing you will have no power on the blue wire and the white/black wires. If my guess is right, you will need to get to the reverse regulator assembly and check it’s connector for corrosion.

 

[The professor]

And take the seat off then check the low beam relay. Power to relay, continuity from relay position to headlight bulb sockets, then go from there.

OK, I'll try to check the continuity today and see how it works out. I

'll also get some new bulbs and try them as others have suggested...they look perfect but maybe there is something I can't detect. Thanks.

 

[The professor]

Start it up, put it into reverse, then take your voltmeter and check all 4 wires on the low beam relay for power. You should have power on all of them except the green wire. Let me know what you get. I’m guessing you will have no power on the blue wire and the white/black wires. If my guess is right, you will need to get to the reverse regulator assembly and check it’s connector for corrosion.

Hey techdude, we started checking for continuity and checking for power at the relay and all seemed fine. We checked the fuse again, and bulbs again, all looked good. I decided to get some new bulbs just for the ****-of-it....well they worked, I could not believe it. Check out the attachment picture (these are the non-functioning bulbs) but they look fine. Thanks anyway, I've seen lots of your helpful posts, this one turned out to be an easy fix.

 

[The professor]

A simple check is go get you new bulb and try it. You might be surprised!

Greg
2004 GL1800
Rider 123, 2019 Tour of Honor
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Good advice Greg, I did what you suggested and it was the bulbs. They looked fine but they were both faulty. I posted a picture of the faulty bulbs in this thread to techdude. Thanks, Al

 

[The professor]

How do you know the bulbs are good?
I would try a new bulb in one side first. Many times when one bulb shots, the other will follow.

Good call tangleyes...it was the bulbs after all, they looked fine, but were both faulty. Thanks, Al

 

[Retired60mech]

Course, it just came to me that you could have used an ohmmeter and checked for continuity across the bulb contacts too.

Greg
2004 GL1800
Rider 123, 2019 Tour of Honor
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[wehrme]

Thumbs up! That's why I always keep one of those Harbor Freight -free- multimeters in the bike at all times. Sure saved me lots of trouble before.

 

[techdude2000]

Hey techdude, we started checking for continuity and checking for power at the relay and all seemed fine. We checked the fuse again, and bulbs again, all looked good. I decided to get some new bulbs just for the ****-of-it....well they worked, I could not believe it. Check out the attachment picture (these are the non-functioning bulbs) but they look fine. Thanks anyway, I've seen lots of your helpful posts, this one turned out to be an easy fix.

Glad my guess was wrong. Actually, they look bad, notice the middle of the filament (spring), it’s ugly instead of a pretty little spring. Love the easy fixes! :grin2:

 

[The professor]

Glad my guess was wrong. Actually, they look bad, notice the middle of the filament (spring), it’s ugly instead of a pretty little spring. Love the easy fixes! :grin2:

Ok, yeah I see what you mean. I was looking for the filament to be broken at the top or bottom, or that there would be a burnt mark, but yeah that little coil or spring section could have a break and you would never see it. Thanks buddy.