Smoking headlight...WTF?!
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Tourer
Joined: Jul 2007
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Smoking headlight...WTF?!
Out on about a 50 mile ride today and started smelling something that had that bug on the exhaust pipe smell. Then I wouldn't smell it. Then I would. I noticed this my last ride about a week ago. At the time we were having those fires in north Texas and were getting ash and smoke haze in our area so attributed it to that. Today I knew that wasn't the case.
Got home and left bike running while I took off my helmet and gloves. While doing so I noticed a wiff of smoke at the front of the headlight. Hmmm. Turned bike off and sure enough more smoke coming out the front of the head light and the housing and lens were pretty hot. Might add I have the HD Billet headlight on a 2001 Night Train. I figure I must have had a big ol bug hit the headlight but coudn't really find enough remains that I thought would be creating that much smoke/smell.
I'm afraid something is going amiss inside the shell...maybe the connector getting too hot and melting. Short in wiring letting the smoke out of the wires. Something. Tomorrow I will take the headlight apart and see but thought I might ask if anyone has had this happen and what the culprit was.
Wondering if the regulator is going out and I'm getting too much voltage but I figure bulb would have blown in this case. Only other thing I could think about was I noticed the headlight was on high beam. Wonder if previous owner put in too high a wattage bulb and on high it's overheating.
Other issue now is getting that dang headlight apart!!!
Mark
Got home and left bike running while I took off my helmet and gloves. While doing so I noticed a wiff of smoke at the front of the headlight. Hmmm. Turned bike off and sure enough more smoke coming out the front of the head light and the housing and lens were pretty hot. Might add I have the HD Billet headlight on a 2001 Night Train. I figure I must have had a big ol bug hit the headlight but coudn't really find enough remains that I thought would be creating that much smoke/smell.
I'm afraid something is going amiss inside the shell...maybe the connector getting too hot and melting. Short in wiring letting the smoke out of the wires. Something. Tomorrow I will take the headlight apart and see but thought I might ask if anyone has had this happen and what the culprit was.
Wondering if the regulator is going out and I'm getting too much voltage but I figure bulb would have blown in this case. Only other thing I could think about was I noticed the headlight was on high beam. Wonder if previous owner put in too high a wattage bulb and on high it's overheating.
Other issue now is getting that dang headlight apart!!!
Mark
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 14,670
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From: East of the Sun, West of the Moon
Based on what you stated above, and the limited amount of accessability to the light, I agree with your last statement about the wattage of the high beam bulb being too much. Even if a bug hit and stuck on the light surface, it wouldn't produce the amount of smoke you're referring to and would certainly have that distinct wonderful smell. If your regulator was going out, you would have other more serious issues other than your headlight overheating.
Sorry not much help I know but I think you're on the right track.
Ultra
Sorry not much help I know but I think you're on the right track.
Ultra
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Tourer
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Smoking headlight....SOLVED!
Thanks UltraNutZ for the reply! And you were right on about the bulb. After finally figuring out how to disassemble the #$%@ HD billet headlight I found the problem. Connector melting....hmmm.....sure enough bulb had been replaced with a 55/100 watt bulb. Obviously with the high beam on, the sucker overheated to the point of melting the connector. It was pretty charred. Went to walmart and picked up the GE Motorsport H4 Bulb with the correct 55/60 watt bulb then to auto parts place to get a replacement connector which I spliced in and she's done! Now I can use my high beam without fear of that happening again. Glad I caught this in time!
Time to ride!
Time to ride!
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 14,670
Likes: 139
From: East of the Sun, West of the Moon
Bigger is not always better. 
Glad you found the problem before more serious issues developed with that. Would have certainly led to electical nightmares for you.
Glad you found the problem before more serious issues developed with that. Would have certainly led to electical nightmares for you.
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2001, 55100, bulb, connector, dyna, ge, h4, harley, headlight, motorcycle, motorsport, overheating, smoke, smoking, watt
