Softail headlight troubles

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May 27, 2014 | 09:21 PM

Dan33klein

Thread Starter

Tourer

Joined: Dec 2012

Posts: 274

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From: Illinois

Softail headlight troubles

Hi guys,

When I bought my softail, the headlight was not lit on the low beam setting, only lit on the high beam setting.

So I rode it around on the high beams only.

Last week the bulb went out completely, would not light on either lo or hi.

I just went and bought a new bulb today and put it in.
Now the bulb lights on the lo beam but not the high.
The indicator in the dash is coming on so I assume the switch is working right.
I took the bulb back out and I have no power at the high beam spade, only the lo beam, so the bulbs not the issue.

I'm confused on how I went with only having light on hi, to now only having light on lo.
Fuse is good.

Any ideas are welcome.
I assume I need to remove tank and trace wire back. I just have no idea how something good go wrong when the hi setting was the only one that worked since I bought the bike.

Thanks!

May 28, 2014 | 07:57 AM

Dan89FLSTC

Seasoned HDF Member

Joined: May 2008

Posts: 21,132

Likes: 12,694

From: South Carolina

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan33klein

When I bought my softail, the headlight was not lit on the low beam setting, only lit on the high beam setting.

So I rode it around on the high beams only.

Aren`t you glad that the remaining filament in the bulb didn`t burn out while you were riding?

Ok, now that I got my smart a$$ comment out of the way...

Since the high beam indicator light is working, we can assume that the switch is ok.

Your low beam works, so we know the ground is ok (both beams use the same ground wire).

The white wire starts at the switch, then branches out into two wires, one goes to the dash indicator, the other goes to the headlight connector.

Your problem is in the section of white wire that branches out toward the headlight connector.

Check for voltage at the wire where it connects to the headlight connector, don`t touch the probe to the spade connector, touch it to the wire that connects to the spade connector. You may have power in the wire, but a bad connection between the wire and the spade connector.

Check for continuity in the white wire:

Unplug the connector that connects the headlamp pigtail harness to the main harness (a small 3 or 4 pin connector).

With ohmmeter, check continuity of the white wire by touching the probes to the pins of the white wires at the headlight connector and small pigtal harness connector. High resistance means you have found the section where the wire is broken, it is in that small section of wire between the headlight connector and the small electrical connector.

No resistance means that section is ok. The problem is in the section of wire between the small connector and the spot in the harness where the white wire branches out into two wires.

Last edited by Dan89FLSTC; May 28, 2014 at 08:48 AM.

May 28, 2014 | 08:52 PM