Member Contributer VFR-SPORT Posted July 2, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 2, 2011 I was out for a 300+ Km drive today. As I was driving back into the garage I notice no light on garage wall. I flicked the Hi-Low beam switch and I get Hi beam but no low beam. I was on a rough dirt road for a couple of kilometers. Would they both blow at once??? I have the VFRNess installed. As it was daytime I didn't notice any problems with the dash, it seems to be functioning properly. OEM bulbs with about 28,000 kms on them. Thanks for any insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted July 2, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 2, 2011 I has happened to me before. Looking at the wiring diagram the highs and lows run off the same fuse (F - 20A) so it's safe to assume it's the bulbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swas Posted July 3, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 3, 2011 Welcome to a demonstration of the accuracy of modern manufacture. Lights on all the time means they wear out, seemingly quickly. Happened to me too with about 25k km, about 2,000 km from home. Very shortly after I had the problem of no high beams as well, except from the headlight flasher (which I don't think US spec bikes have?). This was eventually tracked down to the sticky start switch syndrome which blanks out all lights during starting but gunk around the switch prevents it returning fully to its normal position. New lamps should fix yours OK. Because the high and low beams are both run through relays it is a simple solution to add a switch so that the bike will run without "lights-on", if that is desirable and/or legal. Depends on your idea of balance against safety factor or inconvenience of lows burning out prematurely. I have opted for cheaper eBay sourced lamps which are good enough for the very little night riding I do these days and have a spare set at home ready to install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Welcome to a demonstration of the accuracy of modern manufacture. Lights on all the time means they wear out, seemingly quickly. Happened to me too with about 25k km, about 2,000 km from home. Very shortly after I had the problem of no high beams as well, except from the headlight flasher (which I don't think US spec bikes have?). This was eventually tracked down to the sticky start switch syndrome which blanks out all lights during starting but gunk around the switch prevents it returning fully to its normal position. New lamps should fix yours OK. Because the high and low beams are both run through relays it is a simple solution to add a switch so that the bike will run without "lights-on", if that is desirable and/or legal. Depends on your idea of balance against safety factor or inconvenience of lows burning out prematurely. I have opted for cheaper eBay sourced lamps which are good enough for the very little night riding I do these days and have a spare set at home ready to install. That would make a good mod for no other reason than to be able shut our lights off durning electric melt downs to get us home by turning off the lights....And like you said would be nice to be in control of them anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted July 3, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 3, 2011 I had one OEM (original) globe blow on me at about 30,000km, and then I replaced it with a cheapie from the auto store. Lo and behold, that same globe blew twice in succession (about every 10,000 kilometres) with the other side original globe still going. Eventually I replaced both globes at once with some high quality Phillips units which have now been ticking along for over 50,000 kilometres. It's strange how these things go, but certainly the quality of the filament material, coupled with the voltage being delivered to them directly affects their life. This reminds me, but does anyone remember the thread about how to make your High beam filament come on when you hit your high beams on the 6th-gen? I recall it was a wiring mod plus an additional relay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted July 3, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 3, 2011 This reminds me, but does anyone remember the thread about how to make your High beam filament come on when you hit your high beams on the 6th-gen? I recall it was a wiring mod plus an additional relay. Is this it? Headlight mod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted July 3, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 3, 2011 This reminds me, but does anyone remember the thread about how to make your High beam filament come on when you hit your high beams on the 6th-gen? I recall it was a wiring mod plus an additional relay. Is this it? Headlight mod Yup, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFR-SPORT Posted July 3, 2011 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 3, 2011 Ok, dug out the old bulbs and sure enough, both low-beam filaments in the bulbs are blown. Time to go to CTC (Canadian TIre) to buy some replacements. As an aside, is it very hard to replace the rubber covering on the low beams???? They were a bit tough coming off as the fairing stay, I believe, is in the way at the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Ok, dug out the old bulbs and sure enough, both low-beam filaments in the bulbs are blown. Time to go to CTC (Canadian TIre) to buy some replacements. As an aside, is it very hard to replace the rubber covering on the low beams???? They were a bit tough coming off as the fairing stay, I believe, is in the way at the bottom. It wasn't that hard to put the rubber boot back on(I was thinking the same thing the 1st time I took it off). But knowing how it works might have been the best help after removing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 When I first got the vfr, it blew the left bulb about the 3 month mark, maybe 6,000 miles, the right one went 2 weeks later. This repeated over and over at the exact same time. I was cheap and bought some walmart GE motocycle bulbs, they look indentical to the car ones, But theyve been in there about 3 years or 60,000 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 When I first got the vfr, it blew the left bulb about the 3 month mark, maybe 6,000 miles, the right one went 2 weeks later. This repeated over and over at the exact same time. I was cheap and bought some walmart GE motocycle bulbs, they look indentical to the car ones, But theyve been in there about 3 years or 60,000 miles. I'm with you on the cheaper the bulb, in most cases they will last as long as the ones you'd buy at the Honda Shop. Here is a interesting tidbit, my 2002 blew out one side about 70K (about 5 yrs old). That's it as I drove her today and one of my headlamps came from the Factory. However on my 2007 within 6 months I lost the left lamp, 3 months later I lost the right. About 5 months later I lost the left again and even though I bought a 3 year warranty Honda says you have 2 lamps we replaced 2 no more bulbs for you. so I bought a 2 pack for a car used the first one for the 3rd blowout, then a forth blew out using the 2nd lamp from the 2 pack. Finally the day I went to trade her for my current 2009 VFR the 5th bulb blew. I was told that the charging system might be messing up, but I never found out. Rob 2009 VFR 800 15,178 mi 2002 VFR 800 121,283 mi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted July 4, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 4, 2011 interesting tidbit, my 2002 blew out one side about 70K (about 5 yrs old). That's it as I drove her today and one of my headlamps came from the Factory. However on my 2007 within 6 months I lost the left lamp, 3 months later I lost the right. About 5 months later I lost the left again and even though I bought a 3 year warranty Honda says you have 2 lamps we replaced 2 no more bulbs for you. so I bought a 2 pack for a car used the first one for the 3rd blowout, then a forth blew out using the 2nd lamp from the 2 pack. Finally the day I went to trade her for my current 2009 VFR the 5th bulb blew. I was told that the charging system might be messing up, but I never found out. The higher the voltage the faster they blow. There's a table somewhere that shows a massive decrease in bulb life even at 20% over rated voltage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 After going through oem and aftermarket both phillips bulbs, the Ge switch has been Nice and reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer NorthernVFRDave Posted July 4, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 4, 2011 After going through oem and aftermarket both phillips bulbs, the Ge switch has been Nice and reliable. I was runing Silver Stars after the OEMs gave up, but found they would only last about 3000km so went back to the cheap-o GEs and I can't remember the last time I changed one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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