Newbie - Hi-Beam Problem

[lukasgrech]

Alfrom, the switch does have a click to it, but no amount of wiggling gets a flicker from the light.

Luca, thanks for the tip. I think I will do as you say, to perhaps give it better reliability.

[John M]

Have you checked that the high beam filament is intact on the bulb , Also you could spay some electric contact cleaner inti the switch and work it up and down .  regards John Muir

[John M]

Please excuse my typing---- Spray rather than Spay

[Bob_Roller]

The problem is in the switch itself, there are two contacts inside the switch for high beam one can work while the other is inop .

You need to open up the switch, but there are no parts available for the switch, so if something is broken, etc ..., yuu will need a replacement, or wire in a different switch .

I've had two switches go bad in the time I've had my '81 R65, 33 years .

Never had any success in repairing them the plastic parts inside usually were falling apart, non-repairable .

The head light circuit is not protected by a fuse .

[Luca]

Luca, thanks for the tip. I think I will do as you say, to perhaps give it better reliability.

Cleaning contacts is a good way to get in touch with your bike and maybe prevent future problems.  I've got to say, however, that the electrical contacts in airheads are few and well shielded.  The peace of mind you get from inspection and cleaning ain't a bad thing, though.

As for the problem, listen to the others here and scrutinize that switch.

[AlfromNH]

The switch assembly is still available, it's on the Max fiche for $104. My switch works electrically but has no mechanical clicks in either the high beam or turn signal switches, so I've been thinking a new one is in my future.

[Bob_W]

There are three contacts on the headlight switch-high beam, low beam and flash. The high beam is probably bad or else the wire between the flash and high. A new switch is the best answer unless you can take the switch apart and see something obvious an repairable.
Bob

[AlfromNH]

Not sure how helpful this picture will actually be, but...

In the middle of the pic is(I believe) the connection between the two high beam "modes". It's a bit of bare wire between two soldered connections. You might see if everything looks solid there.

[Matt Chapter]

I mentioned this on another thread, but if you're buying a new switch in the US, you might consider ordering one from overseas if you fancy a headlight on/off switch.  Couple more bucks, but then you have the Euro style switch.  I ordered mine from motobins, I'm pretty sure.

[lukasgrech]

Cheers for all the help! I'm away from my bike for a few days, hopefully I'll be able to have a go at it soon, looks like the switch is the item to look at.

I'll try my luck at actually getting at the internals of the switch, and then see if I can diagnose from there

[disco51]

+1 with opening up the switch.  I'd also check the bulb, as it's pretty easy to do.

Here is the problem I had with the headlight switch (check link below).  Still haven't fixed it.  With the current amount of pressure, the contact is made.  I'm still sort of looking for a cheap switch on ebay.  Perhaps this will help.  

http://www.bmwr65.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1363097002

[azcycle]

I'm going to open my light switch sometime this weekend, as well as I have high beam and flash-high, but no low beam. Will report what I find out in my "electrical woes" thread and post here if ya'll are interested.

[montmil]

We ALL be interested.

[lukasgrech]

Right. So I finally had time to have a look at the problem. It is not in fact the switch (hurray for not having to take that apart).

The problem comes from the wire that is not connected at the plug under the tank.



As you can see, the blue (taped to the yellow) wire is completely removed from its location in the plug. When I touch the wire to its mate in the plug, the hi-beam does come on.

I've checked the plug and that position is missing the connector that all the other holes have.

My question now is, what is the best way to secure the wire back into its position without having to dismantle the entire plug (if at all possible)?

[Barry]

With some ingenuity it's possible to replace the electrical connectors in those blocks. There will be little sprung ears that can be depressed in order to release the connector but you are going to need a spare connector from a donor block to crimp or solder onto the blue wire.