Headlight failure. Pitch black! - bulb, connector and driving light topic

First of all I'm new to this forum. Please excuse if I've posted in the wrong topic. New owner of a 98 r1100rt w/ 94k mi.

Last night I was going 40 or 50 on a dark windy road and POW. Zero headlight. Pitch black. No low beam, no high beam. Nothing. What a scary experience. I stopped without riding off the road. (The trees come right up to the white line here, no shoulder, New England style.) After five minutes of traffic almost hitting me but never stopping to help another rider happened to come by. I was on a 30 mile ride and four miles from home. He escorted me side by side back to my place. What a huge help. Otherwise I was waiting until a cop showed up.

I was on my way back from a buddy's garage where I had just done the gearbox and final drive oils, and INSTALLED A NEW HEADLIGHT BULB. Upon inspection of the failure the headlight connector had melted. I had installed a PIAA Night Tech 55/60. After reading quite a bit about headlight options I went with this model in order to retain the 55/60 wattage in order to not risk melting something. (no more than the original 55/60 pull).

A couple of questions...

1) Would this bulb be more liable to cause a meltdown than any other 55/60 watt H4?

2) Is it possible that I simply missed a slot and/or poorly attached the connector and that the bulb is a fine choice? (one prong, the left prong, had melted. It looks odd. Was bent outward.)

3) Does anyone have a beat on what I want to order to replace that headlight connector? BMW part#?.. Another make that is more robust? etc. etc. They appear to be an easy to find part but what is the choice to combat melting? Ceramic?

4) Holy smokes was that dangerous! Even once I repair this headlamp I can't imagine riding at night without secondary lighting of some kind. It will always be in the back of my mind that the headlight could disappear, and that it's all that I've got. There are a lot of ideas and opinions on driving lights that I've read. I'm on a budget and any good tips are appreciated. Does anyone know if this product from PIAA fits directly on the r1100rt? (It's sold for a handful of slightly later models such as the r1200rt 05-09. I like the placement of the lights and direct fit would be a big bonus.) http://www.piaa.com/1100x-halogen-driving-light-kit-multi-fit.aspx

Thanks for any help and insight. I can't ride until I at least fix the headlight, and a budget driving light project is underway. Jim

Afternoon Motor_Rad

1) Would this bulb be more liable to cause a meltdown than any other 55/60 watt H4?---Not if it really only draws 55/60 watts. I suppose it's possible that the package had the wrong bulb in the package. The BMW 1100/1150 bikes were also noted for headlight connectors that melted or crumbled easily.

2) Is it possible that I simply missed a slot and/or poorly attached the connector and that the bulb is a fine choice? (one prong, the left prong, had melted. It looks odd. Was bent outward.)---A poorly attached connector (terminal connection) could surly add resistance to the connection. More connection resistance will make heat & heat can then add more resistance until the terminals turn brown & melts the connection.

3) Does anyone have a beat on what I want to order to replace that headlight connector? BMW part#?.. Another make that is more robust? etc. etc. They appear to be an easy to find part but what is the choice to combat melting? Ceramic?--- If your terminals are burnt brown or black (bet that they are) then you really need to replace the entire connector (terminals & all). You can get a generic connector (with new terminals) from your local auto parts store. If you want more robust then buy a ceramic (probably from an online source). Then just splice the new pig tail & connector on to your existing wires.

4) Holy smokes was that dangerous! Even once I repair this headlamp I can't imagine riding at night without secondary lighting of some kind. It will always be in the back of my mind that the headlight could disappear, and that it's all that I've got. There are a lot of ideas and opinions on driving lights that I've read. I'm on a budget and any good tips are appreciated. Does anyone know if this product from PIAA fits directly on the r1100rt? (It's sold for a handful of slightly later models such as the r1200rt 05-09. I like the placement of the lights and direct fit would be a big bonus.) http://www.piaa.com/1100x-halogen-driving-light-kit-multi-fit.aspx--- I am not familiar with those particular aux lights but they look like they would work if you find a good way/place to mount them.

Hopefully you will get some follow up replies here with aux light recommendations & mounting suggestions, maybe even pictures of the mounting.

There are clones of the Motolights that can be fitted that cost a quarter that price. Not as bright but still lights. I have some clones under the oil rad on a plate I bought.

I also have some Hella FF50 oval lights that fit over the mirrors on some custom brackets. There are also some brackets sold under the name of Bini. If you ask in the buy/sell forum someone may have either one or both for sale. If you are handy I have some bracket designs you I could send you. You will need access to some welding to make it happen.

These lights need to be wired in with their own relays and fuses. I installed a Centech fuse panel as well to give me the additional circuits. Others have used a Blue Sea fuse panel. Relays & stuff for the headlights and wiring are avaiable from Eastern Beaver. I have some pictures of installs by others if your are interested.

No stock or interest in any of the above.

Thanks for the input. Upon closer inspection I think I may very well have accidentally missed the connector slot, but it's tough to tell anything for sure with the connector burnt and broken.

No matter what the case I've ordered a ceramic connector with lead wires attached. I'm planning on connecting the new leads to the existing wires via pinch connectors. As I understand it the ceramic connector is far superior to the original plastic.

Basic safety concern: If an H4 simply burns out, as it normally will at some point down the road, will it still leave you with one filament still working? It seems preposterous that everyone with just the stock headlight rides around amidst the risk of losing all light at any given instant.

If it generally still leaves one filament available upon a burning out I'd feel comfortable riding until completing an off-season running light project. If I'm running the risk of this happening upon any bulb failure, complete light loss, then I won't ride at night, period, until completing a driving light project.

I will definitely look around in the forum for light brackets. I'm not much of a fabrication guy, nor am I all that particular about light placement. I would just like to get some insurance lighting on the bike.

Please solder the wires and use shrink tubing.

"Pinch connectors" will one day lead to another light failure.

If you're not a solder guy, ask a neighbor or buddy who is to do it for you.

The connector that I ordered comes soldered from headlightplugs.com

...Seems legit... Soldering I've got down, but I don't weld. (hence the fabrication comment earlier.)

Pinch connectors is the wrong term. I already picked up snap connectors such as these

Do you think those are suitable or should I definitely get into the shrink type?

Thanks -Jim

This link is more useful per the connector .

Hi Jim -

Those pinch connectors are what I would call scotch-locks, and I'm guessing that's what Tri750 is saying NOT to use. They are pretty hard on the wiring they attach to. If you're not up to soldering your connections and then wrapping, Posi-locks or Posi-taps (depending on if you're tapping into a run of wire or if you're just connecting the end of your connector wiring to where you cut off the old connector) are a much stronger connection and just as easy (easier, really) to use. You can find both on amazon (and shipped via Prime in two days, if you have that), and maybe locally at a good, local hardware store.

In any case, I'm glad you made it through your adventure that night. I had the switch melt itself together on my 1100 late one night, but I was on the freeway at least, and I could still get light by holding the switch to "flash to pass" (though that was only feasible for a few minutes - try it some time).

josh

Those posi-locks look great. I'll order some up today, and thanks for the information.

My soldering experience is limited to electric guitar innards. I solder well enough but would rather not trust it to my motorbike headlight just yet.

I happened to be on one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the area when the light went out. It's about a five mile section. Very dark, no shoulder, windy, and it also sees quite a bit of traffic. Feeling lucky, for sure!

I still haven't heard any opinions or knowledge on the question...

If an H4 simply burns out, as it normally will at some point down the road, will it still leave you with one filament still working?

I'm feeling pretty well set on my repair plan, but I'd be happy for anyone's knowledge per the typical burnout scenario for an H4 bulb.

and szurszewski nice looking bike. Honestly, I wish mine were the silver. Looks sharp.

 

If an H4 simply burns out, as it normally will at some point down the road, will it still leave you with one filament still working?

 

Morning Motor_Rad

Yes, on the H-4 when one filament burns out that normally leaves the other filament operational. (so if you are running on low beam then the high beam should still be operational)

BUT!-- when the bulb connector overheats or burns that can render both hi & low beams inop at the same time & do it instantly-- (especially if the problem is in the single ground side as both hi & low use the very same common ground.

Okay, thanks. That's the information I was looking for. Obviously the complete failure due to the connector already happened (and theoretically anything else in the headlight wiring scheme could render the same.). I was looking for knowledge on just the bulb.

PM sent

Have a look at these for inspiration or purchase if you wish.

Head light relay kits

Those posi-locks look great. I'll order some up today, and thanks for the information.

 

...

 

and szurszewski nice looking bike. Honestly, I wish mine were the silver. Looks sharp.

You're welcome - I just used a bunch to wire trailer light adapter, and a few other bits, into my LT, as well as completely re-wiring a trailer with them - much better working and brighter lights on the trailer now!

Thanks, but it's actually Glacier Green (I would have preferred silver, and in fact tried to purchase a silver RS and ended up with that RT as a fall back), AND, kind of sadly, it's not mine anymore - sold it just a few days ago. I do really like that pic though, so I think I'll be keeping it on here

Have a look at these for inspiration or purchase if you wish.

Head light relay kits

Nice one. Thank you!

.... Upon closer inspection I think I may very well have accidentally missed the connector slot...

You said that the lights were working for 20+ miles. I'm trying to figure out how you might have installed them incorrectly -- and in a way that allowed them to function normally for that long, and then suddenly cause a failure of both elements.

From your description of the melting and burn marks, that sounds like significant heat. One possibility is an electrical short, but in my experience, 12v DC shorts don't cause such immediate and catastrophic damage. Think what happens when you inadvertently strike charging cables together -- you get a spark, but not a huge one. And you would have noticed some flickering.

I think the most likely answer is that your new bulb produced a lot more heat than the socket is capable of rejecting.

Definitely unlikely, but if you had seen the damaged connector you would see what I mean. The meltdown looked like the prong had been slotted between the actual, correct metal connector and the plastic itself. To the inside. Essentially one lane inside of the correct slot between the plastic and the metal.

No such evidence on the bulb, though, and it could just look that way due to the nature of what melts down first.

Hard to explain. Hard to say. We'll never know of sure.

If the poor connection was for the ground wire, it would take out both high & low beams when it failed. Each connector usually has several points of contact, to spread the conduction area. If there was a single small contact point the increased resistance could generate heat without flickering. Compared side-by-side to a bulb with good connections, the light would be slightly dimmer. It's unlikely you could notice that dimming without a comparison to a bulb with a good connector.