After riding rough roads today with the 1200GS, the low beam bulb failed. But, the (several) replacement bulbs didn't function and when tested the bulb socket doesn't have power going to it. Wires in the head light assembly appear ok and tried cycling the ignition numerous times. Any ideas of what the problem could be? Thanks -
The headlight only comes on when the motor is running, so turning the key on and off isn't going to make it come on. If the bulb out symbol is displayed, put a new bulb and start the engine. If there's still no light, come back for some more trouble shooting.
at 15,000 miles I'm on my 4th low beam bulb with my R12GS. I suspect the large voltage fluctations due to the servo brakes are killing them. In-town driving would be worse than highway cruising in that regard (low rpms, high current draw). I cannot imagine commuting in downtown Seattle with my R12GS. Lots of hills, not much speed - just sitting at the traffic light with right hand fully clamping the brake to hold against the hill would kill your charging system. FWIW, replacing the bulbs is easier if you reach in from below vs. doing it from the top.
Thanks for suggestion, it works! I won't even wonder why the high beam functions with the engine off but the engine must be running for the low beam to function. What is, is.
So, why is my former servo braked Adventure on its original headlight bulbs after 30k miles and the accident that totalled it? Yes it was refurbished by the new owner. I think it has something to do with H7 bulbs. One of my cars uses H7s and early on I replaced all four bulbs one at a time in the course of a few months. The bulbs were covered by the warranty and I remember that there was some sort of update to the bulbs.
your '04 Adventure didn't have Canbus. things switched on stayed switched on. you likely had a larger alternator than the standard R12GS has also. with Canbus it's more of a "mother may I"? all your electrons are ours!
My '05 lost the dip beam at 9k. At 34k when I sold it, the dip beam was fine/still is with a few thousand more miles. My '06 lost the dip beam at 8.9k. Odd/not sure it has anything to do with the canbus. Both bikes were 12GS's.