Strange behavior from headlamp

[RUSTINPEACE]

I'm glad I found this thread.
I think I'm having the same exact problem as TheO.Z. had.
I rode home tonight with no headlights.
I took this video tonight sporadically getting the headlights to work again. https://youtu.be/g8cAErSpdBg

I'll try pressing the starter button while i'm out riding tomorrow night to see if that fixes the problem. Thanks

 

[Phil Tarman]

Oooo..... That sounds scary!

 

[JQL]

I know it sounds simple but, check the connector behind the rubber cover on the headlight. It can work loose

I had problems recently and I traced it to there. Quick push in and "Robert's your father's brother!"

If it is the the starter switch use ACF-50. This stuff is amazing - Motorcycle link. You can use it anywhere and everywhere on your bike except the brake pads and discs.

If you store your bike over winter, ACF-50 will protect it ready for the next riding season.

 

[crowbuster]

I owned a wonderful 89 Honda TransAlp for many years. As it aged, it developed a delay between when you gave a turn signal (slid the button) and when the signal actually started blinking. Anywhere from a couple to many, many seconds. In traffic, specifically passing, this became quite exciting. I searched well the forum for the bike and many people mentioned the problem and also asked Why? Surprisingly the last time I looked (years ago) no one on the forum had concretely figured it out. I sold it to my son-in-law who now rides it when he's not on his Super 10 (and sometimes even lets me ride it). Told him about it and it took him about 15 min. to fix. Took switch apart, cleaned out old, deteriorated, contaminated, gummy grease and put in new. Ah, to have a young, mechanically proficient mind.

 

[JohnC]

Could it just be a short in . . .

People always ask that. And the answer is, "Hardly ever." A true short, usually "hot" to ground will nearly always blow a fuse somewhere. A problem like this is usually caused by an open circuit or a break in the wiring.

This is based on experience with personal cars and motorcycles and over 35 years of experience with military electronics.

 

[Rmcapozzi]

Actually, don't PUSH the start button. The problem is the start button is not RETURNING completely. The dirty switch's spring isn't able to pull the switch back to find good contact. So you want to PULL the button back out a bit. Wiggling it may also work. Often times, just a little movement is all that is needed.

 

[DirtFlier]

[A true short, usually "hot" to ground will nearly always blow a fuse somewhere.]

I agree completely. In our modern parlance, "short" in ref to electrical problems is similar to calling every soft drink a "Coke" or every tissue a "Kleenex." Bikes and cars are more likely to have poor connections due to corrosion or loose connections. A hot wire rubbing or squeezed hard between metal parts is about the only way a short can occur.

It was in the low-30s yesterday morning and also this morning so I had to postpone my morning walk for a few hours. More rain on the way tomorrow. We've have around 3" of rain in the past 5 days so I won't have to water my yard, not that I ever do!.

 

[dannyjo]

Hey Friends,
This website proved it's worth again last evening.
I have not been able to ride my NT since early March, over 5 miles, due to an Arthritis flare up in my legs and knees, but I thought I could make a 10 mile circle just before dark last evening.....which by the way, my knees were screaming at the 5 mile mark, so I'm still out of commission, . As I went through our small town, I noticed the local Deputy gave me a funny looking over as I met him. As I got closer to home and darkness, I realized I had no headlight.
I got home and checked the fuses, and then went to the computer to check this site, as I remembered seeing others having this problem. Sure enough, it was in the starter button. I sprayed contact cleaner followed by WD40 just in around the buttons to flush it out, but it was still flickering out. Since it was too dark to see , I quit messing with it until this morning and checked it as I was leaving for work....it seems to be ok now and maybe I won't have to dis-assemble the switch to clean it anymore than a little more flushing out through the button slots.
Anyway, the first 5 miles were nice to get to ride, but I am going to have to siphon out the old gas this evening and put some fresh gas in with injector cleaner, as the bike doesn't want to idle very good and I think it is because of the old gas, even though it was treated for the Winter...I haven't been able to ride any this Spring and Summer to burn up the tank full. I'm hoping it is not the plug caps failing.
It appears like I still won't be riding for a while as I wait for a new drug to take effect and get my Arthritis under control again. My worst year for a long time in the 40 years of fighting the A. I did have a set of forward controls installed on my Vmax last week, but so far, about 5 miles is all I can do on it either.
Thanks for the info on the headlamp problem, and a great website!

 

[Phil Tarman]

Dannyjo, glad you got your headlight issue sorted out, but sorry to hear that your arthritis is still disabling your riding ability. Mine seems to be focused in my hands, wrists, and shoulders, and actually is better when I ride -- at least most of the time. The day Redbird and I rode together to Spearfish for the National Rally, I thought I was going to be in the same shape you're in. That day, I'd have to say that the pain in my shoulders and hands was between an 8 and a 9 all the way up into mid-Wyoming, but after popping four Advil, it slacked off and hasn't been that bad since.

Hang in! I hope your new drug works soon.

 

[DirtFlier]

In ref to the starter button being pushed while the engine is running, the starter motor on most Honda motorcycles have a one-way (sprag) clutch in its drive assy so it's impossible for engine RPM to cause the starter motor to overspeed, nor is there any metal clash of gears.

This is quite different than in a car where engaging the starter motor with the engine running results in the loud clash of metal teeth!

 

[MaxPete]

Sorry for the thread hijack - but I search on "safety" and this thread came up.

Here is some good advice for us all.....

 

[Macka]

Australian bikes also have the headlight on all the time.

Macka

 

[DirtFlier]

I obviously have an NT as do two or three others riders who I see frequently. None of us have experienced this alleged problem so in my mind it's certainly not a "I wonder if Honda has worked out a cure?" situation.

The starter switch causing problems with the headlight has been around for eons, on many different brands & models and not unique to the NT.

 

[ST1100Y]

Just another annual maintenance item...
Open switch-pods, clean, lube joints & axles (beware of spring loaded ball thingies), place a drop of ACF-50 on contacts...

And whatever some might choose to "just spray in" instead, make sure it's plastic friendly... (i.e.: stuff like WD40 isn't... at least not on the long run... )

 

[MaxPete]

Australian bikes also have the headlight on all the time.

Macka

Same in Canada -and our cars too.
Pete

 

[karl]

I would call this a my bike is outside a lot problem. You also get the auto start feature when you turn on the key for the first time. WD lets me put it off for a while longer. Just a squirt at the starter switch seems to make it happy again for me. I doubt Honda changed anything.

 

[MaxPete]

I disassembled, cleaned re-lubed the starter and turn signal switches on my 2007 ST1300 last year and the job was easy and worked like a charm.
If you go over there and search you will find the threads that describe the procedure - which I am confident would be similar if not identical to the NT700V switch gear.
Pete

 

[moriniman2011]

Euro bikes (post 2007 models) have the headlight permanently on as well and suffer from starter switch woes relatively regularly - certainly a known problem this side of the pond.

 

[ST1100Y]

- certainly a known problem this side of the pond.

I see more a correlation to climates, outside parking and pressure washing...
Exposed to the elements the switches will suffer at one point if neglected...

 

[ST1100Y]

- which I am confident would be similar if not identical to the NT700V switch gear.

STandard Honda switch-gear... which are way more reliable then like those used by Kawa I might add...
(GF also has an ER-5... a notorious clutch switch it has... )