Roadster Headlight Recall

[gra53]

I installed the Eastern Beaver Kit in my 2010 Roadster, but it didn't have provision to get the little parking lights to work. When the bike was subject to the recall the local dealer disconnected the EB kit and said the recall involved a relay under the sidecover. Only trouble is I can't see where they put it and if its there I'm assuming it must be electronic cause the only click I hear is from the fuel pump relay. Could someone post a pic of the relay / modification that's put in with the recall, - I'm concerned that it wasn't done and I have full power back on the ignition switch.

 

[Battersea]

The Triumph upgrade uses just 1 relay and is located behind a side panel, dont know which one. It basically does what the EB kit does, i.e. removes high current from Ign switch.

These are some images that were posted on one of the forums, it may have been this one.

 

[RocketEd]

One relay? The recall harness they gave me had 4! I left my EB in and just took Triumph's home.

 

[Battersea]

The first three images in my last post have gone sick for some reason. One of them showed a wiring diagram which might have given a clue.

here you go -

 

[tdragger]

In stock form, the power circuit routes through the ignition switch AND the handlebar mounted light switch in series.

The Triumph fix removed the ignition switch from the path but the power circuit still goes through the light switch. The ignition switch circuit activates the relay.

The EB kit uses two relays because it is downstream of both the ignition switch AND the light switch. It is the wires from the light switch that activates the appropriate relay of the two.

Thus, while the Triumph fix is a vast improvement, the EB kit ends up with a brighter light.

 

[Blastedbones]

....I'm concerned that it wasn't done and I have full power back on the ignition switch.

With the bike running for a few mins, take a hold of the wiring that goes to the ignition switch. Pre upgrade it gets too hot to hold!! That will tell you. ( if it's cool, it's been done)

 

[gra53]

With the bike running for a few mins, take a hold of the wiring that goes to the ignition switch. Pre upgrade it gets too hot to hold!! That will tell you. ( if it's cool, it's been done)

Thanks - that sounds pretty easy to follow.

 

[jthree]

...Thus, while the Triumph fix is a vast improvement, the EB kit ends up with a brighter light.

The reason the lights are brighter is because the stock wires are simply too small a gauge to carry the headlight current. To the point where things (in my case) started to melt. IMHO the Triumph circuit truly is a "half" assed job because it, literally, solves only half the problem. EB is the only way to go to do this right.

That said you could go totally overboard and do what I did, EB kit plus this ;-)

 

[Battersea]

The reason the lights are brighter is because the stock wires are simply too small a gauge to carry the headlight current. To the point where things (in my case) started to melt................

I know that this has been said many times but I find it difficult to understand. Modern 1mm² single core PVC thinwall cable, which I believe Triumph use on that circuit, has a load rating of 16.5amp. The major load is the 2 x 55w bulbs which at 12.8v pull under 9 amps, this is well within the maximum loading of the cable, even allowing for the other services using the same cable.

Isn't it more likely that the the lights dim on some bikes due to the contacts in the ignition switch going bad, thus increasing the resistance between said contacts and lowering the voltage getting to the bulbs? Is doesn't take much of an increase in resistance to drop the voltage by 2 or 3 volts, a drop that would be very evident on light output.

 

[jthree]

You are absolutely right about the theory of the wire size vs current. A voltage drop will, of course, cause an increase in current. However, even if the voltage drops by 3 volts the current would still only be around 11 amps which the wire should handle. I do know that wires in a bundle behave differently that a single core.

That said, in practice, we all know there is an issue and this is the result that I experienced.



The white wires in the picture were the extension that was used and, as you can see, they were fine. When I stripped back the stock wires, every one of then was blackened from the heat. I know it doesn't add up and I wish I knew why this happened but, with the mods I made, it's all good now.