lights out help

[Jamtndll]

I went to get on my bike tonight and the headlight and running lights will not come on.  Low beam or high beam, my yellow runninglights all will not come on.  Tail light working blinkers working.  Any suggestions

[Chad in Michigan]

check the fuses first. are they all good?

[Chad in Michigan]

did you turn on the key? did you get power to the starter (ie did it try to turn over?) the main power comes from the battery to the ignition switch first, then back to the fuse block. the running lights & the headlight are on independant circuits as is the starter circuit. my guess is there is a bad connection in your ignition switch somewhere, or maybe a dead battery?

[Jamtndll]

fuses under left side plate are good, are there any others

[Jamtndll]

bike fires up and runs good i drove it home in the dark  only a few blocks

[Jamtndll]

i did notice this morning when i rode it that the lights seemed to get much brighter after revving the engine some

[Chad in Michigan]

maybe the regulator is starting to go and is putting out higher voltage than the lights can handle and popped the light bulbs... check the voltage at the battery at idle then rev the motor to about 3 to 5k, the voltage shouldnt be higher than about 13.8v or so. if it's higher, it's going to cook your battery before long and definately the cause of your no lights.

[Greg Cothern]

At and idle the RPM's are not enough to be in full output mode, when you raise the idle you will see it brighten, this is normal.

Dev's red 96 which I bought new out of the crate has done this for 40K miles with NO charging issues whatsoever...

[Jerry G Turner]

I would check the switch make sure the contacts are good and clean spray a little contact cleaner in there and see if that works.

[Jamtndll]

Thanks for all the tips.  I went out and took the starter switch apart and cleaned it.  The connectors had worn down some so I bent them up a little put it back together(checked and made sure lights came on before) and they are working fine now.  Wow, it is great to have a group of people to call on when you are not mechanically inclined to help you out.
Thanks again

[Greg Cothern]

Seems ya found one of the issues that happens to all switch housings...  I try to keep this area clean and dry and if possible coat the area with some sort of protective spray or goop safe for electrical connections.

[Smoked U]

Thanks for all the tips.  I went out and took the starter switch apart and cleaned it.  The connectors had worn down some so I bent them up a little put it back together(checked and made sure lights came on before) and they are working fine now.  Wow, it is great to have a group of people to call on when you are not mechanically inclined to help you out.
Thanks again

Where would you like our accounts receiveable department to send the invoice?

[Jamtndll]

Thanks for all the tips.  I went out and took the starter switch apart and cleaned it.  The connectors had worn down some so I bent them up a little put it back together(checked and made sure lights came on before) and they are working fine now.  Wow, it is great to have a group of people to call on when you are not mechanically inclined to help you out.
Thanks again

Where would you like our accounts receiveable department to send the invoice?

Check is already in the mail

[Jester]

    Hope you sent that check north and made out to cash!