[flea954rr]

I just wanted to start a thread to let people know that if they have the same problem that i had last night which was the bike starting and running fine and all the lights/turn signals working except the most important one in the dark, a.k.a. the headlight, the searches i did on this site helped tremendously which narrowed it down in my head to it being with the starter switch.

We all know that the starter switch interupts the headlight being on to start the bike, and had noticed on a few occasions in the last few months the headlight not coming back on immediately after the bike was running. After checking the fuses[fine], and relays typically not being intermitant and just going bad, my logical mind agreed that the best place to start was with the starter switch. Low and behold one of the 3 wires had had become unsoldered thus no headlight. Really easy fix and hope this helps the next guy with a similar problem because i feel confident fixing anything mechanical and do everything on my bike, but electrical problems can be a real pain the ass to fix and is about the only thing i dread doing.

New to the site and wanted to say thanks for the help......

[Custom900]

I'm glad you found the source to your problem.
Riding in the dark with no headlight would suck.

[ninja_rider]

riding without a headlight in california on highway 60 is why I no longer have one of my zx- 7's. darkness and cliffs do not match at all. be careful with that stuff. : )

[MACI4LIFE]

Originally Posted by flea954rr

I just wanted to start a thread to let people know that if they have the same problem that i had last night which was the bike starting and running fine and all the lights/turn signals working except the most important one in the dark, a.k.a. the headlight, the searches i did on this site helped tremendously which narrowed it down in my head to it being with the starter switch.

We all know that the starter switch interupts the headlight being on to start the bike, and had noticed on a few occasions in the last few months the headlight not coming back on immediately after the bike was running. After checking the fuses[fine], and relays typically not being intermitant and just going bad, my logical mind agreed that the best place to start was with the starter switch. Low and behold one of the 3 wires had had become unsoldered thus no headlight. Really easy fix and hope this helps the next guy with a similar problem because i feel confident fixing anything mechanical and do everything on my bike, but electrical problems can be a real pain the ass to fix and is about the only thing i dread doing.

New to the site and wanted to say thanks for the help......

not a problem at all.

I figure i could save someone a few hours of running through the wiring harnesses to finally figure out that the soldering point broke.

[flea954rr]

last thursday night had no headlight but the bike ran perfectly and all the other electrics worked. after researching this site discovered that it had to do with the starter switch, and low and behold one of the soldered joints had come undone.

soldered joint and headlight is on. cannot say for sure if i started the bike or just assumed everything was fine because i am so pissed as i write this because its my daily driver and am tryin to get to work.

now the bike isn't firing correctly and the headlight is either on and the bike doesn't want to start, or headlight is out and the bike starts but sounds like its not running on all cylinders, basically like crap.

i now wonder if the starter switch is just bad and shorted out somewhere inside.

[EDDIE110171]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (MobilePhone MM-8300/US/1.0) NetFront/3.1 MMP/2.0)

Make sure the terminal you soldered is not touching another.

[flea954rr]

where i solderd no, but i wonder about underneath, i'll go look.

[flea954rr]

no, solder was perfect, but as i got the bike to start, i barely touched the starter switch and low and behold the bike ran fine and the light came on.

so i took some dielectric grease and work it into the contact portion of the switch and the problem is now fixed for good. i also think the grease will cause any future problems.

when that switch is havin problems it causes all kinds of wierd problems...gotta love electrical issues.

[Custom900]

I'm glad all is good and going now.

I hate electronics.

[smokin929]

My 2000 929 just started with the same issue. All lights OK except for the head light and high beams. Also no high beam indicator light. Hopefully I can experience the same quick fix. Thanks for posting your findings, you have probably saved me allot of time.

[flea954rr]

no problem, thats what this site is for in my opinion, helping keep us running. if i wasn't pointed towards the easy fix on the starter switch, just the diagnoses and testing to get to that point would have been a pain in the arse. good luck...

[smokin929]

That was it. I opened the starter housing and one of the four wires was detached. I pushed it down and the head lamps came on. Once again I would like to thank all for their postings. You all saved me so much money and time.

[fireblade freak]

This sounds like a serious issue. Congrats on figuring out and fixing the problem. Also, thanks for the heads up

[EDDIE5786]

I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AS A COUPLE OF OTHER GUYS, WITH NO HEADLIGHT AND NO FRONT TURN SIGNALS. I CHECKED THE WIRING AT THE STARTER SWITCH AND FOUND NO PROBLEM THERE. ANT SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANKS

[trey]

hmm, i have no headlights but do have turn signals, would a bad wire in the starter switch cause the turn signal lights as well not to work?

[flea954rr]

i doubt it. i'm no expert of wiring, and reading the wiring schematics is a beatch, but the reason this topic is related to the headlight is because when the starter button is depressed, the headlight goes out sending all the power to the starter. i would say check all the easiest things like fuses, relays, and shorts. a 12v test light will go a long way to at least pointing an area to focus on. good luck...