Bosch Duel Beam HID on K75s Problem

[craigt]

I just got a Duel Beam Bosch HID for my 1990 k75s. (Actually this is the second HID. The first one burnt up, but thats another story) Anyway I hooked it up but it only comes on when the the headlight switch is on low beam. When switched to high beam there is no light ( Im referring to the stock switch). Any idea what is the problem? In case you are wondering, all the connectors that come with the wiring harness are hooked up. Also the stock headlight set up works as its supposed to.

[deilenberger]

Have you tried swapping the HID units?

If the problem follows the unit - then the unit is at fault. If not - the circuit is at fault.

While HID's are low current draw once "fired" off - they do draw high current (25-30A) during the firing phase. If your wiring is marginal, or the hi/low switch is marginal, it might not provide enough current to fire off the HID.

[craigt]

Don,

Thanks for your responce. Here is what I know. By the way, I only have the one unit now. The other HID was a different brand "Jem something". It had a similar problem although different. It would stay on the same beam regardless of hi or low switched. The Jem unit was returned for the Bosch in hopes that the Bosch unit would work correctly. The Bosch, as I mentioned, is on for low beam and off for high beam. One other difference is the Jem would not do anything if I hit the light horn whereas the Bosch will toggle off the headlight with the light horn depressed. In case you are wondering: I have no way of knowing with either of these units weather the beam I was/am getting is high or low. How would I check the in bike wiring and or switch? Any other brainstorming help would be greatly appreciated!

[deilenberger]

Don,

Thanks for your responce. Here is what I know. By the way, I only have the one unit now. The other HID was a different brand "Jem something". It had a similar problem although different. It would stay on the same beam regardless of hi or low switched. The Jem unit was returned for the Bosch in hopes that the Bosch unit would work correctly. The Bosch, as I mentioned, is on for low beam and off for high beam. One other difference is the Jem would not do anything if I hit the light horn whereas the Bosch will toggle off the headlight with the light horn depressed. In case you are wondering: I have no way of knowing with either of these units weather the beam I was/am getting is high or low. How would I check the in bike wiring and or switch? Any other brainstorming help would be greatly appreciated!


Craig.. I'm a tad confused.. dunno what a "light horn" is - unless you mean the flash button.

I need some clarification on how this dual-beam HID works. I assume it's replacing the standard H4 bulb that the K75 uses. There are some HID's made that have a solenoid that moves the position of the arc in the bulb to match the low or high beam filament in the H4 bulb.

1 - Is this the type you have?

2 - Did it come with a connector that plugs directly into the socket that went into the original bulb in the headlight (ie - a male H4 connector)?

If 1 and 2 are correct - then I suspect the wiring on the connector is wrong. H4 bulb connectors aren't what I'd consider "logical" - the contacts are in a U shape, two parallel, one at the bottom. A logical design would be the bottom one as the common ground, and the two side ones for the low beam and high beam filaments. That's not how it is (they obviously didn't consult with me..) One of the side contacts is ground (the one with the brown wire going to it) and the other two are the high-low connections.

If someone managed to get the connectors wrong - it's possible that the HID ballast would work in one beam position, but in the other beam position, it would be seeing 12V+ on both connections - and it won't work. I have BTDT which is how I know it can happen. :(

3 - If it's a system with two ballasts and two bulbs (dunno where you'd put them in a K75 headlight) - then it's possible it's wired wrong.

If you can get any documentation on the setup to us - I'm sure we might be able to help, or at least provide some guidance in troubleshooting..

[craigt]

Don,

Light horn?, I guess I made that up ( i thought other people called them that as well). Its the position on the headlight switch that gives a high beam flash and then goes back to low beam.

The unit has only one bulb. My guess its the type that moves the arc in the bulb.

Yes, It came with a 3 pronged male plug that connects to the female plug ( the one the connects to the h4 bulb).

So correct me if Im wrong. Are you saying that "two of the three wires going to the h4 bulb (not the brown but the other two) might be in the wrong position? Would anything happen to the bike or unit if I transposed them?

The unit came with no literature (strange) but the website does have very generic instructions (link below).

Do you know the correct position of the three wires? which color to which prong?

http://www.alpha-bid.com/product221.html

Craig

[craigt]

Don, Its definitely the type that moves the bulb in and out of its housing to duplicate hi/ low beam.

[deilenberger]

Craig, in looking at the instructions - they're for a dual-ballast car system unfortunately - so they're worthless.

In thinking about it - I believe I know what's going on with your system.

The light has to have power to it all the time. The high/low function is controlled by applying voltage to a solenoid that will move the bulb in/out.

Unfortunately - that isn't how your K bike is wired. When you switch to high beam - the power to the low beam is shut off. I suspect they power the ballast off the low beam connection and the solenoid off the high-beam connection.

So - when you switch to high-beam, the solenoid moves the bulb just fine, but there is no power now to the ballast, so there is no light. On low beam - it should work fine - since it would have power to the ballast.

Now - why does it work on the FLASH feature? 'cause FLASH leaves power on both high and low beam.

Unfortunately - this simply won't work on your bike without some rewiring of the system. You need to provide either a constant voltage to the low-beam connection, or power the ballast off a switched circuit somewhere else on the bike (one that comes on when the load-shed relay connects all the circuits it "sheds" during starting.)

Either is doable.. but I wouldn't want to try to tell you how to do it. Be easy to do if you were local.. but since I don't have a K bike anymore, nor any of the manuals, I'd be afraid to try to guide you over the web.

One funny thing... some K75's did come from the factory with a jumper wire in the wiring harness that left the low beam on when the high-beam was turned on. Most dealers cut that wire at the owner's request since people found it distracting to have both beams on at the same time. If yours had been wired like that - it would work perfectly.

Best,

[craigt]

Don,
The bulb is supposed to move in or out when you switch from hi to low or vice versa. IMy unit does not move in and out. When I switch to low beam, light come on (bulb is in out position).
When I switch to high beam, light goes off and bulb does not move. Do you have a clue which position is high beam, in or out?

[craigt]

Your explanation sounds plausible. How would I be able to discern if my wiring harness was wired like you described (both light on at same time)?

[deilenberger]

Don,
The bulb is supposed to move in or out when you switch from hi to low or vice versa. IMy unit does not move in and out. When I switch to low beam, light come on (bulb is in out position).
When I switch to high beam, light goes off and bulb does not move. Do you have a clue which position is high beam, in or out?
Craig - not a clue. Plug in a standard H4 bulb and look to see which filament is hi and which is low.

If it doesn't move OR come on - then it's broken. I can envision a way that a big-ass (tech-term) diode could be used to make it work as we'd like without any wiring modifications on the bike.. or a relay could be used. But - without a better manual and diagram - I have no idea what they really are doing.

[craigt]

Thanks!

[Manfred]

I've got this HID kit, from the same vendor, installed in my airhead - http://www.alpha-bid.com/product196.html

Works fine.

The diagram below shows a standard pin-out for the H-4 connector: low beam on center, high on left (as you face the female opening side of the connector), ground on the right.

[craigt]

Thanks for the diagram. Do you know, off hand, if the white or yellow is high beam?

Craig

[Manfred]

Craig,

I don't know the colors of the wires - your brick may be different from my airhead. Paul Glaves corrected me on a wire color, but I was unable to find that post.

You won't hurt anything by hooking it up wrong, high vs. low wires. I had mine wrong at first - learned by trial and error which wire was which. I may have written down in my book which way it is.

[PGlaves]

Thanks for the diagram. Do you know, off hand, if the white or yellow is high beam?

Craig

White is high beam, yellow is low beam, brown is ground.

[deilenberger]

Your explanation sounds plausible. How would I be able to discern if my wiring harness was wired like you described (both light on at same time)?Plug the stock bulb back in - and turn the thing to high beam.. then LOOK at the bulb. Two filaments glowing = yes. One = no.

[deilenberger]

Craig - does the system come with the relay shown in the instructions? If so - it might work with your system. If it doesn't work - it's probably defective or wired wrong.

[craigt]

yes, it does have the relay. alpha-bid is sending me a new bulb or bulb with housing assembly. ill have a better idea once i try to hook that up.

thanks