Blue Main Beam Indicator Light not Working

HI,

The blue light that indicates that full beam is on has stopped working. Everything else appears fine. I have cleaned the handlebar switch but no joy. According to the Haynes manual I will need to replace the whole indicator board. Is this true or is there a simple way to replace the one faulty bulb? Many thanks in anticipation.

On this page, most of the way towards the bottom, you can see the internal parts of that part of the instrument panel. Doesn't appear realistic to replace just the one LED.

The circuit board (with LEDs) for North America models is part number 37120-MCS-641, but I suspect your European models have a different part number due to the HISS.

Not sure that I would replace the whole board just for the high beam light, I would just ride the bike and know where my switch is.

fnmag said:

If that's the only problem I'd just remember to visibly check the rocker switch periodically.

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Or wait for an oncoming vehicle to remind you.

Kevin_56 said:

Or wait for an oncoming vehicle to remind you.

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No one would even notice if they are the stock headlight bulbs.

Thanks for the swift replies. Definitely not stripping it down to replace the whole thing just for one bulb. Will have to work out how that switch thing works.... I've got hids so don't want to burn people's retinas...

You got HID's?.?.. did you add in an auxiliary relay to drive them with? or stock wiring?

The high beam indicator is driven from just one side of the headlight wiring. Stock high beams on the ST are drove from two different feeds.

Stock wiring. Had them for a while and this issue with the blue light has just occurred. Will check the wiring but as all the lights work I assume that everything is fine and it is only the led bulb thats blown...or whatever leds do.

Howard said:

Stock wiring. Had them for a while and this issue with the blue light has just occurred. Will check the wiring but as all the lights work I assume that everything is fine and it is only the led bulb thats blown...or whatever leds do.

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Hmm.. I bet you have another issue and this is just the first symptom.

The high beams on the ST1300 are funky as one is powered directly from the Hi/Lo switch and one comes through a relay that is driven by that switch. I don't remember what side drives the bled LED for the hi-beam indicator.

But... a bigger issue is that the ST stock wiring can not reliably handle the power of HID's over the long term. A few folks have done it, or tried, and they always end up having problems eventually. When HID's first fire they will pull up to 10 amps each.

To reliably drive them you need to put in a dedicated wired circuit for the ballast. A few of us add in a time-delay so the lights do not try and fire till the bike has been started. Once the alternator is running and can take the load is when they should be coming online. Better for the battery and better for the ballast this way.

You can use the stock Hi beam wiring to drive the hi/low switching of the HID's. (I'm assuming you have a bi-level HID kit.)

But as far as the indicator, check both fuses, check the relay and then if all that is good, measure if you have voltage at the hi terminal on the stock headlight plug. I'm betting one is out.

LED's can fail, but the one in this instance it's pretty rare.

Thanks TC. I wil do the checks you say and hope it's that easy. The bit about the wiring is a bit worrying. Is there a thread on upgrading the wiring as you say? I don't have the need for the relay time delay thing as mine is UK and I don't turn the lights on until it's running.

T_C said:

But... a bigger issue is that the ST stock wiring can not reliably handle the power of HID's over the long term. A few folks have done it, or tried, and they always end up having problems eventually. When HID's first fire they will pull up to 10 amps each.

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I can only speak for the HID kit I had. The ballasts were powered from the battery, through a fuse block. The only thing the stock headlight wiring did was trigger the high/low relay for the position of the bulb in the holder. No real load on the ST wiring compared to light bulbs.

Getting a bit complicated for my level of electrical understanding. Is it the Sennister thread that i should be following? Thanks

Well without looking at the wiring diagrams for a UK bike I'm not sure where to tell you to pick up a feed to run a relay. But if there is a master headlight switch you could probably use that. You can't use the low-beam feed as it turns off when you switch to hi-beams.

Dave's (sennister) article is more in-depth then what you'll need.

You just need to get the hid's fed with a heavier gauge wire than stock. Most riders at some point add an auxiliary fuse block to feed accessory farkles like Kevin mentioned.

Have you or a previous owner added one?

Dont think so. There's a lot of wires coming from the battery. I need to have a good look see and determine what is and what isn't required. It was all wired for comms which I don't use. I can't remember what I did to install the hid. Just followed the instructions that came with them. 18 months ago so very forgotten. It'll be a few weeks before I get the chance to strip it down so I'll let you know. Thanks for the advice to date.

Yeah... when you start getting more then a couple extra auxiliary wires going to the battery it is time to think about adding a secondary fuse/distribution point to consolidate the rats nest that might ensue. Keeps everything looking nice and organized, saves headaches when you do have to replace the battery and makes troubleshooting a whole lot easier.