2001 ST1100A no high-beams

John OoSTerhuis said:

I noticed that, Jim. I couldn't remember the connector colors but the colored leads unique to each of the relays made for definitive IDs, including the Bank Angle Sensor relay (which on my '91 was not where the manual showed it).

John

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I thought you did John, but for clarity I just wanted to state that for everyone else.

BTW John, check out the route for the Great Lakes SS3K ride on the IBA Calendar on July 14th next year. I'm planning on doing that ride and will be passing through your area Saturday afternoon. Do you know of any place where I can get a quick bite to eat near I-35 exit 90 , besides fast food locations ?? I should be there at about 7:45 pm. You and other ST Rider's are welcome to join me ( on my nickel ).

Sorry Jim, I haven't been near that intersection in many years. Start a thread in the regional/Iowa sub-forum...?

John

When I installed the new turn signal/hi-lo beam switch I obviously had the two connectors apart--one the 9 pin you are talking about, right in front of the air cleaner housing, and the other connector beside it. I have since gone back and disconnected and reconnected them, making sure they are fully engaged. I will look closely to see if the wire you mention is in correct position, or if any other problems are obvious with them. I use dielectric grease on all electrical connections.

I am not real good with a multi-meter although I have used one somewhat. If I check for continuity, say from the switch to that 9-pin connector, would I put one lead up inside the switch, on the actual contact area with the switch in hi-beam position, and the other on that blue wire at the plug? Then on that same wire from the plug to the end at the relay plug? I am assuming the blue wire is the hot wire?

I do have 12 volts to the hi-beam fuse position on the main fuse block beside the battery.

John,
Just wanted to say Thanks for being a valued source of great information on this forum.. You've been a great asset to me..

Rascal1 said:

When I installed the new turn signal/hi-lo beam switch I obviously had the two connectors apart--one the 9 pin you are talking about, right in front of the air cleaner housing, and the other connector beside it. I have since gone back and disconnected and reconnected them, making sure they are fully engaged. I will look closely to see if the wire you mention is in correct position, or if any other problems are obvious with them. I use dielectric grease on all electrical connections.

I am not real good with a multi-meter although I have used one somewhat. If I check for continuity, say from the switch to that 9-pin connector, would I put one lead up inside the switch, on the actual contact area with the switch in hi-beam position, and the other on that blue wire at the plug? Then on that same wire from the plug to the end at the relay plug? I am assuming the blue wire is the hot wire?

I do have 12 volts to the hi-beam fuse position on the main fuse block beside the battery.

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Yup, those are the connectors. Just unplug the 9-Pin connector and look closely at the pins in both half's to see if the pin with the Blue wire isn't inserted as far as the others. You may want to check all the pins. Hate to point this out, but maybe your original problem was the pin in the bottom connector had slipped out of place ........

Thanks Jim,

I will check all of the connectors this evening to see if I can find a wire or pin loose somewhere and not completing the circuit. It has to be something simple like that because I have never had any trouble with them in the past and they just quit working all of a sudden. Thanks.

STeve

Just a suggestion, when tracing out a high current path like the high beams, trace the voltage on a live circuit rather than a continuity check on the wires. A little extra resistance that might not look like much on a continuity test can add a pretty decent voltage drop with 10A of current flow. The voltage drop would be easier to detect and fix, if applicable.

dwalby said:

Just a suggestion, when tracing out a high current path like the high beams, trace the voltage on a live circuit rather than a continuity check on the wires. A little extra resistance that might not look like much on a continuity test can add a pretty decent voltage drop with 10A of current flow. The voltage drop would be easier to detect and fix, if applicable.

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Very true. In a higher current circuit a little extra contact resistance can significantly decrease the current. But his problem is missing voltage to the relay coil.

Jim Van said:

But his problem is missing voltage to the relay coil.

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which is why I'm suggesting he trace out the voltage to see where it gets lost, as opposed to taking resistance readings on wires.

dwalby said:

which is why I'm suggesting he trace out the voltage to see where it gets lost, as opposed to taking resistance readings on wires.

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But his problem isn't in the "high current path" part of the circuit. His problem is in the relay coil circuit, which is a low current circuit.

The handlebar switch energizes the relay coil ( about 85 Ohms / 0.16 amps ) After the coil is energized , the magnetic field causes the relay contacts to close. Then about 7 amps flows through relay to both headlights. That's a high current circuit (( 14x14)/100 = 1.96 Ohms). But the coil circuit is electrically isolated from the load circuit in the relay.

Jim Van said:

But his problem isn't in the "high current path" part of the circuit. His problem is in the relay coil circuit, which is a low current circuit.

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I thought he's not getting any voltage to the bulbs at all, which is the high current path. He may also be having trouble with the low current circuit as well, so I get your point. It wasn't clear to me that he's ruled anything out in the relay path. If I missed a previous post that suggested the problem is he can't energize the coil, then my apologies for not reading everything.

edit: I saw a post about +12v at the fuse panel, but nothing about +12v at the high current relay terminal. First step is to determine if there's voltage at the high current relay terminal, and if so jumper it to the other terminal and verify the high beams actually light up. Until that's done the high current circuit is still an open book. Once you verify the high current path is working, then you can look into why the coil isn't being energized (since he swapped coils and that didn't help so it doesn't appear to be a coil issue).

I did not have continuity on the circuit of the blue wire from the fuse panel to the 9-pin connector. However, a good mechanic friend suggested I have a break in that wire somewhere in that circuit and that it is probably in a bend in the wiring harness. I moved the harness around some, close to the 9-pin connector on the bike, and now sometimes I can get a reading of 7-8 volts, then sometimes I cannot. I am going to try to unwrap the wiring harness from the 9-pin connector back to see if I can find a break in the blue wire. There is a big bend in the harness, about 8" from the 9-pin and I will see if I can get it unwrapped.

I know, or at least I think I know, the problem is with the hot wire for the hi-beam relay from the fuse panel to the 9-pin, as everything else works and I don't have 12 volts to the 9-pin wire which then feeds the hi-beam relay. I will also check the back of the fuse panel for problems and look for problems starting at that end also.

Any other suggestions will be appreciated! Thanks for the help so far.

I would leave the defective wire in the harness, and slave in a new one. Only having to connect at either end.

Quickest way to do a complete fix.

I think found the problem. I checked the blue wire at the back side of the 9 pin connector, inserting the probe as far up into the hole as I could, and I got 12 volts. I sprayed electrical cleaner up in the slot and let it sit for an hour. I then checked again and I had 12 volts on the front side of the connector as well as the back, at the blue wire. I will try to get in there with a tiny wire brush to do a little more cleaning, spray it again, and apply some dielectric grease to both side of the connector before buttoning it up. The hi-beams should work as designed now.

Thanks to all who replies with suggestions and help!

Steve

Make sure the pin for the blue wire on the back side of the connector is pushed in all the way, as I mentioned before !! As a PM measure, I would make sure all the other pins on both sides of that connector are pushed in all the way, too , since you have everything apart to get at that connector.

BTW, With the correct tool, you can pop out that pin and examine it for corrosion.

I have a 96 ST110 and I had the same problem, no hi beam. Everything else worked fine.
Don't wish to teach to suck eggs but have you checked the hi beam fuse!?
James