How do I test to see if my motorcycle headlights are dead?

Question

When the bike is turned on the lights don't come on, but it might be lose wiring. How do I check to see if the light bulbs are dead or if there is lose wiring.

Answer 1

well what i think turn your headlights on and if the light isn't on then there dead t hats what i think

Answer 2

First check if your battery is dead then if it is you connect a battery charger. then you turn them on if they do not come no they are dead or your switch or wires are bad that is the best youcan do  

Answer 3

Turn them on, and use your eyes to look at them. In case you're a blind biker, touch the headlights with your hands to see if they're hot.

Answer 4

do they produce light?.....

Answer 5

You replace the bulbs with NEW ONES.

Then, if they don't work.. it's something worse.

Answer 6

turn them on, if they dont work, check the fuse, or take it to a professional.  

Answer 7

take the light out and put a test light in the  plug and see if you have power there  

Answer 8

turn them on and see if they emit light  

Answer 9

First see if the fuse is good.

Get one of those circuit testers that look like an ice pick with a light in it.

Remove your headlight, clip the tester's alligator clip to a bolt to ground it and stick the ice pick part into the headlight plug.  

Try each of the slots.  One is ground, one is low beam, one high beam.

If the light comes on in the ice pick then the trouble is in the bulb.

If the light doesn't come on, then buying a new bulb is money wasted.

Answer 10

Given the low cost of a replacement bulb, I would get a replacement and check to see if that works.

If it does then you have found the problem. If it doesn't you can check everything else and keep the bulb (as it will only be a matter of time before you will need one anyway)

Answer 11

Speaking of Dim Bulbs,,,You can see that Yahoo suffers the same sort of "Power Outage" and how many are stranded in the dark

........................

You can use an Ohmeter to check continuity across the Bullb's  contacts.

If you dont have an electrical test  meter/multi-meter,,,

You can get one from places like Walmart,,any AutoParts or Hardware Store for as little as $10.

You can also use a pair of jumper wires.

Connect them to the Bulb,,,then directly to a known good battery.

Be sure to attatch then securely,,,and not let them contact each other or anything else.

If your HI and Low beam are Both "dead" while on the bike,,

Odds are SLIM that  the bulb is bad.

Total Blackout is USUALLY a switch problem.

Different bikes are set-up in different ways.

Many have NO Fuse for headlites,,,but many others Do.

Most bikes wihich have the Headlites on FULL-TIME,,,have a disable feature built into Starter Push Button,,,so Lights go OFF when using electric starter.

That Starter Switch feature is often a problem.

Internally,,it's like 2-in-1 switch,,,one set of contacts for Starter,,,another pair of contacts for the Light.

DIP Switch aka Dimmer,,,aka Hi/Low switch can also be a problem

A Lot of bikes have the Lights switched On by separate contacts in the Main Ignition Switch.

That's often a source of problems

Headlight Circuits RARELY suffer a Blackout due to corroded connections,,or loose wires.

But those type problems are certainly possible.

I havent seen it happen in many years,,,but for a while it was not unusual to have Wires BREAK inside the harness,,,where it goes from Frame to Handlebars.

The constant bending/flexing of the harness from steering would sometimes break the wires.

If we knew what Make/Year/Model of bike,,,I could rank & prioritize the possibilities for you,,,and tell you a trouble shoot procedure to find it quickest and easiest.

But not knowing any details,,,,I just dont have the time to list all the possibilities and combinations.

Best suggestion,,,get a repair manual or wiring diagram to guide you.

I probably have one you could download for free,,,but again,,,I have NO Clue which one you may need.

Wish I could be of more help,,,sorry.

Good Luck

Answer 12

LOL ... great answers, but I think he's serious!

Turn the ignition switch on

Turn the headlights on

If headlights do not come on, check the battery voltage with a voltmeter

If the battery is OK, check for voltage at the headlamp bulbs

I there is voltage, the lamps are bad

If there is no voltage, check the headlamp switch for voltage on both sides (swith in "on" position)

If there is voltage on both sides of the switch, the problem is between the switch and the bulbs

If there's voltage only on one side of the switch, the switch is bad (be sure the switch is in the "on" posiiton)

If there's no voltage at the switch, the problem is between the battery and the switch ... trace the wires from the switch back to the battery to find the problem.