I think this was a write-up before by someone here in FL-patmax? ninjaneer?-but I'm gonna post my experience.
Addendum: I found the post, from ninjaneer: http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=20783
I have been doing a lot of work on my bike, and those of you who recognize my screenname and have read my posts, you know during the last 18 months I've been deep-inside 'the belly of the beast,' or my mechanic has. I had an intermittent issue crop-up w/the low beam. One time I was out on the interstate at dusk, and my bulb went out. I don't know if I had been riding around on one filament, but I was left w/no headlight. A new bulb took care of that. Normally you would notice the filament stopped working. In this case, the pair of filaments was out. I admit to not riding at night much, and actually, I haven't been riding that much at-all as it's rainy-season here. Too hot & humid, and I won't ride w/o a armored jacket, gloves, helmet...you get the picture.
So the other day I was going to run an errand, the weather was low humidity for South FL this time of year, and the sky was cloudy but not threatening rain. So, all-set to go-start the bike, don't notice a headlight reflection as I pulled-out, and sure-enough, no low-beam! I switched it to high, and was back before dark. When I got home I swapped-in a new halogen bulb, still no beam! I was too-tired to do anything else, until today.
I removed the headlight bezel, used my signal light, no power to the low beam conductor in the female plug for the bulb. I removed the headlight switch on the handlebar, and removed the single screw holding the lo-hi rocker switch for the headlight.
Then I carefully pried-apart the white plastic piece having two square holes in it which hold the rocker to the switching power contact. It's the same one the machine screw secures the switch assembly to the upper die-cast aluminum handlebar switch pod. (1st pic)
Three flat copper contacts, the center one is always hot, the other two are the low or high beam wires from the bulb. A jumper wire showed that the three flat pieces of copper were OK. The problem was in the triple-dimpled copper spring-loaded piece in the grey rocker switch. There wasn't a good contact from the dimpled contacts to the stationary flat copper contacts. A bit of Norton 180-grit, clean it, some CRC dielectric grease for the contacts and the spherical detent on the opposite side of the rocker, (2nd pic) and then snap the retaining piece back on, holding the rocker in-place, and the switch together. Test the rocker, low beam, high beam, all good. Replace the machine screw holding the assembled switch in the upper die-cast switch shell, replace the two screws holding the handlebar switch together, done! And I sanded the edge of the metal piece which I think is a ground piece to the handlebar itself, in the lower die-cast piece of the handlebar switch assembly. It makes-contact w/the handlebar in the hemispherical opening for the bar in the lower die-cast switchpod.
A friend said he had gone as-far as-to remove the dimpled piece, and use a ball-tip punch to re-establish a more-pronounced dimple for better contact. I didn't need to do that, but you might keep it in mind, or think about adding a bit of solder to the copper piece, which will most-likely require some electrical soldering flux to get things clean-enough for the solder to stick.
So, that's it. Like Diogenes, I can now carry my light into the world, looking for an honest man. And have fun doing it, on my VMax!
The mob is the mother of tyrants-Diogenes
Addendum: I found the post, from ninjaneer: http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=20783
I have been doing a lot of work on my bike, and those of you who recognize my screenname and have read my posts, you know during the last 18 months I've been deep-inside 'the belly of the beast,' or my mechanic has. I had an intermittent issue crop-up w/the low beam. One time I was out on the interstate at dusk, and my bulb went out. I don't know if I had been riding around on one filament, but I was left w/no headlight. A new bulb took care of that. Normally you would notice the filament stopped working. In this case, the pair of filaments was out. I admit to not riding at night much, and actually, I haven't been riding that much at-all as it's rainy-season here. Too hot & humid, and I won't ride w/o a armored jacket, gloves, helmet...you get the picture.
So the other day I was going to run an errand, the weather was low humidity for South FL this time of year, and the sky was cloudy but not threatening rain. So, all-set to go-start the bike, don't notice a headlight reflection as I pulled-out, and sure-enough, no low-beam! I switched it to high, and was back before dark. When I got home I swapped-in a new halogen bulb, still no beam! I was too-tired to do anything else, until today.
I removed the headlight bezel, used my signal light, no power to the low beam conductor in the female plug for the bulb. I removed the headlight switch on the handlebar, and removed the single screw holding the lo-hi rocker switch for the headlight.
Then I carefully pried-apart the white plastic piece having two square holes in it which hold the rocker to the switching power contact. It's the same one the machine screw secures the switch assembly to the upper die-cast aluminum handlebar switch pod. (1st pic)
Three flat copper contacts, the center one is always hot, the other two are the low or high beam wires from the bulb. A jumper wire showed that the three flat pieces of copper were OK. The problem was in the triple-dimpled copper spring-loaded piece in the grey rocker switch. There wasn't a good contact from the dimpled contacts to the stationary flat copper contacts. A bit of Norton 180-grit, clean it, some CRC dielectric grease for the contacts and the spherical detent on the opposite side of the rocker, (2nd pic) and then snap the retaining piece back on, holding the rocker in-place, and the switch together. Test the rocker, low beam, high beam, all good. Replace the machine screw holding the assembled switch in the upper die-cast switch shell, replace the two screws holding the handlebar switch together, done! And I sanded the edge of the metal piece which I think is a ground piece to the handlebar itself, in the lower die-cast piece of the handlebar switch assembly. It makes-contact w/the handlebar in the hemispherical opening for the bar in the lower die-cast switchpod.
A friend said he had gone as-far as-to remove the dimpled piece, and use a ball-tip punch to re-establish a more-pronounced dimple for better contact. I didn't need to do that, but you might keep it in mind, or think about adding a bit of solder to the copper piece, which will most-likely require some electrical soldering flux to get things clean-enough for the solder to stick.
So, that's it. Like Diogenes, I can now carry my light into the world, looking for an honest man. And have fun doing it, on my VMax!
The mob is the mother of tyrants-Diogenes
