Headlight problem

[hbt1163]

thank you guys for having this site. It has saved me numerous times. The other morning I was going to work, and my bike started fine, then headlight started flickering while turning handle bars while backing up. Then headlight went out and won't come back on. The high beam light indicator stays on. I thought it was the bulb, so I bought a new one and that wasn't the problem. Tried the stuck starter switch and that dont seem to be the problem. So then I pulled the headlight assembly apart and checked the 3 prong headlight bulb harness and noticed i wasn't getting a good ground from the black wire. Should both the green and yellow wires show 12 volts to the plug? Also when the bulb is the harness, the high beam, light is constantly on, even when in low beam mode. And if I take bulb out then the high and low beam functions properly. Is there a way to check these bulbs to see if they are good or not? I tried using a trickle charger and hooked up ground on bulb and the positive to one of the sides of bulb but it didn't work.

 

[MaxMidnight]

Should both the green and yellow wires show 12 volts to the plug? Also when the bulb is the harness, the high beam, light is constantly on, even when in low beam mode. And if I take bulb out then the high and low beam functions properly. Is there a way to check these bulbs to see if they are good or not? I tried using a trickle charger and hooked up ground on bulb and the positive to one of the sides of bulb but it didn't work.

No, there is a +12v (blue wire from the ign. switch) feed to the high/ low beam switch. Whichever beam is switched gets the +12v and then goes to earth from the black.
I doubt that the trickle charger will have sufficient output to light the bulb. You could hook it/ then up to the battery or alternatively check them by measuring the resistance across the filaments. You should get continuity between the back/ yellow & black/ green and no continuity between yellow/ green. If you have tried another bulb then it's unlikely you will have two defective bulbs and that isn't where the issue lies.
I would start by tracing the harness back and look for chafing.

 

[Fire-medic]

This probably isn't your problem, but sometimes you have to look-at the obvious.

https://www.vmaxforum.net/threads/chasing-my-tail-on-a-headlight-malfunction.31075/

 

[Zeus36]

The high beam indicator illuminated shows there is an open in the headlight circuit. Usually this is due to a bulb blowing (open positive side) or loss of ground (open negative side). Remove and clean the bullet connectors in the headlight bucket. Check the crimping from the wires to the bullet connectors and ensure the male and female bullets are making solid contact. Ensure your headlight bulb is connected and suspend the headlamp housing outside of the bucket. Turn on the ignition and wiggle each of the wires to see if there is a internal break in the wires. If the headlamp flashes on or flickers, then narrow it down to the wire. Do this in both the High and Low beam positions.

Take the new bulb and if you have a meter, check for any resistance across the filaments. Any reading other than infinite will eliminate problems with the new bulb (I'm sure it is fine).
Since you noticed the issue when you turned the handlebars, check for continuity in the wires from the handlebar switch to the headlight connector plug with the ignition off. Clip probes to each of the ends of the circuit and turn the bars from lock to lock while the bike is on the center stand. Watch for loss of continuity while you do this.

I wired in a headlight disconnect switch to the ground wire. Whenever I cutoff the headlight with the switch, the high beam indicator glows on the instrument panel.