[Rabbi]

I don't use my Hi-beam much but it would be nice to get it working again. I checked for voltage at the lamp fixture and did not get a reading, low beam works fine, so the fuse is good, that leads me to suspect the switch.

Any other ideas?

 

[AOW]

burned out bulb?

 

[Rabbi]

NO that was the first thing I checked, filaments are intact and checked it against an older working bulb that I know worked when I took it off. Again I tested the lamp socket with a meter and it did not registered any current in the Hi beam, I then moved the switch to low beam and it had current.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[ATR]

Pull the headlight and carefully check the wiring. On mine the wiring got pinched which broke the wire but didn't cut the insulation. You could see that it was pinched though so look carefully. I soldered mine back up and all was good.

 

[Rabbi]

ATR, Interesting, was it by any chance the side cover that caused the pinching?

 

[ATR]

No it wasn't. It was closer to the light. Not sure exactly how it got pinched.
It went out on me on a trip. I took it to the dealer for the valve lash and while they had it told them about it. They replaced the bulb and thought all was good. Few days later it was out again. I troubleshot it and found the problem. Was the bulb the original problem and did they pinch the wire? Not sure

 

[Rabbi]

ATR, thanks, think I will get the meter out again and check for voltage to and from the high beam switch and check for pinch marks if the switch turns out good.

Again thanks for sharing.
Rabbi

 

[Dr Dave]

There is no relay in the circuit. So it is either the switch, wire between the switch and bulb, socket, bulb, wire between the bulb and ground, or related connectors.

The supply wire (+) is common for high and low beam. If your low beam works, the supply is good to the switch.

 

[Rabbi]

Dr Dave,

Thanks that narrows it down to the wire from the switch or the socket, and I know the bulb is good and I can assume that because the low beam works that my ground is good.

Rabbi David

 

[RustyG]

Rabbi,
According to my 2003 schematic you may have two ground wires, one for the high beam and one for the low beam. My 2007 uses a common ground for the two bulbs.
Some where along the line H-D changed the wiring in this area. In the earlier models the bulbs were fed directly from the left hand control switch with each high and low bulbs having a 12V and a ground wire going through the main harness to the bulbs.
On later models there is a Headlight harness that connects to the main harness. Thew headlight harness has only one ground wire.

I suspect your 2004 is like the earlier models but I may be wrong.

Easy enough to check. Follow the wires from the bulbs. If they go directly into the harness then you have the earlier version and two ground wires. If you run into a connector then you have the newer style.

 

[AOW]

have you had the headlamp off recently? If so, check behind there for pinched wires as well as behind the left front cover.

 

[Rabbi]

Rusty G, did not know that I will take a look at it, thanks!
AOL Yes I have had both off reticently, thats why I asked ATR about the side cover, thanks for your input!

 

[AOW]

it's a tight fit behind the headlamp for all that wiring, so it's easy to pinch a wire or three upon reassembly. I ended up wrapping all the wiring in loom to keep from pinching them in the future

 

[Rabbi]

AOW....Tight fit indeed...if I hadn't of needed to change my spark plugs that cover would have stayed on. I will take a look at it again when I have more time and things cool down a bit, it's still 103F with 30 % Humidity so read 108F but I'm thinking nipped wire or lamp socket.

Thanks everyone for the help it was really appreciated
Rabbi

 

[Rabbi]

Apologizes for not posting what I found that caused my High beam to not work.
It was the socket, right where the wire goes into the silicone filling. The wires were real short so I probably pulled the wire out taking the lamp shroud off. Went down to Auto Zone bought a new socket which also gave me longer wires to work with. Project done no worry's.

Again thanks everyone for your knowledge and help it was very much appreciated!
Rabbi

 

[ElrodontheV-Rod]

The wire doesn't get pinched,it breaks from turning.Usually it's the ground wire that breaks.I soldered a piece of wire in on my 03 that has a softer insulation.