I appear to have fried my headlight

[Dbdb]

Hi, I've done lots of reading hear, this is my first post. Bike is a 2016 Tracer with 20k km. 

I have an auxiliary light bar wired using a relay triggered from the negative switching wire to generate a positive signal to swtich a second relay to power the light bar. In Australia it's required to have auxiliary lights switched in line with the high beam, hence the trigger. All was working sweetly until I did a wiring tidy up, and mis-wired the first relay. Lights flashed on and then died. No headlights, no high beam, just the running lights. 

Notwithstanding my stupidity, is any one able to advise whether sourcing a replacement Headlight control unit will sort the issue? I can't find one locally, but have found one in the UK, for about $200 shipped. Yamaha don't appear to sell it separately, only a complete headlight assembly.

Thanks,

Richard

Edited May 17, 2022 by Dbdb

[Heli ATP]

I've got one for sale if you think the part you need is in it we can work something out.

 

[betoney]

3 hours ago, Dbdb said:

All was working sweetly until I did a wiring tidy up, and mis-wired the first relay. Lights flashed on and then died. No headlights, no high beam, just the running lights. 

Notwithstanding my stupidity, is any one able to advise whether sourcing a replacement Headlight control unit will sort the issue?

Before throwing money at it, have you checked all of the corresponding fuses for the lights?

[Dbdb]

2 hours ago, betoney said:

Before throwing money at it, have you checked all of the corresponding fuses for the lights?

All fuses checked and appear to be ok (sadly). It appears that the headlight control unit may be specific to EU delivered bikes, and not present on the AU spec. I need to get underneath and have a good look when I get home. Sounds like an odd situation but stranger things have happened...

[Dbdb]

4 hours ago, Dbdb said:

All fuses checked and appear to be ok (sadly). It appears that the headlight control unit may be specific to EU delivered bikes, and not present on the AU spec. I need to get underneath and have a good look when I get home. Sounds like an odd situation but stranger things have happened...

I checked, there is definitely a headlight control unit. Doesn't inspire much confidence in the spare parts department of a major national Yamaha dealer when they deliver advice like that 🙄. 

[Heli ATP]

Here is a pic of the back of my spare 2017 FJ headlight...

 

[skipperT]

Don’t forget about the ECM. There’s a driver circuit that controls the power flow to the LED Control unit based on signal from the LH switch.

diagnose carefully before throwing parts at the problem. 
more to read here:

 

-Skip

Edited May 18, 2022 by skipperT

[dazzler24]

3 hours ago, skipperT said:

Don’t forget about the ECM. There’s a driver circuit that controls the power flow to the LED Control unit based on signal from the LH switch.

diagnose carefully before throwing parts at the problem. 
more to read here:

 

-Skip

Oh no..... not this (possibly) again?!

[Dbdb]

22 minutes ago, dazzler24 said:

Oh no..... not this (possibly) again?!

I've read the thread skipperT linked above, it made my head hurt. I'll re-read it to try and pick up what I need to do, but I'm a bit afraid to start down that path. It was very much a sinking feeling when my lights stopped working. I do have to wonder why Yamaha decided to make the light control so complex, and so fragile. Its not like switching lights on and off is a new thing. 

[skipperT]

11 hours ago, Dbdb said:

I've read the thread skipperT linked above, it made my head hurt. I'll re-read it to try and pick up what I need to do, but I'm a bit afraid to start down that path. It was very much a sinking feeling when my lights stopped working. I do have to wonder why Yamaha decided to make the light control so complex, and so fragile. Its not like switching lights on and off is a new thing. 

Troubleshooting can be overwhelming, but if you break it down into smaller, organized steps it doesn’t feel as big and insurmountable. always back up and start with the basics:  fuses and connections in the circuit. Remember the FJ/MT won’t fire the main hi/low beams until the engine is running. 

As to why? Hard to say and I’m not an engineer but they combined the switching and relays into one “unit” to step up and switch the voltage which is required by the LED lights into one tiny control box that they can hide under the headlight assy. There’s a lot less room on modern motorcycles for tons of wiring and relays and complication when they have a stream-lined design, sleek machine that’s reliable and can be produced at x costs. 

my$ 0.02

btw there’s a least one Control Module on eBay right now for less than 100 bucks…

-Skip

[Dbdb]

thanks for the support Skip,

I'll stop feeling sorry for myself now and try and get on with it.

I've checked all the fuses and connections, and I'm aware that engine needs to be running for high low to work (actually running, and then stopped with the kill switch works to allow switching without the engine  continuing to run, helpful in a cold shed with the door closed). 

I'll try and test the voltages at the LCM this weekend to determine if the ECM or LCM is the issue. I don't get the high beam indicator showing on the dash, so based on the other thread, I'm suspicious that the ECM is the issue. 

[dazzler24]

5 hours ago, skipperT said:

 Remember the FJ/MT won’t fire the main hi/low beams until the engine is running.

The only reason I can think of why they would do this is to minimise the load on the battery before we hit that starter.

I remember when my 1st battery was on the way out (and the voltage was getting low) the 'system' wouldn't allow the starter to even attempt to engage.  So, I'm thinking the more electrical parts that are excluded before the engine is running, the more chance of it actually starting.

That's my $0.02 worth but with current inflation it's probably only worth 1/2 cent. 😉

@Dbdb - As skip says, slow and methodical and you'll pinpoint the problem.  I do hope it's not your ECU like in the other thread but at least you've got someone else's experience there to follow along with and compare to.

Don't forget, you can always ask if there's something you're not understanding and you're very likely to be helped out by one of the helpful 'team' members here. 🙂

Good luck.

[Dbdb]

Well, on the weekend I got a chance to try and get some readings from the 6 pin plug into the LCM.

With the bike running, using @dazzler24 post in the linked thread for comparison, taking readings on the two Yellow wires I got the following;

• Bottom wire - bike on - 5.06v, high beam switch on 13.3v (Dazzler24 had 13v and 0.18v)
• Top wire - bike on - 13.9v, high beam switch on 13.1v (Dazzler24 had 0.12v and 0.15)

I get no high beam indicator lit when the high beam switch is on.

Given that my numbers are different to his known working unit, and that the high beam indicator does't work, it looks like it may be the ECU. Are there any other ideas for what I should check?

Does anyone have any idea if a shop like this (https://vectriq.com.au/) are likely to be able to repair it?

 

[Dbdb]

I contacted vectriq, and they indicated they can repair the ecu, 4+ weeks turnaround, it gets sent to the Netherlands for the work. 

Before I jump, is there anything else i can do to verify that the ECU is the issue? I don't have access to another LCM to swap out to check. Thanks

Richard

 

 

[skipperT]

Richard, what do you mean by bottom and top wires? That is what’s throwing me here I think in trying to interpret your data.  

great that you found a place that will repair the ECM. 
As mentioned in the other thread (I think?) the LH switch is responsible for telling the ECM what to change, you could verify continuity on the wires for hi and low beam where they exit the switch connector. 

the hi beam light not coming on is troubling to me, in that it’s not like the other problem. 

hmmm. Up to you, but I don’t know if I’d jump just yet. However I tend to over-verify things at times….
-Skip