I rode to a friends house and got rained on a little bit. Parked in his garage and a few hours later when I went to leave, the headlight wouldn't turn on. This happened one time previously after the bike was rained on, but the headlight came back on after riding for a second. This time, it wouldn't come back on. Here's where I stand:

Headlight/brights won't turn on.
Turn signals won't work.
Dash lights are out.
Tail light and brake light both work.

No fuses are blown.

I read that it may be a kill switch in the starter button, so I jiggled the button and played with it a good bit. No luck there.

I have a modified tail light, not sure exactly what, but it's not stock.

ANY help or direction would be greatly appreciated, even if your advice is to take it to the shop. I can work on it in my friend's garage and I'm pretty handy, so if you can direct me at some stuff to look at, and maybe some general tips on finding the problem, that would be AWESOME.

I think it's either a bad wire somewhere (although not a ground as the tail is still working), the dash is just bad (not sure if this controls the headlight/turn signals/dash lights), or there's some funky kill switch that's bad.

So, what could make the dash, headlight, and turn signals not work? I have no clue what's common between the three.

Love to hear your thoughts, thanks!

 

check your wire harness at the plug conectors as these can hold a minor amount of water causing a short...GL

 

Thanks for the suggestion bambam. I think I'm gonna take off the front plastics and really get in there this weekend.

 

Scoots,
I had a lot of the same problems, and I'd almost bet you can trace your issues to the same place.
If you look at the front right side of your bike, and take off the black piece of plastic that is on top of the side fairing, between the front and the gas tank, under that is a gray plug for your wiring harness, check first to make sure the plug isn't falling apart (mine basically disintegrated), but I've also heard of several problems where the wires in the connector get corroded, or even just fall out. All of the components you're having trouble with go through that plug. I ended up cutting out the plug and splicing all of the wires together permanently instead of forking out the cash for a new wiring harness just to cut the plug out to put into mine.

Good luck.

 

Any updates on the solution? I am having the same issue. I also notice that my turn signals up front are now really dim.

 

I had the same problem after a shop did work on my bike. It was that connector MadisonD mentioned, a wide flat grey plug covered in a rubber boot. It was loose and even after I reseated the plug I went the extra mile and tied some safety wire around it to hold it together. No problem afterwards. The Haynes Honda book had a pretty good wiring diagram in it.

 

My bike is in the shop now, as I was unable to locate the problem myself. I will let you know what they find and keep you updated. I can't believe my bike has been out of commission this long!

 

I took off the air intake cover and the problem was in that same plug. The connector for the thick green wire was bad. It is the wire 4th from the left. I hit it with electrical cleaner and everything is good to go. If I have that problem again I will just cut that wire on both ends and hardwire it.

 

Okay, got the report from the shop. Apparently this problem is common in our bikes. The mechanic explained that they use these stupid flimsy connectors to run all the wiring for the entire front end. Typically, they will get a little corrosion in them which will result in excess temperatures on the plug. End result, melted plug and wires. For me, it was just the ground wire that was totally destroyed. However, he said the heat generated by the plug actually destroyed the insulation about 1 inch on both sides of the plug.

Anyway, end result . . . usual solution. They are cutting out the plug and installing a new, aftermarket, one. I think he used the term "jump wire" and "quick disconnect" but I don't know anything more than that. Additionally, they're doing something to the ground wire to reduce the load. I guess of the 15 or 20 wires in the front end, there is just 1 ground, which causes it to get extra hot and more likely to fail.

I can't wait to get it back!

 

I took my right fairing black upper piece off and disconnected a red connector and put it connected it back. The lights work again! I have pics to show you.