Hey everyone, first time posting on this forum...actually...first time posting on any forum in more than three years lol. I'm mostly a lurker and find people who have the same problem I have and see how they resolved it. But after exhausting all my options, im here.

Doing a rebuild on an 2004 F4i (California Model), after a crash I had with it, Im in the process of a rebuild. Pretty much replaced everything. All im needing at the moment is a new rear rim and plastics with all the stuff that goes with it. But one problem is nipping me in the tocus.

This damn headlight I brought off ebay for $150 including the wire harness. The headlight came with one bulb (High beam) and the other was missing, so I thought "oh well, Ill just buy me replacement hid or something". Got em through the mail, they looked okay. Looks like nothing been tampered with, so I go ahead and install them after buying new bulbs. Now fuel pump primes, blinkers work, horn works, tail light works, gauge works, and bike turns on. Only problem, is neither side headlight dont work.

So I traced wires and all looked fine, I charged the battery, and I looked at the fuses and relay. I also went as far as checking the switch on the right side and it was soldered pretty good. Headlight (high beam indicator doesnt work either). Its just plain....nothing.

So im turining to you guys to help a brother get back on the road

 

did you get the oem headlights? just a thought, and im not sure, but i dunno if the regular headlights use a ballast, is it possible you got HID's requiring a ballast?
then im wondering how the headlights allow for the fuel pump to prime.
i would start with the lights themselves and see if you can get them to come on with a 9volt or directly to the battery if its safe.

 

As Rudy suggested, it could be the new lamps themselves but, the odd thing is that the high beam indicator isn't work - is the rest of your dash okay?

I wish I could help you out Yin as, I'm experiencing a similar issue with my bike - bloody high beam doesn't want to work, the indicator comes on but that's it, and I even checked the connection with a voltage metre which was inconclusive.

From what research I've done over the last couple days I found the same areas of problem that you already checked ie: fuse and ignition..haven't checked the relay yet because, I'm not entirely sure where it is. Honestly, this sort of issue seems to be on the common side of the F4i and, I'm thinking a custom toggle switch is the way to go.

 

Check and make sure the starter switch is coming all the way back. Has happened to alot
of these bikes.

 

I brought these cheapo $8 dollar replacement bulbs for now, then upgrade in the near future. But it was mostly for yet purposes. It could be the bulbs, but I still think the high beam indicator would still work, I dunno

the relays are in the housing in the headlight, follow the front wire harness, it's pretty easy to find. The left one is for the headlight, the second is for the turn signal. I had that problem before the crash, all it was is that the connector wasn't pushed in all the way for the hi beam bulb. Stay safe brother

 

Ah inside the housing, alright..one of the service manuals I looked at said it was some where up front near the low beam but, I didn't notice it (as I've not had the front fairing off) - thanks for clearing that up man. Best of luck having your wiring issue sorted out, sounds like a royal pain.

 

Bumperific

 

I have the same problem with my '01 F4i. It got caught out in some freezing rain and when I brought it in and it finally dried off, the headlights don't work.

I haven't gotten around to stripping it down again, but I'm going to check the harness and the connections if any water got into anything. Any ideas? Not meaning to thread jack.

 

I have a video if anyone can help troubleshoot from a visual standpoint

 

Use a multimeter to figure out if you are losing continuity anywhere. If you are, then you can track down the problem to where it is being lost. If you're not, then you know the problem is with the bulbs.

Also, just because fuses LOOK fine doesn't mean they aren't blown enough to mess up the connection. A multimeter will tell you for sure.