Broken highbeam wire in headlight harness

[elykyle15]

Hello folks.

I was made aware recently that my highbeam stopped functioning. At first, I assumed it was the bulb, but when I got to the plug that connects to the bulb, I saw that the highbeam wire on the harness had been sheared somehow.

I'm trying to do one of two things (in order of preference):

• dislodge the highbeam's crimped end from the plug and solder a fresh connection
• purchase a replacement plug and reconnect all the wires (I haven't been able to identify the connector)

I've been trying to remove the highbeam's crimped end from within the headlight connector, but it appears to be hooked and I'm unable to find a clear mechanism to release it. Is anyone else familiar with this?

 

It may not be evident in the image, but there is a hinged door that I can open but still can't see any lever or anything to release this. I've tried pulling on it a bit with some needle-nose pliers but I'm trying not to damage either the crimp or the harness. 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[sweetscience]

Can you take a pic of the connectors disconnected? I don't have the bike yet,  only the service manual for the 2nd gen MT.  For the limited reference, that looks like a 3-pin H4 connector.  It may be the broken part needed is the female portion.  Yellow wire is high beam, green wire low beam, black is ground.

It might be easier just to buy the pigtail and socket already made (all over fleabay).  Splice by soldering, crimping or use some quick splice clamp connectors.

 

 

 

[Triple Jim]

Just now, sweetscience said:

Splice by soldering, crimping or use some quick splice clamp connectors.

Solder and heat shrink tubing is the way to go.  There's much less chance of the joints developing resistance and getting hot.

[elykyle15]

Just now, Triple Jim said:

Solder and heat shrink tubing is the way to go.  There's much less chance of the joints developing resistance and getting hot.

That's what I ended up doing... I soldered onto the crimp in place and wrapped it up as much as I could. It's working, although I wished for a better setup.

[shinyribs]

You can find these plugs at any auto parts store. They will have a little pigtail of wire hanging out if them, if you want to solder that pigtail a little further up inside the harness loom. 

 

It might be hard to find one with this 90° orientation, though. Typically the wires shoot straight out the back. You can extract the brass fitting and replace it while preserving your OEM connector housing if your not comfortable with your current repair. 

 

I had an old Honda that liked to randomly blow it's main fuse for no apparent reason, shutting the whole bike down. Losing your headlight on the highway at night is a real come to Jesus moment

Edited March 17, 2022 by shinyribs

[elykyle15]

On 3/16/2022 at 9:09 PM, shinyribs said:

You can find these plugs at any auto parts store. They will have a little pigtail of wire hanging out if them, if you want to solder that pigtail a little further up inside the harness loom. 

It might be hard to find one with this 90° orientation, though. Typically the wires shoot straight out the back. You can extract the brass fitting and replace it while preserving your OEM connector housing if your not comfortable with your current repair. 

I was unsuccessful in removing the brass fitting inside and had to solder a connection; not great, good enough. I'm okay with getting a replacement harness to get a better connection. I found it under "H4 harness" on Amazon. I'll look for something with better quality parts though; something comparable to the factory harness. 

90 degree or not; I have no preference unless it will cause connection or clearance issues.

On 3/16/2022 at 9:09 PM, shinyribs said:

I had an old Honda that liked to randomly blow it's main fuse for no apparent reason, shutting the whole bike down. Losing your headlight on the highway at night is a real come to Jesus moment

f@#k.

I have a similar concern with my recent soldering work; amateur level. 

[Triple Jim]

Soldering takes a little practice.  The parts have to be clean, and you have to use decent solder, like "Kester 44", 63-37 alloy or 60-40 alloy.  You also need a decent iron.  These days you can get a nice temperature controlled iron without spending a ton of money.  There are lots of videos on the Internet about how to solder.

[Jerzee]

Some of the H4 harnesses you mentioned on Amazon' come with spade lug connectors already attached. If you have the 'other side, probably a female from the pictures I saw, You may be better off crimping those onto your harness (and soldering them after you crimp, for a better connection. It will give you much more room to solder, and a better overall connection that easily disconnects if you remove your headlight assembly in the future for service. Practice soldering on spare connectors before you attempt the final job, and you will get great results and learn a new skill. Soldering works best with good heat transfer to the 'connector', flowing liquid into the wire (tinning) before you crimp it in place. and use  a minimal amount of solder. Make certain nothing moves until it connection (solder) is solid. The solder joint should be shiny. Good luck!

[Pursuvant]

If you can't find the harness because supply chain probs, I have a spare you can have for cost. I buggered my harness when I did steel brakes and got tired of waiting for part so I "un-buggered" it.

Still in sealed Yam bag, but confirm you need this part num that I have:

B2G-84148-10

 

 

[elykyle15]

On 3/18/2022 at 4:58 PM, Triple Jim said:

Soldering takes a little practice.  The parts have to be clean, and you have to use decent solder, like "Kester 44", 63-37 alloy or 60-40 alloy.  You also need a decent iron.  These days you can get a nice temperature controlled iron without spending a ton of money.  There are lots of videos on the Internet about how to solder.

Thanks. I was able to solder to the existing connection.

I did watch some solder videos and grabbed some decent stuff from O'Reilly's. Since I've done the work, it's been solid.

[elykyle15]

On 3/18/2022 at 5:21 PM, Jerzee said:

Some of the H4 harnesses you mentioned on Amazon' come with spade lug connectors already attached. If you have the 'other side, probably a female from the pictures I saw, You may be better off crimping those onto your harness (and soldering them after you crimp, for a better connection. It will give you much more room to solder, and a better overall connection that easily disconnects if you remove your headlight assembly in the future for service. Practice soldering on spare connectors before you attempt the final job, and you will get great results and learn a new skill. Soldering works best with good heat transfer to the 'connector', flowing liquid into the wire (tinning) before you crimp it in place. and use  a minimal amount of solder. Make certain nothing moves until it connection (solder) is solid. The solder joint should be shiny. Good luck!

Thanks.

I used the existing hardness and soldered the cut wire. I don't like it, but it's holding for now.

I'm likely going to cut the factory harness and solder on these new ones. I'll appreciate your advice. Thanks.

[Jerzee]

You are welcome. I hope the repair works out for you.

[Yakko Warner]

Cycleterminal looks like they may have that connector.  The picture also shows the connector opened, in case that may give you any clues on how to open it.  The site also has general information about removing pins from connectors, but in this case they may be held in place by that door.

Headlight connectors

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