Caution...Aftermarket Headlights

FYI....I have a completely stock '07 RWB. I installed some PIAA Intense White bulbs (H4 low beams) in early '08. They were rated the same wattage as the OEM bulbs at 55/60. A couple of times I smelled a slight burnt smell after running the bike for a while, but could never find a problem. The bike finally blew a 30A fuse, located in a small holder next to the battery (not the main fuse). That fuse disables the fuel pump.

My Honda dealer spent half a day going through the bike and determined that the PIAA lights were drawing too much current through the wiring harness. It also overheated the insulation on the wiring and the fuse holder got hot too. Seems that Honda didn't over-engineer the harness. You might reconsider installing aftermarket lights. The fix....reinstall the OEM halogen bulbs. Anyway, just thought I'd share this with the 6th gen peeps!

 

Very weird! I have em in my 2007...no problems at all. Lots of us run them. I had them in my Kawasaki Z750S...no problems. I have run them in my Tacoma for 67,000 miles...no problem. Perhaps you had some faulty bulbs or a faulty harness...or something else that still might be going on.
Kooky!

 

Yeah, that was weird. The fuse holder got so hot you couldn't touch it. I suspected the rectifier/regulator, but my dealer (very good mechanic too) spent half a day on it and everything else checked out fine. I even called American Honda and they told me that many people have reported this problem, but it doesn't affect all the bikes. Those lights were very nice too. I had a Z750S before the VFR....what a world of difference in those bikes. Gotta love the VFR!

 

have you had the wiring harness recall done?
this was an issue w/ stock bulbs as well so there was a recall on the harness. Some have used a cheater wire to fix it.
to lazy to link a thread but sure there is lots around here.

 

My dealer checked and made sure that my bike wasn't part of the wiring harness recall. That was the first thing we thought it was.

 

Right, no recall on the 2007's.
Weird that this lighting thing with PIAA's is only an issue on some bikes.
And wild YOU had a "Z" as well. Nice bikes in general but I didn't like the buzz at 6000-8000rpms.

 

Had an issue similer to this but did not trace it back to the headlight. The fuse holder and the wires that connected were corroded. Had to bypass the original fuse harness and ran a new wire and fuse holder. no problems since then.:redface:

 

there are companies that sell upgraded wiring harness for headlights just for this reason. Off the top of my head eastern beaver or electrical connection or twisted throttle off something like that.

 

The fuse holder should never get hot. That means that somewhere in the circuit, there is a loose/corroded connection. When an electrical charge encounters resistance, it creates heat as it attempts to complete the circuit through a smaller connection.

Go through the entire headlight circuit and remove, clean and dielectric grease the connections. If the aftermarket bulb takes the same wattage as stock, then replacing the aftermarket with stock doesn't change the electrical load on the wiring.

As you smelled some burning, and if you can't find the melted electrical part, you have no idea which component was compromised. If this is the case, replace all the wiring, connectors and fuse holders. You do not want an electrical fire.

 

Thank you Mason...I think you hit the nail on the head.
Me thinks that this basic concept escaped the chap who spent all that time barking up the wrong diagnostic tree.
(I just hope INDY didn't pay that chap for all of his time.)

 

I am having a similar problem on my 2002. I have burned up wiring harnesses in my VW by installing "HID" lights with xenon gas that do not use a ballast to start them up. These utilize 55 watts vice the 35W that ballasts uses (sustained.) On my bike I have installed HID kits on both high and low beams. When all four are on the can cause the bike to flicker and almost die. Both of the low beam bulbs are of the same temperature, 6000K diamond white, but for some reason the left (while sitting on bike) changes color to somewhat violet-ish. I need to check if the wiring might have become mismatched.

I am about to turn the bike into the shop for a valve/clutch job. Before then I may just have to check all of the light wiring out and possible rewire with large gauge from the stater back. Has anyone out there seen or know of another Honda stater, a large one, that can be wired into the system?