Bulb question

Hi there.
I have a 2004 model vfr800 v-tec with abs. I have every switch available except one for hazard/emergency lights. However, i have two filaments per indicator bulb? Can anyone out there please tell me why or what they are for.
Regards
Veryfastrene.

 

running lights and blinkers perhaps? not sure

 

Thanks spike.Indeed , daytime running lights in the USA ,but in the EU they`re not connected? Gonna hook em up though. Cheers.

 

Hi guys, again this dual fillament question. A 5w/21w bulb in all four indicator lamps/units? Went to my dealer today and they did not have a clue! Reckon it aint no american system either? Checked the wiring diagrams today and specs say indicator bulbs are 21w only, except i got 5w21w bulbs fitted and three wires going to three connectors in the bulb holder? please... any input would be massively appreciated. Rene'.

 

If by "indicator lamps/units" you mean the turn signal indicators Rene,then NO only the front turn signals run the dual filament 21w/5w bulbs. That's how the front turn signals are wired here in the U.S. The rear turn signals run single filament 21w bulbs.

It's not surprising that your Honda dealer in the Netherlands didn't have a clue. Here in the U.S. our motorcycles are required to have amber running lights at the front of the bike. In Europe,amber running lights are not required.

Here's a partial pic of the 2004 European Model VFR800 wiring schematic. The RED arrows point to the power wires for the front turn signals.
ORANGE wire on the left side,LIGHT BLUE wire on the right side. The GREEN wires to those two turn signal bulbs are the ground wires.
According to the info that I've got the 2004 European Model VFR800 bikes use 21w single filament bulbs in both the front and rear turn signals.





Now here's a partial pic of the 2004 U.S. Model VFR800 wiring schematic. The RED arrows point to the turn signal bulbs. Notice that the front turn signal bulb wiring now includes a couple of extra wires in it. An ORANGE wire with a WHITE stripe to the left front turn signal bulb,and a LIGHT BLUE wire with a WHITE stripe to the right front turn signal bulb. These two extra wires power the running lights,which are the 5w filaments in the dual filament 21w/5w bulbs.



I gotta admit that I'm kind of surprised to hear that your bike even has these two extra wires in the wire harness because it was my understanding that European Model bikes don't require the use of amber running lights at the front of the bike and those two extra wires are not even drawn in the European Model wiring schematic.

Okay Rene now it's your turn to answer a question. Go back and take a look at the European Model VFR800 wiring schematic.
Do you see those two YELLOW arrows that I've drawn pointing to something called the "sidelights"? What the heck are they? Our U.S. Model bikes don't have those two white "sidelights" on them.

 

A side note to this thread. For the life of me, and for the cost of a simple short length of wire, I don't understand why all countries do not use all avenues available to them when it comes to safety. Why would all countries not require daytime running lights, not only on motorcycles, but all vehicles?

Daytime running lights are not an option in Canada. They are required on all new vehicles manufactured after around 1989. I have used my headlights ever since driving.....legally anyways, back in 1971. Matter of fact, during the daytime, I still turn on my headlights which cancel the daytime running lights. Headlights are brighter. And I use my high beams always during the daytime as well as my clear fog lamps. Night time I use what is appropriate. And I remember my old man always driving with his headlights on since the early 60's when I was a mere 5 years old. He tells me it has saved his bacon a couple times. You will never loose a car or bike with its headlights on in a mirage.

Now, if the law makers would just make it a requirement for the tail lights to come on all the time too, then we are indeed that much safer. Every come up on a gray car on the freeway in a rain storm?

 

Amen Randy!

Yep.

Ever come up on the back of a white car in a snowstorm? :scared:

 

While riding a motorcycle....yep Sux the big Kahoona in a condom doesn;t it?

 

Ok stoshmonster, here goes: I am once again baffled by all the different wiring diagrams i have now seen! In total i have now seen four variations for the same model and build year for a vfr800? Being an Audi technician for 20years i am no stranger to lighting and diagrams. The european diagram you show is great to see, but this i can tell you, those side lights are not only illegal in EU countries(no white light of any kind may be visible on the side of any motorcycle or vehicle unless longer than 20 foot) but they also dont occur on any EU motorcycles? I think there are simply just more lighting variations than most of us are aware of... the legality issues in all these countries will undoubtably be the reason.Gonna get them connected and become even more visible. Adios...till in a while, veryfastrene.

 

Sorry to bring up such an old thread, but for those interested the "side lights" are the same as "position lights" and contrary to the name do not put out light to the side. They are actually clear bulbs fitted into the headlight and are about 10w or so.

European laws don't allow amber running lights up front. So imagine a car at night with one headlight bulb not working. It would appear to be a motorcycle and a pedestrian could possibly get hit, etc... The position light is a safety feature. It's like a backup headlight bulb, just not as bright and is easily overpowered by the actual 45w or so headlight bulb under normal operation.

In the US, if a car headlight goes out we have the one working headlight on one side and only the amber running light on the other side as a safety feature.

So both countries have different ways of providing that back up safety feature. Personally, I can't say one method is better than the other.

As a side note, European cars (and bikes) have light position switches which allows them to:

1. Have all lights working normally.

2. Turn off just the headlight while leaving the white 10w side/position lights, dash illumination lights and dim filament rear running lights (tail lights) working.

3. All lights off. Dash illumination included.

Pretty much the same type of light switch we have on our US cars and trucks, they get on their European motorcycles.

(I think the Euro bikes in the last 10 years or so have stopped coming with the light position switch. Now they run all the lights on, all the time)

Our US motorcycles get different handle bar switches. The light position switch on the right side is blocked off and there is no lettering. If you follow the wires down to the connector you will notice that our wiring harness has the running light wires going to the right switch connector. The Brown/White wire is simply looped and goes back into the wiring harness bypassing the handle bar switch. Pretty neat.

The US bikes left switch is usually missing the Flash to Pass or Passing switch. It's a simple momentary switch that powers the high beam. Also the smaller switch and contact piece in the bottom of the left switch that controls the turn signals have 3 extra contacts and wires that the front running lights go through. What these extra contacts do is disconnect running light power to whichever turn signal is turned on. For example, when you turn on the left turn signal the internal switch connects the gray flasher power to the orange turn signal wire to make the 21w filament blink and at the same times cuts power to the orange/white wire to make the 5w filament turn off. That way the flashing light is more easily seen.

I hope that makes sense.

PS,
Stoshmonster, I notice you have a lot of wiring diagrams, but the links don't work anymore. Is there any way to fix them?

 

Oh yes, Rene asked about hazard lights. I will try and explain. The hazard light switch itself is pretty simple. You have 3 wires, a gray power source from the flasher relay and both the orange and light blue turn signal wires (21w) and all 3 are connected when you push the button. So basically your turning on the left and right turn signals at the same time. Simple, huh? :smile-new:

The trickier part concerns power to the flasher relay. Most US bikes (that didn't come with hazard lights) only have power going to the flasher relay when the key is turned on. So if you break down and have to leave the bike on the side of the road you would need to turn on the hazards and leave the key? Heck no, that's crazy. Someone would snatch your bike. So you need power to the relay without the key being on. Later Honda's with hazards run a 4 wire relay. Like the US relay, you have a green ground wire, a white/green switched power wire and then the gray output. The 4th wire on the later bike's relay is a red constant power.

Note, the above description is based on a 2008 Euro CBR1000RR schematic. A 2005 US VFR800 shows a more complicated hazard wiring setup with the regular 3 wire flasher plus some diodes along with a HAZ position on the ignition switch which most folks don't have. I say keep it simple and use a 4 wire relay if you want to add hazard functionality to your bike.


I'm personally trying to figure out how I will wire in my hazard switch. I bought a sweet 4 wire aftermarket electronic relay for Euro bikes that can power 4 regular bulbs or 4 LEDs or any combination of bulbs and LED's. I'm thinking of using the Parking light fuse terminal which I never use and pulled the fuse out long ago. The reason was it was too easy to accidentally lock the bars in the wrong position and you would not notice the tail light being on in the day time and it would run the battery down. I can remove both factory wires from that fuse terminal and wire in a constant circuit from the ignition switch. I can re-label the fuse cover from Parking to Hazard/Clock. Then I'll have a clock power source, as well, for later on.:wink: