High Beam(s)?

[John Warner]

Just went to replace the left-hand Bulb on my 09 Stelvio, because the High-Beam wasn't working, then noticed the plug only has the wires (12v feed & earth) for the Dip Beam . . . WTF?
High Beam is pathetic with just the one filament on, although the Dips (both) stay on and are pretty good in themselves, is this the normal arrangement?

Will be splicing in another (3-wire) plug asap . . .

GOG (Good old Guzzi)   

[Lannis]

Just went to replace the left-hand Bulb on my 09 Stelvio, because the High-Beam wasn't working, then noticed the plug only has the wires (12v feed & earth) for the Dip Beam . . . WTF?
High Beam is pathetic with just the one filament on, although the Dips (both) stay on and are pretty good in themselves, is this the normal arrangement?

Will be splicing in another (3-wire) plug asap . . .

GOG (Good old Guzzi)   

STOP!!  Put DOWN the connector and step away from the bike, now!!!

The Stelvio headlights are wired from the factory so that only the right high beam comes on; the plug on the left side is blank.

It's as simple as can be to just run a wire from the right high beam, to the left connector, solder on a terminal, and BOTH lights come on.

However, you will shortly discover yet another of the weaknesses of Italian engineering.

THERE IS NO HEADLIGHT RELAY ON THE STELVIO.   ALL OF THE HEADLIGHT CURRENT GOES RIGHT THROUGH THE SWITCH ON THE HANDLEBAR!

What that means is that if you hook up the other light, an additional 4 amps of current will pump through that little switch, and one day you will smell burning plastic and your lights will go out, and you will be replacing the ENTIRE left handlebar switch at the price of $150 + many hours to remove the fuel tank because the block connector on the switch will NOT fit between the tank and the frame .....

Don't hook up the other light without adding the relay that the .... engineers, if that's the right term ... at Guzzi never added, to save $5 .....

Been there, done all that ....

Lannis

[fotoguzzi]

THERE IS NO HEADLIGHT RELAY ON THE STELVIO.   ALL OF THE HEADLIGHT CURRENT GOES RIGHT THROUGH THE SWITCH ON THE HANDLEBAR!

 

Holy Shit they still do that? when will they get with the new world ?

[ITSec]

Holy Shit they still do that? when will they get with the new world ?

They did/have with some of the bikes - the Norge certainly seems to have headlight relays, and has since it was introduced. The Stelvio seems to be an anomaly among the new ones...

[Wayne Orwig]

Headlight relay is a relative term.
There is a relay that the power passes through. The high beam power passes from the relay, then through the handlebar switch.
But then, that is how almost everything on the planet works. If you add a wire and more load to the switch, and it melts, you can't really fault the engineer.

Now when you run the factory high beam long enough, you will find the heat peels the reflective material off inside the headlight. That is an engineering issue.

But then I switch to HIDs years ago, so no issue for me.

[Lannis]

Headlight relay is a relative term.
There is a relay that the power passes through. The high beam power passes from the relay, then through the handlebar switch.
But then, that is how almost everything on the planet works. If you add a wire and more load to the switch, and it melts, you can't really fault the engineer.

Now when you run the factory high beam long enough, you will find the heat peels the reflective material off inside the headlight. That is an engineering issue.

But then I switch to HIDs years ago, so no issue for me.

Why does any current except that necessary to operate the relay pass through the handlebar switch?   That's what relays are FOR!    There's no way that the current needed to light up the 60W headlight (5 amps or so) should go through that cheap little switch .... I'd never in my most incompetent moments wire up a light circuit like that ....

Lannis

[toma nova]

Now when you run the factory high beam long enough, you will find the heat peels the reflective material off inside the headlight. That is an engineering issue.

Interesting.  I run high beams all the time during the day (55/60W bulbs) - I'll have to keep an eye on the reflectors while still in warranty.

[Wayne Orwig]

Why does any current except that necessary to operate the relay pass through the handlebar switch?   That's what relays are FOR!    There's no way that the current needed to light up the 60W headlight (5 amps or so) should go through that cheap little switch .... I'd never in my most incompetent moments wire up a light circuit like that ...

Lots of homes running many amps through a long wire to a light switch on the wall. You seldom see anyone install a relay for that.

[John Warner]

Stop Lannis! Step away from the keyboard now!!   

No need to worry my friend, I'm not a 'noob' when it comes to Bike electrics, I would have checked for relays before diving into connectors/wires.
I've owned two Guzzis in the past, the first was a '78 Le Mans MKII that blew all it's fuses during the ride home from buying it, torrential rain on the Motorway (Freeway)! 

I switched to HIDs years ago, so no issue for me.

Which is what I'll be doing now, just got my kits through the post!

Will get some better Aux lights fitted too.

[Lannis]

Lots of homes running many amps through a long wire to a light switch on the wall. You seldom see anyone install a relay for that.

Of course, if you have a light switch that weighs a pound and a half and is DESIGNED for 10 amps or so, relays wouldn't be an issue.

When I took apart the burned switch to see if I could fix it, I couldn't believe how tiny and vulnerable (and completely destroyed) it was ....

Lannis

[Lannis]

Stop Lannis! Step away from the keyboard now!!   

No need to worry my friend, I'm not a 'noob' when it comes to Bike electrics, I would have checked for relays before diving into connectors/wires.

Well, it was late at night and you said "Splice" and "ASAP", I was just erring on the side of safety.   For all I knew, you were stripping wires with one hand and typing on WG with the other ....  !

Lannis

[johnr]

Of course, if you have a light switch that weighs a pound and a half and is DESIGNED for 10 amps or so, relays wouldn't be an issue.
Lannis

And voltage drop isn't an issue in those circumstances either.

[John Warner]

For all I knew, you were stripping wires with one hand and typing on WG with the other ....  !

You know me!
I'm not that bad actually, I do try to research stuff before I dive in.