HyperLites causing "LampF!" fault and headlight to go out.

The gentleman I purchased my bike from installed hyperlites for the front and back. The fronts are white and can be set to flash or just steady. The rear hypers include the flashing brake lights which are red and the turn signals which are yellow. Everything worked fine until last weekend, when ÔÇ£lampf!ÔÇØ appeared on the console of the bike. I noticed the headlamp was out, so I replaced it.. It seemed fine afterwards for a short time.. I went over a bump and the ÔÇ£lampf!ÔÇØ showed up again, and the headlamp was not lit.

I checked the rest of the bulbs on the bike and they were all fine, but the hyperlight upper row of LEDs on the rear left turn signal were not working.



Since I was on a day-trip, I just turned on the hi-beam and continued on. I stopped for gas and when I started the bike up again, the headlamp was working, there was no ÔÇ£lampf!ÔÇØ indication on the console.. Hmmm. Then, when I got home, I checked all the bulbs/hypers again, and now BOTH rows of LEDs on the left turn signal were out. I started the bike up again and the ÔÇ£lampf!ÔÇØ indicator is on again, and the headlight is out..

Not sure exactly what to troubleshoot here.. IÔÇÖm assuming that the entire CANBUS system is thinking the headlamp is out because the hyperlights are malfunctioning, but why would the headlight actually go out?



Strange, right? I briefly took a look at how it was wired up and its going to a Centech fuse box I gotta look into it more, but wanted to post and get some ideas on what to look for..



Any suggestions would be appreciated.


Tom.

I would check every connection in that circuit. Lamps and LEDs do not heal themselves. You have an intermittant connection somewhere. Good luck.

I agree with smartin108. You should make sure that every connection is good in every circuit you've spoken of: the hyperlites, the Centex fuse box power and ground and switched circuits, the headlights. A poor ground in one location, for example, can result in current backflow and misbehavor in other locations.

Dave's got it right on. Another simple test would be to simply disconnect all the Hyperlites and see if the problems go away. They don't draw a bunch of current, so they're allegedly not supposed to cornfuse the canbus. If they do, possibly the little processor within the Hyperlites has taken a dump.

Going over a bump... may be a clue that you have a bad connection or an intermittent short.

TomDac said:

Not sure exactly what to troubleshoot here.. IÔÇÖm assuming that the entire CANBUS system is thinking the headlamp is out because the hyperlights are malfunctioning, but why would the headlight actually go out?

Click to expand...

Tom,

Just for the record, the CANbus had nothing to do with your problems. Lighting is controlled by a Central Chassis Electronics control unit (ZFE in BMW-speak). The ZFE looks at the current going to each light and announces a malfunction if the current is not within certain limits. The ZFE reports its results to the instrument cluster over the CANbus, but the bus is simply for data exchange.

By any chance did you use crimp connections?

Thanks for the help, everyone...

Will check all the connections this weekend.. I heard back from Hyperlights and they're going to send me a replacement turn signal. They said what you guys said.. CANBUS has no clue that the Hypers are there..

The previous owner did the install, and it's a frickin' rat's nest under the seat, so I'm gonna go thru all of that and organize and check everything...

Tom.

the PO was a complete moron, i'm learning.. I've been following wiring and taking stuff off the bike all weekend. There were crimped connectors EVERYWHERE and I've decided to get rid of the Hyperlights in an effort to find the problem. So far, the lampf is still on. More work today, getting things back on the bike and then exploring forward of the battery.

You did check the parking light, didn't you?

TomDac said:

the PO was a complete moron, i'm learning.. I've been following wiring and taking stuff off the bike all weekend. There were crimped connectors EVERYWHERE and I've decided to get rid of the Hyperlights in an effort to find the problem. So far, the lampf is still on. More work today, getting things back on the bike and then exploring forward of the battery.

Click to expand...

Yep.. I kind of suspected that. What you may be seeing is that some corrosion has occurred in the crimp terminals and there is an intermittent connection causing voltage drops and spikes as the problem junction moves around a bit. That is why I always solder all my connections and then cover with liquid electrical tape and finish with heat-shrink tubing over the connections. I have never had a problem with that setup on any of my wiring installations. It takes a bit of time to do it, but it almost guarantees no problems.

I might also suggest that you test the Hyperlite module and see if it really is faulty. Good luck on the fix.

dug into this over the weekend and WOW. I've never seen so much CRAP in all my life. crimping GALORE.

I took the rear Hyperlights off completely.. removed the centech fuse box, which was wired in so horribly, but nothing was connected to it. Cleaned up lots of wires under the seat and it looks much better now, however the lampf is still on.

So, i have to dig into the front section next.

Grrrr.

TomDac said:

So, i have to dig into the front section next.
Grrrr.

Click to expand...

I'll ask again... did you check the parking light?

marchyman said:

I'll ask again... did you check the parking light?

Click to expand...

Parking light works fine.

on owner wiring

its never documented (my wiring changes are recorded on graph paper, very simple) also take a picture and enclose it in the om.
.. if you ask the seller,
"did you know that p=ie?"
or,
" which is heavier duty, awg 8 or awg 16?"

and you get a blank stare,

be afwaid, be vewy afwaid.
..


another pet peeve. they don't seem to know what fuses do and why they are needed so they don't stick them in their wiring projects.

i really like it when they splice several wire colors in the same line, too.

LOL!

I'm sure he would prolly say, "mmmm...pie!"

He also mounted the stebel nautilus right under the beak. Ok I guess as long as the front shocks don't compress... I went down a curb and the stebel made contact with the front fender!! Lah-ooooooo. Zah-errrr

Found the loose connection last night! YAY. I turned on the bike and then started wiggling the connections behind the headlight. My finger touched a rubber seal that covers some sort of plug on the left hand side of the enclosure that houses the lights and when I did, the headlamp came on! There's a bunch of the PO's wires right hear there (Stebel and hyperlights?), but I don't think it's anything he did that was causing it.. I pushed in on the plug and it seems to be what the problem was.

Yay.

I'm thinking I'll leave everything as-is for now.. but the Stebel needs to be relocated soon.