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Two blown headlight bulbs 2009 R1200RT

dave39

New member
I was out on a day ride today on my 2009 1200RT. About halfway through the ride, the front headlight bulb warning light comes on. I check the headlights and see that both low beam head lights are not on. When I get home I remove the bulbs and see that, yes, they are indeed blown. The filaments are fried. Is this a typical or frequent thing that both bulbs would blow at the same time? The high beam and parking lights work fine.
 
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Not at all unusual- reported by many.

Bulbs tend to go out on startup when there is a current surge until filament temp stabilizes. And the resulting response on the circuit can easily take out a second bulb especially if it also has a bunch of hours of use..

If you put bulbs back, I'd strongly suggest the 65W Osram H-7 Rallye. Its filament is a tiny bit longerthan most H-7 and less fragile at startup as a result. (It actually has an H-9 type filament, dsigned for the frequent dimming of high beams..It also makes 40% more light than the stock 55W bulbs with minimal extra heat.)
 
Once a year whether I need to or not....

I lose my right side low beam about once a year.....almost like clockwork.
I've switched to Sylvania Silver Star Ultras but it doesn't seem to make any difference.
I use the "opportunity" to rotate my little-used high beam bulb into the right side socket and put the new
replacement into the high beam.
(That becomes the new/unused "spare" :thumb)
 
Not at all unusual- reported by many.

Bulbs tend to go out on startup when there is a current surge until filament temp stabilizes. And the resulting response on the circuit can easily take out a second bulb especially if it also has a bunch of hours of use..

If you put bulbs back, I'd strongly suggest the 65W Osram H-7 Rallye. Its filament is a tiny bit longerthan most H-7 and less fragile at startup as a result. (It actually has an H-9 type filament, dsigned for the frequent dimming of high beams..It also makes 40% more light than the stock 55W bulbs with minimal extra heat.)

Not uncommon - basically what racer7 said. The end.
 
Thanks for answers. Guess I can't complain. Those bulbs lasted for four years. I ordered a couple Osrams. After researching this a bit, I suspect I blew them at our coffee stop. My friend with a 1200R, new to Beemers, asked me how to turn on the flashers. I confessed that I couldn't remember. Refusing to pull out manual to check. I started turn on ignition several times and fiddling with all the light switches. We then started riding down the road and I noticed the light warning on the display.
 
Not sure how many starts you might have made in 4 years but that's a decent life. On my 08RT, I lost some stock bulbs a lot more quickly before deciding to upgrade headlights lows intially to the 65W Osram and eventually to HID...

The Sylvannia Silverstars (and Silverstar Ultra) as sold in the US are not especially well regarded by folks who have experience with the various types of euro H-7s- which can be bought in the US but not at your local car parts place. The Silverstars are rated for about 1/3 of the run time of a std bulb so its not a surprise they didn't last longer...Of all the H-7 bulb types, that 65W Osram has the best output of what can run on stock wiring and will deliver same or better life than stock stuff. However, if you want a higher color temp (a bit bluer), one of the euro +50% or +90% types could be tried. It will likely also have shorter life and another drawback- the bluer color produces much more glare off street signs and back reflections in fog and rain..But if you live in a dry rural area you might like them..Understand that this type of bulb gets its rating from the highest output measured in a selected part of the beam and does not mean all of the beam area has that much more output. For that reason, some (me included) consider these marketing claims intentionally deceptive...

HID conversion works pretty well in some BMW bike headlights (eg current RTs) but not so well on others. And the quality, ease of onstallation, etc of kits varies a lot. If you ever go that route, don't be surprised by any of that. You need adequate space for the extra components and wiring and some models don't have much...

Be careful with replacement- those plastic bulb connectors are often extremely brittle from heat exposure (they are a poorly made part) and might simply disintegrate with too much force (for example, if you try to pull them with pliers). If they're toast, good ceramic ones are available on the web for about $7 each....
 
OSTRAM Bulbs

The last set of Sylvania Silverstar bulbs I purchased were made by Ostram.
 
Yes, that's true- but the US Silverstars are not the same and inferior to the euro versions..This is a case of importing a name without importing the identical item. There is a lot of published info on this subject if you do some web searches to find it..Includes comparisons of euro and US bulbs from the better makers of which Osram is one. and info on how to recognize and distinguish the different iitems

One other tidbit- always know your source. Fraudulent mostly chinese and korean knockoffs are commonly available on the web, sold by the same name in look alike packaging (which is trivial to copy with modern graphics tools). ALL of these are junk compared to the original items...as you will quickly find out if you use one...For example, the Osram 65W H-7 is often seen on the web at $5-7 per bulb but these are knockoffs- most have a blue tint on part of the envelop and discernable but trivial differneces in the packaging that will escape notice by most..

Many of the best current bulbs are coming out of factories actually located in eastern (formerly Communist) Europe- where makers have located for cost reasons..though they carry brand names associated with German or British firms..

One other thought- Dave, I don't know if you get the US or euro version in Canada and simply assumed it was the US version. Do you perhaps actually get he euro version (its packaiging hasn't historically been the same shelf cards as the US versions, for example)
 
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Dave,

Just a heads up.. Please take a look at: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?46055

I'm adding that info to your thread title. It might seem obvious that it has to be an RT since you mentioned two bulbs, but it could be another model with separate high/low bulbs.. so the info really would be good to have in the thread title.

Best,
 
Not at all unusual- reported by many.

Bulbs tend to go out on startup when there is a current surge until filament temp stabilizes. And the resulting response on the circuit can easily take out a second bulb especially if it also has a bunch of hours of use..

While this is true and may be a contributing factor, I'm not certain this is the root cause for the RT, since other R1200x bikes don't exhibit short headlight life. My R1200R is still on the original headlight bulbs (H11's) with 64,000 miles on them. My guess might one of two possibilities:

1. A housing that doesn't ventilate the bulb well causing heat buildup

OR

2. Perhaps a marginal connector to the bulb, lowering the operating voltage (and we have enough cases of melted down bulb connectors that something is going on there.)

The reason for the "OR" is - one sort of negates the other. The halogen bulb cycle requires the quartz bulb envelope reach a temperature adequate to burn off any filament deposits, which are then redeposited on the filament extending it's life. So if the bulb is running hot, that should extend the life (although if it's running TOO hot, that may not be true.) And if the bulb is running at lower operating voltage then designed for - the bulb may not be running hot enough to fully enable the halogen cycle.

One thing to look at is the appearance of the burned out bulbs. If there are a lot of black deposits on the inside of the quartz envelope after they fail, I'd be looking for a low voltage condition. If the bulb has no deposits on the inside of the envelope, the bulb may be running too hot (with use - there are always some minor deposits on a halogen bulb.)

GS's experience bulb failure at a much higher rate than the R1200R (but I don't think as high as the RT).. wonder if the GS and RT use the same bulb? If so - it may be a case of a bulb that isn't rugged enough for the environment it's being used in.

I wonder what the experience of people is who have replaced the BMW bulb socket on the RT with a more robust design is? Anyone?

EDIT: I see we have a thread about a melted GS headlight connector: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?68117
Given that both the GS and the RT are "difficult" to access the connector - it may be a case of a loose or only partially pushed on connector causing the meltdowns.. or? Same bulbs? Are they both using H7's?
 
With that kind of mortality rate it's a good thing they are easy to replace. Provided you have a rubber arm, fingers like ET and x-ray vision. ;)

pete
 
GS and RT both use H-7 for hexhead (and I think for camheads also)

Don't think BMW plastic shells have any heat issues inherent to design- they're a good deal larger with more volume and ventilation than any housing Ive seen that caused problems (and those took seriously up-watt bulbs for the problems to surface).

A pair of well usd Osram 65W H-7s on my shelf show very correct operation of the halogen cycle exactly as you describe it- an almost completely clear bulb envelop with clear re-depostion pattens uniform on the filament length. Both also show oxidative discoloration of the metal base indicative of sustained high heat exposure...

Don't have a lot of experience with H-11- only used it in a couple experiments in a Lexus years ago. Its a fairly normal newer halogen design- short compact axial filaent in a wider envelop, typical output at 55W a little under 1400 lumens, etc. Off the top if my head, I don't remember what drove the original design of the type so don't know about its comparative virtues and issues. The H-7 was the first new design after the original H-1 and was enabled by a change in euro regs. It took over 30 years from the H-1 being available in Europe before halogen headlights were legal and oem in the US.

I wonder if some of the GS issues are tire related and usage related. I remember back to the 1970s when I put a halogen driving light on top of the headlight on an enduro I owned and the vibration caused by off road tires on pavement shortened bulb life -even though I had used a couple rubber washers and stays to try to damp them..

Loose connectors can easily cause bulb failures- often from voltage changes. But the metal spade connections can still be tight in a disintegrating plastic connector shell- at least until its pulled off and put back on- so it may be tough to get solid data on how much a funky plastic shell impacts headlight life. Clearly anyone replacing a BMW plastic shell would be well advised to buy a ceramic one instead..
 
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Lights burning out

After replacing several bulbs I now try to shut the bike off with the key rather than the kill switch. I say that because it turns the lights off. To many times I shut the bike of with the kill switch to check a map or get a drink of water, only to see the lights are still on. I believe a tremendous amount of heat is built up in the lens housing if we forget to get the lights turned off right away without cooling air going across the face of the lens. If you feel the lens after leaving them on to long you will see what I mean.
Thanks for listening!
 
Dave,

Just a heads up.. Please take a look at: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?46055

I'm adding that info to your thread title. It might seem obvious that it has to be an RT since you mentioned two bulbs, but it could be another model with separate high/low bulbs.. so the info really would be good to have in the thread title.

Best,

I included year and model in original note....2009 1200RT.

Thanks for all input by everyone. I'm digesting.
 
Well, I've got a couple H7 bulbs. The bulb went in OK, but I had no appreciation how fragile the plugs were. The first one disintegrated with my ham-handed manipulation. I ordered a couple of ceramic connectors (thanks for the link) with two day shipping, but am bewildered about how in the world I'm going to install the new one. It's literally impossible to get anything up there but my finger tips. Soldering is out of the question. So is some kind of quick connector. I took off some of the top side tupperware, but it didn't improve access. Taking off the front plastic looks formidable. Has anyone else been through this? And how did you do it? I'm in panic mode because we were supposed to leave on a one-week tour to Death Valley next week.
 
{snip}...Has anyone else been through this? And how did you do it?...{snip}

It's actually pretty easy. I've also got an '09RT and have done this a number of times. Just remember, you don't have to take the whole front end off, just the dash panel.

You'll need a Torx 25 bit for this.

Steps:

1. Remove the two upper tupperware side panels (4 screws each side);
2. Remove lower edge dash panel screw on the throttle side and the plastic-twist retainer thingy on the clutch side -- both are next to where the upper panel screws were removed (1 screw/retainer each side);
3. Disconnect mirrors and move them down and out of the way (they have factory tethers);
4. The two dash panel side screws will then be exposed; remove them (2 screws each side);
5. Finally, remove the two screws on the top edge of the dash.

You should be able to remove the whole dash panel and have unrestricted access to the headlight hatches.

THIS thread shows how to take off the two upper tupperware side panels. You only need to do part of this procedure, specifically posts #11 through #15. Credit to Luis Roth (Semper Fi) for this fantastic thread.

THIS thread shows how to remove the whole front nacelle, but you should focus only on post #8 (bottom picture) for the dash panel side screws, and post #9 (bottom picture) for the two screws at the top of the dash. Credit (again) to Luis Roth and Don Eilenberger for this very detailed thread!

HTH,
 
Dave,
You're most certainly not the first to have one of those shells fall apart in your hands so don't beat yourself up over it. They get unbelievably brittle because they're a crap part. I'm not sure how many other models use the shell found on the RT- for example, my K1200GT also uses the H-7 bulb but its shell is a much better plastic than the RT's.
I've seen some RT shells that are simply impossible to get off intact no matter careful one is- in effect they're already fragged though still in place..

First time stripping of the front end is a bit tedious and slow BUT you can do it by carefully following instructions noted above. Organize your removed fasteners as you go and reassembly should be simpler...

Do remember that in a pinch you can get by for a bit without any kind of connector shell- simply bust off the bad plastic and jam the spades back on- being sure their live bits don't touch. If you're worried about such contact, you can wind a bit of silicon tape (rescue tape, high temp resistant) around the positive spade...This measure might be especially helpful to those who try to do on "on the road" bulb change and have the shell fall apart on them...

Keep us posted on your result and good luck...
 
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My wife's Volvo S80 has the same fragged connectors. It eats bulbs like they are going out of style as well. I've simply resorted to pushing the metal connectors on. It is in a sealed chamber like the BMW bike.
 
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