• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

  • Beginning April 1st, and running through April 30th, there is a new 2024 BMW MOA Election discussion area within The Club section of the forum. Within this forum area is also a sticky post that provides the ground rules for participating in the Election forum area. Also, the candidates statements are provided. Please read before joining the conversation, because the rules are very specific to maintain civility.

    The Election forum is here: Election Forum

Headlight issues with a 2016 R1200RT

E

ebell

Member
I was wondering if anyone has experienced this with their waterboxers, and if the problem could be fixed with a GS-911—or a trip to the dealer is in my future?

Riding home a day or two ago, the headlight failure light came on, shortly after that, the screen on my Navigator 5 GPS started fading and brightening.

Got home, checked the lights:
Right headlight OK on low and high beam
Left headlight OK on high beam only
Center low beam out
GPS seems to be working OK the next day

Upon inspection:
Right and left headlight filaments looked OK, but I decided to replace both with Philips 4300K Crystal Vision H1 bulbs
Center low beam was burned out, and replaced with a Vision X H7 bulb
But:
The same problem exists with three new bulbs, engine running
Right headlight OK on low and high beam
Left headlight OK on high beam only
Center low beam out.
GPS seems to be working OK

And I didn’t touch the bulbs with my fingers.

Any insight would help, thanks.
 
?

Hi,
I'm confused, I have a 2014. On low beam only the center bulb should be burning, on high beam all three bulbs are burning? At a minimum, disconnect the battery and let everything reset.
Later,
Norm
PS I am old and easily confused. :)
 
gloucesterman said:
Hi,
I'm confused, I have a 2014. On low beam only the center bulb should be burning, on high beam all three bulbs are burning? At a minimum, disconnect the battery and let everything reset.
Later,
Norm
PS I am old and easily confused. :)
Click to expand...

I’ll disconnect the battery, thanks for the tip. As for my description, I tried my best to list everything but obviously erred. Bottom line is the left low beam and middle low beam don’t work, even with new bulbs.
 
There is no left low beam unless your talking about headlight pro. On low beam the middle bulb only is lit, on high beam all three bulbs are lit. Headlight pro, the led ring around the left and right headlights should be on all the time,
Later,
Norm
 
As other have said, the wethead RT has only one low beam bulb. The right and left bulbs are high beams.

My 2016 is equipped with headlight pro. I had the low beam headlight fail, the headlight failed light came on and right high beam came on, on low power.
Replacing the low beam bulb reset the failure light and turned off the right high beam. I believe this is by design with the headlight Pro option.
I rode a few weeks ago with a guy riding an RT without Headlight Pro. His low beam failed and the right high beam didn't come on.

I think that you have either a bad low beam bulb or a bad connection.
 
patm said:
As other have said, the wethead RT has only one low beam bulb. The right and left bulbs are high beams.

My 2016 is equipped with headlight pro. I had the low beam headlight fail, the headlight failed light came on and right high beam came on, on low power.
Replacing the low beam bulb reset the failure light and turned off the right high beam. I believe this is by design with the headlight Pro option.
I rode a few weeks ago with a guy riding an RT without Headlight Pro. His low beam failed and the right high beam didn't come on.

I think that you have either a bad low beam bulb or a bad connection.
Click to expand...

Yeah... that's what I'm thinking, I was hoping it was a GS-911 fix at my buddy's house.

I have headlight pro (now I know what that's called). On low beam, the only light that's working is on the right side. When I switch to high beam, the left high beam comes on and the right side is also illuminated. Not sure if the right is high or low, but is very bright. The center bulb remains dark. All brand new bulbs.

I've just disconnected/reconnected the battery, no luck there. The bike's under warranty, which is the good news if it's a bad connection, not a good outcome if I need to spend the better part of the day getting it fixed.

I'll post a couple of pictures in a few mins.
 
I suspect your centre light (low beam) is burnt out. Could it be the bike's way (to fire up one of the high beams) to compensate for your missing centre (low beam)?

If that is not the case, then your wiring is way off. Trip to the dealer...
 
I have a 2016 RT without the headlight pro, just normal bulbs and when my low beam went out I got the warning on my dash and right high beam came on to compensate. Replaced low beam and all was corrected. Hope this helps.
 
What year was your friends Wethead RT? I think it was in 2016 that the programming on RT was changed to have one high beam come on when the low beam went out. On earlier RT wetheads, like my 2014, low beam goes out, your choices are, no light or run high beams.

There must be a problem with the new low beam bulb or connection if it is not lighting.
 
caddie57 said:
What year was your friends Wethead RT? I think it was in 2016 that the programming on RT was changed to have one high beam come on when the low beam went out. On earlier RT wetheads, like my 2014, low beam goes out, your choices are, no light or run high beams.

There must be a problem with the new low beam bulb or connection if it is not lighting.
Click to expand...

Problem started last week (see photos above), I replaced with all new bulbs, disconnected the battery for a reset. Still same result as photo with new bulbs. Filaments in old left and right bulbs looked OK, center old bulb filament was burned out (not really a surprise). No more testing or trial and error, as the bike is being taken to the dealer — and I’ll post findings. First post of thread has info about GPS fading in and out. I honestly think the issue is more than bulbs.
 
I would have hoped I’d have realized that I’m an idiot at this time of my life.

When I replaced all the bulbs, I didn’t seat the center bulb correctly, it felt like it was reinstalled, but wasn’t. This was brought to my attention by the tech at South Sound BMW near Seattle. Keith reached under the nose of the bike, exhibited facial expressions that could only be translated as “twiddling”, and when we started the bike, all was normal. No charge, only me feeling like a twit.

In my defense... Keith had encountered the same problem the day before. He had incorrectly re-installed a center bulb with the same result... still not working. If he hadn’t gone through that pain, who knows(?)

Moral of the story, re-install, and if the problem still exists, unplug and try again There is a margin of error when reconnecting.

No idea why the GPS was fading in and out, but that stopped a week ago, probably auto dimming.
 
need advice

My low beam went out right high is on just like it should be so I can ride it until I get the low beam replaced. Is it easier to go from underneath or remove the dash, looking at it from the bottom looks very difficult to get to the spring with my fingers. Any wisdom would be appreciated, YouTube was no help
 
Last edited:
I find it possible to change the low-beam bulb from the bottom/front. I sit on the ground (on a low stool), facing the bike. I reach up under the fairing, undo the cover, reach into the hole, unplug the bulb, then undo the clip (easier said than done), pull the bulb, then -- without touching the new bulb -- place it in the housing, replace the clips, plug in the bub, replace the water tight cover, and you're done! Elapsed time, anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. It helps if it's cool. Read the manual, look at the pictures, become familiar with how the clip works (it isn't intuitive, in my opinion).

Much easier/quicker than removing the headlight fixture (or at least -- quicker!)

One suggestion -- check the bulb life of the new H7. Some have a rating as low as 85 hours!

Good luck!
 
jgoertz said:
I find it possible to change the low-beam bulb from the bottom/front. I sit on the ground (on a low stool), facing the bike. I reach up under the fairing, undo the cover, reach into the hole, unplug the bulb, then undo the clip (easier said than done), pull the bulb, then -- without touching the new bulb -- place it in the housing, replace the clips, plug in the bub, replace the water tight cover, and you're done! Elapsed time, anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. It helps if it's cool. Read the manual, look at the pictures, become familiar with how the clip works (it isn't intuitive, in my opinion).

Much easier/quicker than removing the headlight fixture (or at least -- quicker!)

One suggestion -- check the bulb life of the new H7. Some have a rating as low as 85 hours!

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you very much, I started on it last night with no luck at all from the bottom, I removed the left speaker so I could come in from the top with my right hand, the horn is smack dab in front of the cover, moved it towards the back of the bike as much as it would go still in the way so may have to remove it. I got the electrical plug removed from the bulb and the left hook that holds it in the right hook is giving me trouble so I stopped until my day off this weekend. WOW! what a pain in the rear to change a bulb but the first time is always the hardest and most time consuming, next time will be much easier. Thanks for the heads up on the bulb life I will find a long lasting one for sure.
 
Oh I love my R1150R. One phillips screw removes the chrome ring, reflector and bulb. Unplug the connector. Take to work bench. Unclip the clips. Remove bulb. Reverse actions. Viola. Two minutes, no errors, max. Now our G310GS bikes replicate the little room, stupid design nightmares but that is another story.
 
2011 r1200rt Right Low Beam Bulb

On my 2011 R1200RT my RIGHT LOW BEAM bulb went out. Left and Center(high beam) still worked. I successfully changed the right (low beam) bulb.
Connected it to the wiring before inserting into housing and started bike to check that it worked before going through the pain of final installation. It illuminated as hoped. So, I installed the connected new bulb in right side housing. Screwed on cover. Then when I started the bike NONE of the three headlights or the two smaller front side lights worked. All turn and tail lights DO work. The "inop light" warning is on also. The bulb I installed was a 55W H7 top of the line Napa bulb. Like I said it worked when I connected the bulb to wiring but not once installed in housing. And the other headlights no longer work. Any ideas? I don't see this problem talked about before.

Note: I have stopped the motor with the kill switch and re-started. I have disconnected the negative side of the battery and re-connected. Still no headlights.

Thanks for any ideas all!
 
Look on the back of the headlight shell, between the high beam and right low beam covers. There you will find a six conductor plug that holds the wires for all your non-working bulbs. Hopefully, you've just knocked it loose.

connect.jpg
(Screen capture from Max BMW)

I once managed to push the fixed shell portion inside and had to remove the headlight assembly completely to get the connector out and reattached.
 
I was able to replace the low beam bulb on my 14 RT from underneath one time. The second time I had to do it I couldn't get the wire clamp set, almost bloodying my fingers.
I finally gave up, bought the service DVD, and removed the headlight assy to work on. With the DVD giving step by step directions it was relatively easy to remove and replace the assy. However, I wouldn't try it without the service DVD. Too hard to find everything without it. If you free-form it there's a good chance you'll bust a tab or miss/break something else. As far as I'm concerned the DVD is worth every penny and way better than previous BMW paper manuals I've used over the years. I do agree that making the bulb replacement so hard is somewhat lame.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

5
'85 K100RS headlight inop
Replies
2
Views
1K
20774
20774
F
85 BMW R80RT Headlight problems
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
lkchris
lkchris
W
Finding high beam wire (under fuel tank?) on 1993 R100RT
Replies
10
Views
962
wybeemer
W
K
Instrument panel internal lights
Replies
1
Views
1K
k547
K
W
Indicator Warning Light (yellow, triangle !) 2016 R1200RT
Replies
8
Views
2K
w_quinn@msn.com
W
Back
Top