Twin headlight warning

aln101st

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Jul 8, 2018
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Argyll, Scotland
Hello folks,
Just a general heads-up after a recent hiccup.
Went to visit family one winter evening last week.
On starting up to come home, both headlamps blew instantly.
I assumed it was a fuse, as the likelihood of both bulbs going was slim (I thought).
Allen key and side panel off. Fuse ok. NOTE- Single fuse supplies headlamp relay and both headlamps and the dip shield solenoids.
Got both lamps out and sure enough, both blown.
Never occurred to me that they would both go together, so wasn't carrying a spare.
These are single filament bulbs with a shield to provide a dip beam, so no backup if they both blow. Poor design thinking.
I had to follow my sisters vehicle back home. Lucky this didn't happen in the middle of Rannoch Moor.
I now carry spare bulbs. You should too !
rgds Alan
 

Dons 1911

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Your avatar pic shows Aux lites. Did they blow too? I've ridden home with just those after breaking the headlamp on an different bike...
 

fac191

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Jun 22, 2016
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London
Hello folks,
Just a general heads-up after a recent hiccup.
Went to visit family one winter evening last week.
On starting up to come home, both headlamps blew instantly.
I assumed it was a fuse, as the likelihood of both bulbs going was slim (I thought).
Allen key and side panel off. Fuse ok. NOTE- Single fuse supplies headlamp relay and both headlamps and the dip shield solenoids.
Got both lamps out and sure enough, both blown.
Never occurred to me that they would both go together, so wasn't carrying a spare.
These are single filament bulbs with a shield to provide a dip beam, so no backup if they both blow. Poor design thinking.
I had to follow my sisters vehicle back home. Lucky this didn't happen in the middle of Rannoch Moor.
I now carry spare bulbs. You should too !
rgds Alan
Both mine blew a couple of weeks ago i hardly notice the difference. I have a light bar and spots though.
 

StefanOnHisS10

Converting fuel into heat, noise and a bit motion
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Thanks for the heads-up Alan. I agree that is strange that they both blow at once. Something must have occurred, peak in amp’s or something but that would have blown the fuse. Found an explanation later on?

Stefan
 

aln101st

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Jul 8, 2018
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Argyll, Scotland
Thanks for the heads-up Alan. I agree that is strange that they both blow at once. Something must have occurred, peak in amp’s or something but that would have blown the fuse. Found an explanation later on?

Stefan
I think the spike of one blowing just took out the other (which may have been close to going anyway).
 

aln101st

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Argyll, Scotland
Your avatar pic shows Aux lites. Did they blow too? I've ridden home with just those after breaking the headlamp on an different bike...
Well spotted! No? Oh, please yourself.
Yes, but they are rather bright, and like most aux lamps, have no upper cutoff to allow use as a dip beam, so are all wired to the main beam switch.
They are all accurately set and tightened in position, unlike some that you see! I suppose if I was really stuck, I could slacken them and point them so far down that no-one would be blinded.
I have ridden an older bike home on main beam only, stopping, turning off the headlamp and pretending to be doing something any time I saw an oncoming vehicle's lights approaching.
But that was a while back when the roads were quiet, and you probably only met one car in 5 miles!
rgds Alan
 

EricV

Riding, farkling, riding...
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Sorry you experienced a dual failure. It's not that uncommon. Consider that both bulbs have the same number of hours of use. Why wouldn't they both blow at the same time, or close to it? Anyone that rides at night should be carrying a spare bulb or two. Just like a flat repair kit and compressor. All the more so if you travel in areas w/o 24 hour auto parts stores and cell reception.

In regards to riding with aux lights alone, other drivers can deal with your aux lights. I very much believe in not blinding other drivers, either on coming or those in front of me going the same direction, but in a pinch, I'd ride with only aux lights if both headlights were out before I would park the bike. It's not THAT blinding. You made the best of it, and your solution wasn't a bad one. And a lesson was learned too. ;)
 

Cantab

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Christchurch NZ
Hi all , are the bulbs the same between Gens ? Anyone have a pic to share of a standard bulb , ill def pack a spare.

Quick search in Elec mods and found Checkwrecks post, has pics.
 

RCinNC

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North Carolina
My past experience with the S10 has made me always carry spare bulbs for the bike; I rode for 30 years and never blew a headlight, and I've had multiple burn outs since I bought the Yamaha in 2014. Just a design quirk, I guess. I've never had two go simultaneously, but have had them go maybe a week apart.
 

WJBertrand

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I think most of the time what actually happens is that the first bulb has blown a while back and gone unnoticed. Later the second one blows and suddenly no light at all. That’s when both are found blown out and a natural assumption is they both went out together. That scenario is probably quite rare.


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Sierra1

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Joshua TX
. . . . Consider that both bulbs have the same number of hours of use. Why wouldn't they both blow at the same time, or close to it? . . . . I very much believe in not blinding other drivers, . . . . but in a pinch, I'd ride with only aux lights if both headlights were out before I would park the bike. It's not THAT blinding.
This is the first projection beam headlight that I've ever had. The ST1300 had dual lights, but were good ol' fashioned ones. I've never had two go at the same time in any vehicle; yes, bikes are harder on bulbs than cars. But, when one goes, I always replace both, and keep the good one as a spare. Yeah, given the choice to park it, or ride with aux lights? As many people that ride around with their car high beams on. . . . I'm not going to feel too bad in a semi-emergency situation if my lights are a little too bright.
 

aln101st

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I think most of the time what actually happens is that the first bulb has blown a while back and gone unnoticed. Later the second one blows and suddenly no light at all. That’s when both are found blown out and a natural assumption is they both went out together. That scenario is probably quite rare.


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Well, that's a fair suggestion, but bike headlights are so poor due to the small size that I would have noticed immediately on our rural roads. The SuperTen's silly projectors are poor with both working. They were both lit when I stopped.
Alan
 

cyclemike4

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ky
I have replaced bulbs several times on my bike. They always go out together or within a few minutes or an hour apart. I do keep spares. I have found that the cheapest bulbs last longer for me.
 

MIKE R

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I must be lucky!

Bike has 46k under her belt.

First bulb blew at about 38k

Second still going strong

Mike
 

Checkswrecks

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Tungsten filaments develop a rough surface with hot-cold cycles of use, going from the lower photo to the upper one. The roughness gets deeper and deeper developing hot spots as amperage hits the thinner sections plus acts as a stress riser and tungsten is a brittle metal when cold.


With both filaments doing this, there are hot spots along the filaments of both. When one fails, the amperage will then be momentarily increased in the thinner spots of the other filament so it is fairly common for the second to fail at or near the same time. Even if it does survive till the regulator can catch up with the amperage spike and you replace the failed bulb, the surviving bulb is going to be close to failure and ought to be also replaced.

Same in cars. Try to replace bulbs in sets or you'll forever be chasing them.

btw - This is a different issue than Subaru and some other vehicles, in which the voltage occasionally spikes the system and shortens bulb life. Seems to me we've had a couple of Tenere owners with this problem.
 

Cycledude

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Rib lake wi
Never had a headlight bulb last 10,000 miles in my 2013 Tenere , one LED bulb did reach 10,000 but not the other one. My 2018 Tenere has a little over 20,000 and so far no burned out headlights, I already do have a brandnew pair of LED to replace the stock bulbs with but curiosity has me leaving the stock bulbs installed just to see how long they will last, seems like I haven’t been doing much riding after dark anyway.
 
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