Light probs

[jamman18]

Recently, my headlight and taillights went out from blowing the fuse so I replaced it and they worked fine while just sitting in the garage. I do have a separate switch just for the lights.  However, when I rode this am, it blew again!  What kind of issue would be causing this?  Not sure where to start......

[LukeM]

Hmm...is it possible the + lead is grounding to the frame somewhere?  Maybe the tail light wires going back to the wiring harness? That would blow the fuse.
A little bit of corrosion in the circuit would increase the current draw.  This would be a dim headlight at idle.
I'd check the wiring as well, in case someone put a splice in somewhere, and didn't do so good a job.

Luke M

[jamman18]

Thanks for the ideas!  I think the headlight may be a bit dim at idle, come to think of it.....

[jamman18]

Also, will my multimeter come in handy at all in a situation like this?

[jamman18]

Also, fyi, the brake light works, just not the running light.....headlight not at all.

[Re-run]

Problems like this are hard to trace down. I will tell you that if you have an sohc cb, at idle, the lights dim as the alternator is not charging at that rpm, so the bike is running off battery.
If you have it, use your wiring diagram and trace the connections. A loose ground, worn through insulation are primary causes of this.

As a side note, I am going through something like this too.
One day, my signal lights would come on but not blink. Next day, no problem. Another day, no headlight. Next day, headlight works. Quite baffling

[jamman18]

I see what you mean.....rode it home yesterday after replacing the fuse and also this am to work. No probs.  Maybe just a bad fuse or mayabe an intermittent prob....time will tell, I guess!

[TOOLS1]

Thats why I run a 15amp circuit breaker on the main. Just shut the switch off, for a few seconds, and it will reset. Then I'm off again

[Re-run]

As tools said, he has a circuit breaker. I would like to replace my old fuses too. If anything, get more modern blade fuses that are so much easier to find.
In the meantime, clean the contacts for the fuses to help minimize issues.