Did you check to see if it burned out? Before you pull it out ... check the fuse. Changing the battery had little to no impact on your head light burning out ...
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Thanks for your response. I haven't had the chance to check the simple things yet. But last year I laid it down, and when I put it back together I had the same problem. The guy I took it to said that my battery wasn't getting charged while I was riding, and that's why the headlight won't work. He said the bike has something that makes that happen. Have you heard of this?
Your bike has an alternator ... a rectifier ... a regulator and a battery in the charging system. For an alternator, you must have power to energize the field to make power ... alternators are normally not self exciting like generators. If you have a weak battery, it follows that you will have a weak charging system. Since your battery is new, that should not be a problem. You can test it with a volt-ohm meter. At rest, you should have about 12 volts DC available. With the engine running, you should read 14 volts <>. The rectifier is called a bridge rectifier and it makes DC to charge your battery from the AC that your alternator produces. If your rectifier is faulty ... you may not be getting a charge ... that being the case, you will lave less than 12 volts at rest and with the engine running. You can test the rectifier with a flash light battery and a small flash light lamp ... a rectifier should pass electricity one direction (the light will light) and not in the other direction (the light will not light).
You should check the simple things before you get into the therotical things ... but ... FYI, that is how your charging system works.
Thanks again for all the information. I tested all the little things last night. Bulb and fuse are good. The battery at rest reads 12.5 volts, then when I turn it on, it reads 12.24 volts. Can you explain the flashlight trick in detail, so I can try it tonight?
Get a paper clip ... short + to the - through the light with the paper clip ... the light will light.
You will need two pieces of wire ... the battery ... the light and the rectifier. The rectifier will typically have two or four wires. They may or may not be marked. If there are 2 ... typically there will be one + and one - ... four wires will be 2 + and 2 -.
If you join the Yamaha Rider Club ... you may gain access to a wiring diagram for your bike if you don't already have one ... Please don't ask me for one ... I don't have it. If you are going to do this kind of work ... you need to have a service manual.
A rectifier clips the bottom half of a ac cycle ... creating 'rectified' AC that acts like DC and will charge your battery.
We will discuss a two wire situation ... clip the light (wrap it around the base) to one paper clip so you don't have to hold it together ... of course unplug the rectifier from the harness. With the second wire on the - of the battery ... touch it to a rectifier wire ... attach the other wire to the other rectifier wire and the light to the + on the battery. If it lights ... great ... now reverse it ... if it still lights, BAD ... a rectifier should pass electricity only in one direction ... and if it lights in both directions ... the rectifrier is shorted.
Try all 4 possible attachments before you decide to purchase a replacement ...
Your Kasawaki shop may agree to test the part for you also ...
There you go ...
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