Recently I noticed after a ride, that both my headlights are accumulation condensation in the corners. I hadnt taken the bike out for a decent amount of time in a few weeks. Rode for about an hour and there was a little condenstation in both headlights. I pulled out the bulbs and let it dry. Then I took out the bike yesterday for a few hours. Same thing in both corners of the headlights. No moisture had touched the bike since they had previously dried out. It seems weird that 2 headlight seals would go bad together. I was thinking of putting in angel eyes so I would have to re seal the lights anyway. Anyone else had both headlights start leaking together?
the thing that sucks is I just changed the fluid, Both of them. Bought a 55 gal drum of it for a buck a gallon. It was tough to change, I burned myself on the front differential pretty bad, could barely get it back into 4 wheel drive after that. So I guess no one has had both headlight seals go bad together.
Right!.. Well i'm leaving for afghanistan in like 2 weeks so its gonna have to wait anyway, I just didnt know if this was common or not. Thanks for all the help though
Mine does it sometimes. That's a lot of heat generated by the bulbs especially if you have the highs running whole time. If its just in the corners it's not a big deal but if your whole lens is getting fogged up then you have an issue id say.
Yes its just the corners where the lights come together from what I can tell. Im not super worried about it at this time, I was just wondering if anyone else had this happen. I just double checked to make sure the rubber seals are on the back also.
Ah man, I had the same issue with my previous bike - FZ6. The only way I finally fixed it was to buy a whole new headlight. I tried everything: Hairdryer, heat from a light, compressed air, shouting at it and I even left a heater on it overnight.
Any moisture that gets in, stays in.
If you do get a new one, check that it seals properly.
Something else you might consider, is just living with it...
Just picked up my 2012 this past Saturday, and both my lenses fogged up after the 70 mile ride home. Weird. Both cleared the next day. I did ride with my high beams on the entire time.
Is there a Yamaha TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) for this issue? If so, does anyone have the number, a copy, or a link to it? Thanks in advance...
I will have the dealer check it when I go in for 600 mile service I guess. Brand new bike, so I'm a bit perplexed too. And, I'm excited to join the Yamaha liter bike club finally.
Heat up the gooey seals with a hairdryer, pull the two halves apart and smudge to goo back into areas where its lacking heat up again and re-seal pushing them tightly togeather while they cool.
A hairdryer may not be able to heat up the entire unit enough to pull the halves apart. I have known peeps to put headlamp assembly's in a household oven preheated to 350 degree's for just long enough to be able to pull the halves apart, usually a few minutes.
Although, if you're in a real humid area, I think you can squeeze water out of the air, and into the assembly via the front, though an unsealed portion
I think it's weird that they only fog up when running high beams tho. Riding around in the damp/ cold night air with regular beams they didn't fog up at all.
What is different with the high beams that might cause this?
I think it's weird that they only fog up when running high beams tho. Riding around in the damp/ cold night air with regular beams they didn't fog up at all.
What is different with the high beams that might cause this?
Update: Rode around some more (40 miles approx) in cold, damp conditions. No fogging up. Used the high beams sporadically and no fogging up either. So I think to make them fog up I have to run them non-stop. But the R1 headlights are bright enough. and, I don't need to run high beams all the time like on the R6.
Went for a 30-45 min night ride last night and ran high beams. Weird. No condensation this time. Normally, would've seen some. Maybe it's the hot weather?
Dealer is still waiting on Yamaha factory to decide whether or not to authorize to replace my headlamp assembly.
Thanks Jake for finding this thread. I guess that replacing the assembly won't necessarily fix the issue.
I will continue monitoring and see what happens. Worse case is I could ask the dealer to remove those two caps, because they suggested pulling the assembly out to clean it anyways. In my case, it doesn't fog up on low beams- only when running highs persistently. Weird that It didn't happen this last time though. Bike has never seen water and the fogging always clears after an hour or so- so i know it's not from moisture already in there...
Had this happen on mine the last two rides, one in a monsoon and the other in heavy fog. Any other time they're completely dry so I can deal with it. Just lows or lows and highs both, doesn't matter. It gathers in the front corners by the nose of mine.
it is just condensation, happens to my R1, happened to my FZ6 when i had that... humidity goes to whatever is cold, so when you have the lights on, it attracts to the case which is cooler than the bulbs. since it is not a sealed case, it will always happen when there is humidity around. unless you start getting puddles or not being able to see, it is just something to deal with, but at least you can't see it while you are riding it, so get behind the headlights, on the seat, and the problem won't bother you anymore.
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