battery vent tube

[Tom Vervaeke]

Hello: Need some bits of advise on what's up. On a dual sport ride last Saturday my headlight stopped functioning. We had just completed a long day (400 miles) of street and dirt. Was driving back towards home when my friend in front of me (on the street) waved me up and said my headlight had just gone out, i.e. it was on and then it just stopped. I selected low beam and no luck. No headlight. Rushed a bit to get home but made it home about 1 hour prior to dark. Whew. According to the manual there are 3 things that can go wrong: 1. Bulb burns out. 2. Blew a fuse 3. Problem with switch on handlebar. I immediately removed the headlight bulb and examine it. It looked fine to me but I put in the spare bulb and no luck. It was not the bulb. Put old bulb back in. I also checked for voltage at the headlight socket and no luck. No juice anywhere there. I have made no mods to the bike that would affect this. The only thing in that area I did lately was to override the clutch safety switch by doing the modification listed on the KLR mods page. Not sure how this could affect that. Wife summoned me to go out to dinner. No more time to work on KLR. So, the only two other things it can be is the fuse or the switch. It appears there are two fuses under the seat and another one up front for the radiator fan. I will have time tonight to remove the side panels and seat in order to get to the fuses. Are there any other fuses? Both the owners manual and the service manual are really pretty pathetic and don't even state which fuse is which. I'm guessing it's not the fuse and I can't imagine what could have caused it to blow as I was riding down the street. I came across Arne's write up on the replacement of the fuse box with the blade type fuses and the location moved to the side of the bike so it can be accessed without removing side panels and seat. This now seems like a very good idea. If I rule out the fuses, what specifically in the switch should I look for? I'm guessing that as soon as I open it up about 13,000 small springs and things are going to fly to the four corners of my basement. The high-low beam switch is the one I'm guessing they're talking about. It appears to be functioning correctly. Thanks for any ideas. If anyone has been through this I'd like to hear about it. Best, Tom V A13 ===== ========================================================= Tom Vervaeke, Colorado, USA |Email: tom_vervaeke@... '99 Kawasaki KLR-650, 5.0K |Ph: 719-495-2152 (home) '96 BMW R1100GS, Black 61.5K|Ph: 719-590-2133 (work) Colorado DualSporters Group |Ph: 719-650-4578 (cell/riding) Try: http://www.egroups.com/group/Colorado-Dualsporters ========================================================= __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/

[Fred Hink]

[b]Tom,  I will be my reputation (such as it is) that your problem is the fuse.   [/b] [b]Happens to the best of them.[/b] [b][/b]  [b]Fred[/b] [b][/b]   

----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] tom_vervaeke@... [b]To:[/b] DSN_klr650@egroups.com [b]Sent:[/b] Monday, October 16, 2000 7:40 AM [b]Subject:[/b] [DSN_klr650] Troubleshooting - No Headlight Hello: Need some bits of advise on what's up. On a dual sport ride last Saturday my headlight stopped functioning. We had just completed a long day (400 miles) of street and dirt. Was driving back towards home when my friend in front of me (on the street) waved me up and said my headlight had just gone out, i.e. it was on and then it just stopped. I selected low beam and no luck. No headlight. Rushed a bit to get home but made it home about 1 hour prior to dark. Whew. According to the manual there are 3 things that can go wrong: 1. Bulb burns out. 2. Blew a fuse 3. Problem with switch on handlebar. I immediately removed the headlight bulb and examine it. It looked fine to me but I put in the spare bulb and no luck. It was not the bulb. Put old bulb back in. I also checked for voltage at the headlight socket and no luck. No juice anywhere there. I have made no mods to the bike that would affect this. The only thing in that area I did lately was to override the clutch safety switch by doing the modification listed on the KLR mods page. Not sure how this could affect that. Wife summoned me to go out to dinner. No more time to work on KLR. So, the only two other things it can be is the fuse or the switch. It appears there are two fuses under the seat and another one up front for the radiator fan. I will have time tonight to remove the side panels and seat in order to get to the fuses. Are there any other fuses? Both the owners manual and the service manual are really pretty pathetic and don't even state which fuse is which. I'm guessing it's not the fuse and I can't imagine what could have caused it to blow as I was riding down the street. I came across Arne's write up on the replacement of the fuse box with the blade type fuses and the location moved to the side of the bike so it can be accessed without removing side panels and seat. This now seems like a very good idea. If I rule out the fuses, what specifically in the switch should I look for? I'm guessing that as soon as I open it up about 13,000 small springs and things are going to fly to the four corners of my basement.  The high-low beam switch is the one I'm guessing they're talking about. It appears to be functioning correctly. Thanks for any ideas. If anyone has been through this I'd like to hear about it. Best, Tom V A13 ===== ========================================================= Tom Vervaeke, Colorado, USA |Email: tom_vervaeke@... '99 Kawasaki KLR-650, 5.0K  |Ph: 719-495-2152 (home)   '96 BMW R1100GS, Black 61.5K|Ph: 719-590-2133 (work)   Colorado DualSporters Group |Ph: 719-650-4578 (cell/riding)  Try: http://www.egroups.com/group/Colorado-Dualsporters ========================================================= __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf!  It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ Visit the KLR650 archives at http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 Support Dual Sport News... dsneditor@... Let's keep this list SPAM free! Visit our site at http://www.egroups.com/group/DSN_klr650 To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@egroups.com

[Steve Anderson]

The klr has a reputation for blowing fuses. This is something I posted to the list back in March. It may help. ============================ I have seen a lot of comments on blown headlight fuses, and was one of the unlucky ones that HAD a problem. First thing I noticed, was that my bulb had loose bits of filament bouncing around in there, shorting who knows what. Second thing, as with all bikes I've ridden, the high/low switch is of the "make before break" variety, meaning that while during the transition while switching, BOTH filaments are lit. In some of my bikes, while on the trails at night I used to take advantage of this by deliberately putting the switch between high and low, to run both filaments, getting the combined light output/coverage. Point is, even with the stock 55/60W, WHEN both filaments are lit, it is consuming at least 115W. BTW cold filaments have an initial "inrush" current slightly higher than the rated load. 115W @ 12 V = 9.58A (momentarily for those of you that don't cheat and put the switch in the middle. Tail lamp 5W + ~10W for instrument lights (possibly another 20W or so fro the turn signal). Bottom line: this gives us 130W @ 12V = 10.83A minimum, momentarily while switching the high/low beams, on a completely stock KLR, with out the turn signal running. Nearly 1 amp more than the 10 amp fuse. I was always taught to wire a circuit with 20% margin meaning that 10.83A + 20% = 13 A circuit. Since it appears that all the wiring on this circuit is 18AWG, and 18AWG is "safe" running 15 amps forever and ever, even at high temps, check the National Electric Code (NEC) if you don't believe me, I replaced the 10 amp fuse with a 15 amp unit. I have also replaced my bulb with a 90/55 (13.33A total momentary w/o turn sig). I have not blown a fuse since. Now before I get some nasty responses, I am NOT trying to say that this IS the fuse blowing problem, I don't have the data to support that. I am only trying to post a reasonable hypothesis to this issue.... Steve (no blown fuses) Anderson

--- In DSN_klr650@egroups.com, Tom Vervaeke wrote: > Hello: > > Need some bits of advise on what's up. On a dual sport ride last > Saturday my headlight stopped functioning. We had just completed > a long day (400 miles) of street and dirt. Was driving back towards > home when my friend in front of me (on the street) waved me up and > said my headlight had just gone out, i.e. it was on and then it > just stopped. I selected low beam and no luck. No headlight. Rushed > a bit to get home but made it home about 1 hour prior to dark. Whew. > > According to the manual there are 3 things that can go wrong: > > 1. Bulb burns out. > 2. Blew a fuse > 3. Problem with switch on handlebar. > > I immediately removed the headlight bulb and examine it. It looked > fine to me but I put in the spare bulb and no luck. It was not the > bulb. Put old bulb back in. I also checked for voltage at the > headlight socket and no luck. No juice anywhere there. I have made > no mods to the bike that would affect this. The only thing in > that area I did lately was to override the clutch safety switch by > doing the modification listed on the KLR mods page. Not sure how > this could affect that. > > Wife summoned me to go out to dinner. No more time to work on KLR. > > So, the only two other things it can be is the fuse or the switch. > It appears there are two fuses under the seat and another one up > front for the radiator fan. I will have time tonight to remove the > side panels and seat in order to get to the fuses. Are there any > other fuses? Both the owners manual and the service manual are really > pretty pathetic and don't even state which fuse is which. I'm guessing > it's not the fuse and I can't imagine what could have caused it to > blow as I was riding down the street. I came across Arne's write up > on the replacement of the fuse box with the blade type fuses and the > location moved to the side of the bike so it can be accessed without > removing side panels and seat. This now seems like a very good idea. > > If I rule out the fuses, what specifically in the switch should I > look for? I'm guessing that as soon as I open it up about 13,000 > small springs and things are going to fly to the four corners of my > basement. The high-low beam switch is the one I'm guessing they're > talking about. It appears to be functioning correctly. > > Thanks for any ideas. If anyone has been through this I'd like to hear > about it. > > Best, > > Tom V > A13 > > > ===== > ========================================================= > Tom Vervaeke, Colorado, USA |Email: tom_vervaeke@y... > '99 Kawasaki KLR-650, 5.0K |Ph: 719-495-2152 (home) > '96 BMW R1100GS, Black 61.5K|Ph: 719-590-2133 (work) > Colorado DualSporters Group |Ph: 719-650-4578 (cell/riding) > Try: http://www.egroups.com/group/Colorado-Dualsporters ========================================================= >

[Mark Weaver]

i can personally vouch for the info below. my fuse blew on a dark twisty road, late at night. i put in a 15A fuse 10k miles ago, and have had no problems since. mw

> -----Original Message----- > From: Steve Anderson [mailto:standerson@...] > Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 8:03 AM > To: DSN_klr650@egroups.com > Subject: [DSN_klr650] Re: Troubleshooting - No Headlight > > > The klr has a reputation for blowing fuses. This is something I posted to > the list back in March. It may help. > > ============================ > > > I have seen a lot of comments on blown headlight fuses, and was one of the > unlucky ones that HAD a problem. First thing I noticed, was that my bulb > had loose bits of filament bouncing around in there, shorting who knows > what. Second thing, as with all bikes I've ridden, the high/low > switch is of > the "make before break" variety, meaning that while during the transition > while switching, BOTH filaments are lit. In some of my bikes, > while on the > trails at night I used to take advantage of this by deliberately > putting the > switch between high and low, to run both filaments, getting the combined > light output/coverage. Point is, even with the stock 55/60W, WHEN both > filaments are lit, it is consuming at least 115W. BTW cold filaments have > an initial "inrush" current slightly higher than the rated load. > 115W @ 12 > V = 9.58A (momentarily for those of you that don't cheat and put > the switch > in the middle. Tail lamp 5W + ~10W for instrument lights > (possibly another > 20W or so fro the turn signal). > > Bottom line: this gives us 130W @ 12V = 10.83A minimum, momentarily while > switching the high/low beams, on a completely stock KLR, with out the turn > signal running. Nearly 1 amp more than the 10 amp fuse. I was always > taught to wire a circuit with 20% margin meaning that 10.83A + 20% = 13 A > circuit. Since it appears that all the wiring on this circuit is > 18AWG, and > 18AWG is "safe" running 15 amps forever and ever, even at high > temps, check > the National Electric Code (NEC) if you don't believe me, I > replaced the 10 > amp fuse with a 15 amp unit. I have also replaced my bulb with a 90/55 > (13.33A total momentary w/o turn sig). I have not blown a fuse since. > > > Now before I get some nasty responses, I am NOT trying to say that this IS > the fuse blowing problem, I don't have the data to support that. > I am only > trying to post a reasonable hypothesis to this issue.... > > > Steve (no blown fuses) Anderson > > > > > > > > --- In DSN_klr650@egroups.com, Tom Vervaeke wrote: > > Hello: > > > > Need some bits of advise on what's up. On a dual sport ride last > > Saturday my headlight stopped functioning. We had just completed > > a long day (400 miles) of street and dirt. Was driving back towards > > home when my friend in front of me (on the street) waved me up and > > said my headlight had just gone out, i.e. it was on and then it > > just stopped. I selected low beam and no luck. No headlight. Rushed > > a bit to get home but made it home about 1 hour prior to dark. Whew. > > > > According to the manual there are 3 things that can go wrong: > > > > 1. Bulb burns out. > > 2. Blew a fuse > > 3. Problem with switch on handlebar. > > > > I immediately removed the headlight bulb and examine it. It looked > > fine to me but I put in the spare bulb and no luck. It was not the > > bulb. Put old bulb back in. I also checked for voltage at the > > headlight socket and no luck. No juice anywhere there. I have made > > no mods to the bike that would affect this. The only thing in > > that area I did lately was to override the clutch safety switch by > > doing the modification listed on the KLR mods page. Not sure how > > this could affect that. > > > > Wife summoned me to go out to dinner. No more time to work on KLR. > > > > So, the only two other things it can be is the fuse or the switch. > > It appears there are two fuses under the seat and another one up > > front for the radiator fan. I will have time tonight to remove the > > side panels and seat in order to get to the fuses. Are there any > > other fuses? Both the owners manual and the service manual are really > > pretty pathetic and don't even state which fuse is which. I'm guessing > > it's not the fuse and I can't imagine what could have caused it to > > blow as I was riding down the street. I came across Arne's write up > > on the replacement of the fuse box with the blade type fuses and the > > location moved to the side of the bike so it can be accessed without > > removing side panels and seat. This now seems like a very good idea. > > > > If I rule out the fuses, what specifically in the switch should I > > look for? I'm guessing that as soon as I open it up about 13,000 > > small springs and things are going to fly to the four corners of my > > basement. The high-low beam switch is the one I'm guessing they're > > talking about. It appears to be functioning correctly. > > > > Thanks for any ideas. If anyone has been through this I'd like to hear > > about it. > > > > Best, > > > > Tom V > > A13 > > > > > > ===== > > ========================================================= > > Tom Vervaeke, Colorado, USA |Email: tom_vervaeke@y... > > '99 Kawasaki KLR-650, 5.0K |Ph: 719-495-2152 (home) > > '96 BMW R1100GS, Black 61.5K|Ph: 719-590-2133 (work) > > Colorado DualSporters Group |Ph: 719-650-4578 (cell/riding) > > Try: http://www.egroups.com/group/Colorado-Dualsporters > ========================================================= > > > > > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > Support Dual Sport News... dsneditor@... > Let's keep this list SPAM free! > > Visit our site at http://www.egroups.com/group/DSN_klr650 > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@egroups.com > > >

[Sanders, Eric]

Hi Tom, I started mine up one day, and during the pre-ride ritual, I discovered the high/low switch was in between settings, giving high and low power to the fuse (it didn't like that). I'm not sure if there's more than one, but a headlamp fuse is located in a black plastic box that's mounted with a rubber housing that slides/clips on under the seat. I think there should be a 10a and a 20a fuse, the headlamp one will be the one that's fried (10a). Good Luck, Eric Colorado Springs A13L "Beef" ps- member of CO-dualsporters e-group but too scared to ride with the crazy bastards! -----Original Message----- From: Tom Vervaeke [mailto:tom_vervaeke@...] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 8:40 AM To: KLR-650 List Subject: [DSN_klr650] Troubleshooting - No Headlight Hello: Need some bits of advise on what's up. On a dual sport ride last Saturday my headlight stopped functioning. We had just completed a long day (400 miles) of street and dirt. Was driving back towards home when my friend in front of me (on the street) waved me up and said my headlight had just gone out, i.e. it was on and then it just stopped. I selected low beam and no luck. No headlight. Rushed a bit to get home but made it home about 1 hour prior to dark. Whew. According to the manual there are 3 things that can go wrong: 1. Bulb burns out. 2. Blew a fuse 3. Problem with switch on handlebar. I immediately removed the headlight bulb and examine it. It looked fine to me but I put in the spare bulb and no luck. It was not the bulb. Put old bulb back in. I also checked for voltage at the headlight socket and no luck. No juice anywhere there. I have made no mods to the bike that would affect this. The only thing in that area I did lately was to override the clutch safety switch by doing the modification listed on the KLR mods page. Not sure how this could affect that. Wife summoned me to go out to dinner. No more time to work on KLR. So, the only two other things it can be is the fuse or the switch. It appears there are two fuses under the seat and another one up front for the radiator fan. I will have time tonight to remove the side panels and seat in order to get to the fuses. Are there any other fuses? Both the owners manual and the service manual are really pretty pathetic and don't even state which fuse is which. I'm guessing it's not the fuse and I can't imagine what could have caused it to blow as I was riding down the street. I came across Arne's write up on the replacement of the fuse box with the blade type fuses and the location moved to the side of the bike so it can be accessed without removing side panels and seat. This now seems like a very good idea. If I rule out the fuses, what specifically in the switch should I look for? I'm guessing that as soon as I open it up about 13,000 small springs and things are going to fly to the four corners of my basement. The high-low beam switch is the one I'm guessing they're talking about. It appears to be functioning correctly. Thanks for any ideas. If anyone has been through this I'd like to hear about it. Best, Tom V A13 ===== ========================================================= Tom Vervaeke, Colorado, USA |Email: tom_vervaeke@... '99 Kawasaki KLR-650, 5.0K |Ph: 719-495-2152 (home) '96 BMW R1100GS, Black 61.5K|Ph: 719-590-2133 (work) Colorado DualSporters Group |Ph: 719-650-4578 (cell/riding) Try: http://www.egroups.com/group/Colorado-Dualsporters ========================================================= __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ Visit the KLR650 archives at http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 Support Dual Sport News... dsneditor@... Let's keep this list SPAM free! Visit our site at http://www.egroups.com/group/DSN_klr650 To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@egroups.com

[Conall O'Brien]

Tom, There is a brown wire to the switch that is a common ground to both the hi/lo beam. That's probably what broke. I fixed mine with a electric soldering iron. Cordless butane iron wasn't hot enough in the cold wind the day I tried to fix mine. Good luck. Conall

>From: Tom Vervaeke >Reply-To: tom_vervaeke@... >To: KLR-650 List DSN_klr650@egroups.com> >Subject: [DSN_klr650] Troubleshooting - No Headlight >Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 07:40:17 -0700 (PDT) > >Hello: > >Need some bits of advise on what's up. On a dual sport ride last >Saturday my headlight stopped functioning. We had just completed >a long day (400 miles) of street and dirt. Was driving back towards >home when my friend in front of me (on the street) waved me up and >said my headlight had just gone out, i.e. it was on and then it >just stopped. I selected low beam and no luck. No headlight. Rushed >a bit to get home but made it home about 1 hour prior to dark. Whew. > >According to the manual there are 3 things that can go wrong: > >1. Bulb burns out. >2. Blew a fuse >3. Problem with switch on handlebar. > >I immediately removed the headlight bulb and examine it. It looked >fine to me but I put in the spare bulb and no luck. It was not the >bulb. Put old bulb back in. I also checked for voltage at the >headlight socket and no luck. No juice anywhere there. I have made >no mods to the bike that would affect this. The only thing in >that area I did lately was to override the clutch safety switch by >doing the modification listed on the KLR mods page. Not sure how >this could affect that. > >Wife summoned me to go out to dinner. No more time to work on KLR. > >So, the only two other things it can be is the fuse or the switch. >It appears there are two fuses under the seat and another one up >front for the radiator fan. I will have time tonight to remove the >side panels and seat in order to get to the fuses. Are there any >other fuses? Both the owners manual and the service manual are really >pretty pathetic and don't even state which fuse is which. I'm guessing >it's not the fuse and I can't imagine what could have caused it to >blow as I was riding down the street. I came across Arne's write up >on the replacement of the fuse box with the blade type fuses and the >location moved to the side of the bike so it can be accessed without >removing side panels and seat. This now seems like a very good idea. > >If I rule out the fuses, what specifically in the switch should I >look for? I'm guessing that as soon as I open it up about 13,000 >small springs and things are going to fly to the four corners of my >basement. The high-low beam switch is the one I'm guessing they're >talking about. It appears to be functioning correctly. > >Thanks for any ideas. If anyone has been through this I'd like to hear >about it. > >Best, > >Tom V >A13 > > >===== >========================================================= >Tom Vervaeke, Colorado, USA |Email: tom_vervaeke@... >'99 Kawasaki KLR-650, 5.0K |Ph: 719-495-2152 (home) >'96 BMW R1100GS, Black 61.5K|Ph: 719-590-2133 (work) >Colorado DualSporters Group |Ph: 719-650-4578 (cell/riding) > Try: http://www.egroups.com/group/Colorado-Dualsporters >========================================================= > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. >http://im.yahoo.com/ > >Visit the KLR650 archives at >http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 >Support Dual Sport News... dsneditor@... >Let's keep this list SPAM free! > >Visit our site at http://www.egroups.com/group/DSN_klr650 >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: >DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@egroups.com > >

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[Jim Hyman]

Steve, To prolong battery "shelf life", new batteries are vacuum sealed. Dealers will install the "dry" battery in a newly set up bike & leave the factory sealed vent tube on the battery until delivery to the buyer. Many (most?) dealers will give the new battery a 1 hour set up charge before final delivery, which is NOT adequate. New batteries should be trickle charged for 4 - 6 hours (or more) for proper "break in". You can't properly break in a new battery by riding your bike! I charge my new batteries for 12 - 15 hours & regularly check/service the battery. I easily get 4 -5 years or more out of my batteries. Professor A9 Federal Way, WA. [USA] +++++++++++++++++++++++ --- sabel@w... wrote:

> I have a 2000 KLR650 purchased this summer. > While in another town last week I visited a Kawi dealer and > they had a new KLR650. I noticed something different on the > battery vent hose. > On my KLR650, instead of a clear plastic tube going into a > black hose ( on the left side ) . The clear plastic tube > stops short of the black hose and the end of the tube is > heat-sealed closed. In essence there's no vent. > Would anyone out there know if this is wrong ( an oversight > on the part of the get-ready mechanic ) or just a different > type of battery. > > Steve from Wyoming