[mumblemouth]

So..I was riding my 2012 C5 today..and everything was fine. pull in the garage and notice my headlamp isn't working. the pilot lights work. i pulled the headlamp and the bulb looks fine. no soot, filaments look fine...and for some odd reason, the headlight works if i press the dipper switch. but otherwise nothing. I've checked the connections and everything seems plugged in just fine..i do have a black wire, and a black/grey wire just dangling about...but can't seem to figure where they plug in at..tried testing them as a ground and it just pops a fuse...so I'm assuming they're good we they are...any ideas whats going on?

[Arizoni]

The black wire is a unused ground wire and the gray wire is for a parking light.

On some of the old bulb/reflector type headlights there was another bulb located down low in the headlights reflector.  The black and gray wire provide the power for this little parking light.

Sealed beam headlights and some large bulb/reflector don't have this parking light so the wires just dangle inside the casquette. 
I used mine to power the LED volt meter I got from NFG.

Your headlight has three wires connecting it. 
Looking at the rear of the bulb with the top, up, the vertical lug at the 9:00 o'clock position is a amber ground wire for both high beam and low beam.
At the 12:00 o'clock position there is a horizontal lug with a green wire connected.  This is the LOW beam power supply.
At 3:00 o'clock there is a vertical lug with a blue wire connected.  This is the HIGH beam power supply.

By "dipper switch" I assume your talking about the yellow "headlight flasher" on the left handlebar.  Normally, this flasher only operates the HIGH beam.

If you have the lights turned on and the headlight set to the HIGH position and the bulb is not operating, push the flasher button.  If the headlight comes on, the HIGH beam is OK and the amber ground wire is OK and the problem is between the headlight HIGH/LOW beam switch and the bulb.

To test the LOW beam you can remove the blue wire from the 3:00 o'clock position and attach the green wire to the terminal.
Again, with the lights on, pushing the flasher button should light the LOW beam if the bulb is good.

If the bulb fails to light with either or both of these "flasher" tests, the bulb is burned out and needs to be replaced.

[caricabasso]

Check well the contacts of the lamp, it often happens that they go to compress the speedometer cable and go to ground.
Contrary to what you think, if he goes to ground contact of the lamp fuse it remains intact and functions just like a light happens to you.
The contacts of the lamp have a very poor insulation and are also sharp, so the possibility to occur contact with the metal spiral of the speedometer cable is very high.

[mumblemouth]

The black wire is a unused ground wire and the gray wire is for a parking light.

On some of the old bulb/reflector type headlights there was another bulb located down low in the headlights reflector.  The black and gray wire provide the power for this little parking light.

Sealed beam headlights and some large bulb/reflector don't have this parking light so the wires just dangle inside the casquette. 
I used mine to power the LED volt meter I got from NFG.

Your headlight has three wires connecting it. 
Looking at the rear of the bulb with the top, up, the vertical lug at the 9:00 o'clock position is a amber ground wire for both high beam and low beam.
At the 12:00 o'clock position there is a horizontal lug with a green wire connected.  This is the LOW beam power supply.
At 3:00 o'clock there is a vertical lug with a blue wire connected.  This is the HIGH beam power supply.

By "dipper switch" I assume your talking about the yellow "headlight flasher" on the left handlebar.  Normally, this flasher only operates the HIGH beam.

If you have the lights turned on and the headlight set to the HIGH position and the bulb is not operating, push the flasher button.  If the headlight comes on, the HIGH beam is OK and the amber ground wire is OK and the problem is between the headlight HIGH/LOW beam switch and the bulb.

To test the LOW beam you can remove the blue wire from the 3:00 o'clock position and attach the green wire to the terminal.
Again, with the lights on, pushing the flasher button should light the LOW beam if the bulb is good.

If the bulb fails to light with either or both of these "flasher" tests, the bulb is burned out and needs to be replaced.

Thanks. Tried the test, and both sides of the bulb are good. So I'm naturally assuming it's a switch problem? I still have my jumper wires attached in there too..never switched that out. Anyways, I took the controls apart early to take a peak..and I didn't notice anything obvious...

[mumblemouth]

Check well the contacts of the lamp, it often happens that they go to compress the speedometer cable and go to ground.
Contrary to what you think, if he goes to ground contact of the lamp fuse it remains intact and functions just like a light happens to you.
The contacts of the lamp have a very poor insulation and are also sharp, so the possibility to occur contact with the metal spiral of the speedometer cable is very high.

All the connections look good. Nothing sticking out/touching anything else/corroded. Everything's fine. It's got me stumped.

[Arizoni]

Try removing the jumper wire that's between the two red connectors and then plug the red connectors together.

This will activate your headlight off, parking, headlight on switch on the right handgrip.

More importantly, it might remove the source of your trouble.

[mumblemouth]

Try removing the jumper wire that's between the two red connectors and then plug the red connectors together.

This will activate your headlight off, parking, headlight on switch on the right handgrip.

More importantly, it might remove the source of your trouble.

That was one of my first thoughts..already tried it, to no avail.

[mumblemouth]

Any more advise would be greatly appreciated..my enfield is pretty much daily driver..so it's pretty essential. Right now I just have some rubber bands around the flasher switch to keep the light on during the evening. Thanks so much!

[Arizoni]

Well, starting at the ignition switch there is a red/white wire supplying power to the right hand "off/parking/headlight" switch.  This wire will go thru the two red connectors where the switch by-pass wire used to be located.

From the right hand "off/park/headlight" switch a red/yellow wire carries the power over to the left hand "hi/lo" switch.  (Of course, you did remember to turn that switch to the Headlight position, didn't you? )

From the "hi/lo" switch a blue wire goes to the headlight's Hi beam connector and a green wire goes to the headlight's Lo beam connector.

Although there are other ways to check these out, the best way is to use a volt/ohm meter.
If you don't have one, I got a fairly good one at Harbor Freight for about $8.
I got a really nice one at Sears for about $16.

With a volt/ohm meter set on the 20 volt DC scale you can find out if the wires that conduct the power to the next place are showing battery voltage when the switches are turned on.

[Arizoni]

I forgot to mention, if you plug in the "headlight always on" wiring by-pass bundle between the two red connectors that might fix the problem.

That little wiring bundle totally somehow provides an "always on" power to the headlight and the parking lights.
If the problem is with the right hand headlight switch, the wiring bundle by-passing it will remove it from the equation.

[mumblemouth]

So I picked up a multimeter...I have the jumper wire installed, do the headlight should be always on. The headlight itself is getting no power (unless the flasher button is pressed). So I checked the switch box (the one with the flasher button on it), and I'm not getting power there either. I tried taking a look at the schematic but it's pretty confusing..any recommendations on where I should check from here?

[mumblemouth]

I also followed the wiring from the switch to the coupler the supplies the power to the switch. I'm getting power on half of it, but the side that supplies the high beam and low beam is getting nothing..

[Arizoni]

If half of the coupler is getting power but none is getting to the other half, one of the connections has become disconnected or the wire broke internally.

[mumblemouth]

If half of the coupler is getting power but none is getting to the other half, one of the connections has become disconnected or the wire broke internally.

Man...please don't tell me I'm going to have to remove the tanks and strip the wire looms from the headlight to the battery...and check every wire? Such a bummer.

[mumblemouth]

If one of the wires were broken, wouldn't the light not turn on at all? It works if the flasher switch is used..but only then..so if one of the wires was broken wouldn't that not work as well?

[singhg5]

Sometimes the tiny metal pin connectors lose contact from its counterpart. But it is not visible since they are inside the large plastic connectors. If you pull the wire back, it will be visible (photo below as an example)

Or one of the wires has come off the metal pin connectors.

[mumblemouth]

Sometimes the tiny metal pin connectors lose contact from its counterpart. But it is not visible since they are inside the large plastic connectors. If you pull the wire back, it will be visible (photo below as an example)

Or one of the wires has come off the metal pin connectors.

Cool. Thanks man..I'll double check all of those. I'll check the pins at actual headlight coupler, as well as the coupler that's coming from the switch...any other couplers you can think of that might be affecting operation?

[mumblemouth]

I gave em all a pretty good tug. None of em really budged..I don't really want to yank in them too hard, I feel..

[Arizoni]

Obviously, power is getting thru the wiring harness to the ignition switch.
That's the only wire in the main harness that counts when it comes to the headlight so, no, you don't have to mess with the tank or anything else that is behind your handlebars.

I don't recall if you said.  Are the front parking lights on the casquette working?
If they are, the right hand switch is getting power from the ignition switch so that part of the circuit is working.

If yes, and if the jumper wire is installed in the red/red connectors I would suspect something is wrong with the left hand Hi/Lo switch or the red/yellow wire that provides power to it.

You should be able to check for power at the red/yellow wire at the left hand switch.
If there is no power there when the ignition switch is turned on then you've found the source of the problem.  It's the red/yellow supply wire or the connection between it and the connector plug.

[mumblemouth]

Obviously, power is getting thru the wiring harness to the ignition switch.
That's the only wire in the main harness that counts when it comes to the headlight so, no, you don't have to mess with the tank or anything else that is behind your handlebars.

I don't recall if you said.  Are the front parking lights on the casquette working?
If they are, the right hand switch is getting power from the ignition switch so that part of the circuit is working.

If yes, and if the jumper wire is installed in the red/red connectors I would suspect something is wrong with the left hand Hi/Lo switch or the red/yellow wire that provides power to it.

You should be able to check for power at the red/yellow wire at the left hand switch.
If there is no power there when the ignition switch is turned on then you've found the source of the problem.  It's the red/yellow supply wire or the connection between it and the connector plug.

Ok..So yes, all the lights are working. high and low are out, except when pressing the flasher switch. i just tested the yellow/red wire at the coupler in the loom, as well as at the switch. With the ignition on, I did get power to the yellow/red wire. However, I'm getting no reading when I test the blue and the green at neither the coupler or inside the switch. Thanks so much for the help as well guys! This is kinda stressing me out! 

[singhg5]

The left side switch module has 2 switches for headlight.

The first is Spring-loaded high-beam Flasher-switch (yellow) with two wires - Blue and Yellow/Red.

The second is white Toggle switch with 3 wires - Blue, Green, and Yellow/Red.

There are a total of 5 electrical contact points in the left switch module for headlight - 2 contact points for blue wire (high beam wire) and 2 contact points for yellow/red wire.

Check ALL FIVE points for power with switches at ON position.

If there is power at contact point of yellow/red wire at TOGGLE switch but no power at blue or green points then the switch is bad. Or the blue and green wires are disconnected from switch or solder has come off.

If there is NO power at yellow/red wire where it attaches to TOGGLE switch, then there is an internal break in the wire somewhere between switch and multiple-pin connector in nacelle, because at the multiple connector there is only one yellow/red wire. My guess it that yellow/red wire is split into two before reaching the switch module - one branch goes to flasher and the other to toggle switch. Since the flasher switch is working so that branch of yellow/red wire must be live, but the second branch that connects to toggle switch is not.

[mumblemouth]

Yep..it's the switch. I took it completely apart to accurately test the wires. The yellow was good, the blue and green not so much. Both terminals looked a little corroded. But the blue wire in particular was messed up. It looked kinda bubbly and the shrink wrap was really hard..almost like it got a surge that melted it....a little crazy considering it barely has 800 miles.

Well..guess I gotta call the dealer. Good thing it's still under warranty. Thanks so much for y'all's help! Very very much appreciated.

[mumblemouth]

Actually..upon inspection it definitely looks like a wire got fried some how. I did caught in a pretty good rain storm. Does anyone know where I can buy a replacement switch (preferably from a US domestic market)? And does anyone know of replacing it myself voids any warranty? My dealer is giving me the run around and are completely on the lazy side...not really too sure how good of a warranty is if the dealer sucks.

[Arizoni]

Looking at Singhg5's picture above, if that red/yellow wire has power at the point that it connects with the switch you should try spraying some WD40 into the switch.
Spray it thru the slot where the lever is and anywhere else that looks like it would get the stuff inside the switch.

Toggle it back and forth a LOT of times and spray a bit more WD40 inside of it.

WD40 was developed to drive moisture/water out of sensitive electronic switches and a shot of it, coupled with some repeated "OFF/ON" toggleing might clean whatever crud is on the switches contacts off and it might start working as good as new.

[GSS]

Most RE dealers have been outstanding, and if you are having problems, please send a PM to Kevin Mahoney. The RE crew have been really good about warranty work.  It is also easy to buy a replacement switch from the Indian sellers on EBay....they have been pretty reliable and it will save you the hassle of going back to the dealer.

[heloego]

I recommend you just bite the bullet (pun intended) and order up a switch module on your own.

I had a similar problem and by the time I figured it out the dealer had closed, and I refuse to allow the dummies who have the repair side of the old dealership touch my bike.

[mumblemouth]

I actually got through to the dealer. Took awhile and a bit of attitude to get em up off the couch..but as far as I know the part has been ordered and the warranty has been granted..guess we will see. Took em a little under a month to "send" just my plates..mind you it's coming from only about 1.5-2 hours away. So I guess we will see. As far as the WD-40, I've tried it. The wire definitely got fried some how..but thanks, everyone, for such great help. This forum is invaluable!