[9fingers]

a dumb question: does your headlight stay on at idle? I lost my high beam on my 1,000 mile ride and went to the lo for the ride remainder. I keep mine on all the time. I have a strong relatively new battery, a Duracell, and the headlight seems a little "unsteady" as the revs build. I also lost one of my eyebrow lights. I have around 5,000 miles if that is relevant. I don't ride at night so never really noticed the headlight function and would not have noticed it was out if my riding buddy had not pointed it out. And how does one change the eyebrow bulbs? Thanks for all replies.
9fingers

[Bmadd34]

Time for a new bulb.

[Mad4Bullets]

I've replaced the factory headlamp on my C5 with a glass sealed beam headlamp which has proven very reliable.  I have not had a need to replace it in near 10,000 miles and the lighting itself is steady.  It does not change with the RPMs.  As for the the small tiger's eye lamps, those things were blowing out all the time, presumably from vibration.  The solution was to replace them with small LED bulbs and I haven't had a problem since.  To replace these bulbs you just need to remove the one small screw that secures the metal bezel around the lens.  The lens itself is held in place within a rubber cup.  Carefully remove the lens and you will then have access to the bulb. This is all a very simple procedure. I'm sure there are a number of videos already on YouTube to walk you through it. Good luck.

[Richard230]

My B5 has a sealed-beam headlight that was having trouble turning on its high beam at times.  Cleaning the bulb contacts and their connecting wires solved that problem. As Mad4Bullets mentions, replacing the tiger eye bulbs is quite easy. The hardest part is pulling the bulb out of its housing with your fingers.  I visited the local O'Reilly auto parts store and picked up some slightly larger incandescent replacement bulbs.  I used those bulbs instead of the LED bulbs that are sold on Amazon just because the LEDs are very much brighter than the stock bulbs and I didn't want the tiger eyes to be that bright.

[Mad4Bullets]

Most important is to be very careful putting that little bezel screw back in.  I think it cold be very easy to accidentally cross-thread it.

[GlennF]

I used the ebay LED bulbs in my pilot lights. They are definitely brighter and more blue than the original. In fact they are bright enough to wheel the bike about at night without turning the main headlight on. They do however detract slightly from the overall "vintage" feel.

[Mad4Bullets]

I wanted to keep that vintage golden glow as well but I just got tired of constantly replacing the delicate incandescent bulbs. The LEDs are certainly brighter and whiter but not obnoxiously so. I certainly don't miss needing to replace them ever couple hundred miles. It's always a balance.

[Frogman8]

Hi 9Fingers
While you're at it, its a good idea to also remove that little wiring connector in the headlamp so your headlamp doesnt always stay on. There is a video on Youtube from SinghG5 about that. That allows you to switch the headlamp off esp when starting so its not draining the battery even further.
I had a nice LED harness with extra bright LEDs from an Indian ebay seller for about 15 bucks. We need all the additional illumination we can get, esp in congested NJ.

[Bmadd34]

No tools required https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnxA4ydXfbo

[9fingers]

GHG actually offered to make the headlight switch functional when he was doing my engine mods and I declined as I don't want to forget to turn it on. The Duracell has lots of cranking power, even after multiple starts in succession. The headlight right now is a Sylvania Halogen unit from the local auto parts store, and it was quite bright for the 3,000 miles it lasted. I will check the connections before heading out to buy another. I will probably stick with standard bulbs for the eyebrows as I don't want any reflections from the flyscreen, which partially obscures them.
9fingers

[Jako]

My B5 once lost low beam due to dirty contacts in the HI - LOW rocker switch , a little grease from the mechanism had spread to the low contacts.

[Bilgemaster]

Not sure about the UCE setup...Hell, I'm not even 100% clued in on my own "Iron Belly's" layout...but I do know that my 2005's has some cockamamie dual DC and AC rigging whereby the headlamp operates directly off the alternator and hence only when the motor is running, and not off the battery. Accordingly, I have noticed that its old halogen bulb dims just a bit when at idle, perking up once the revs do. My guess is that an LED headlamp bulb might shine more steadily, but rarely ride at night, so haven't yet bothered to swap it.

I also removed that mandated "dogbone connecter" in the headlamp shell overriding the switchery that once kept my lights always-on, so my lighting switch on the handlebar now works as it should--Just because having a "nuttin' button" there bugged me. Somehow, I manage not to forget the lights, though it matters little towards juice conservation's sake now that I've yanked out that flakey starter sprag rigamarole and gone kickstart only, as the Lord and Redditch intended.

One bit of advice: if you're still using replaceable halogen or other incandescent bulbs in a non-sealed beam shell, do try not to touch the bulb itself with bare fingers. The oils, decades of cheetos dust, and so forth from your fingers will greatly hasten its burning out. Hold it with a kleenex or similar. And if you DO touch that bulb (and come on, you know  you will), then just wipe it clean with a bit of isopropyl alcohol.   

[mike_bike_kite]

I wanted to keep that vintage golden glow as well but I just got tired of constantly replacing the delicate incandescent bulbs. The LEDs are certainly brighter and whiter but not obnoxiously so. I certainly don't miss needing to replace them ever couple hundred miles. It's always a balance.

I replaced my tiger bulbs with LED and felt the same. I wondered about getting softer glow LEDs and trying these but haven't done it yet. If I ever feel brave enough then I'll replace the indicator warning light (and probably the neutral light) in my dash with LEDs also.

[Narada]

I put in new tiger eyes from Super bright LED and now my windshield glows in the dark! 

[9fingers]

Lost the lowbeam now also so bought a new sealed Halogen Sylvania unit from the auto parts store for $16. Will make sure that solves the issue tomorrow and check the tiger eye light to see if a dirty contact or if that needs a new bulb as well, and will stick with incandescent. It is partially obscured by the flyscreen anyway. BTW, the guy at Advance Auto told me that truck stops sell a more robust version of the 7' bulb, that resists vibration better. I will check out next time I am at a truck stop.
9fingers