Dash lights/ front headlights flickering?

[gilmorec61]

Hey guys i gotta little dilema. So about a week ago, i washed my bike, and i think i mighta gotten some water somewhere i shouldnt have. Because, a day or two afterwards, i noticed when i was behind someone at a redlight, that my headlights were flickering off thier car, and im like wtf?? Then i studied it more carefully, and saw that my dash lights including all the otherlights(highbeem, neutral) flickered as well. When my bike is OFF but ignition turned on, i dont think it does it. And if i rev it, it will flicker with the rev sometimes.

Any suggestions on what might have happened? i already checked all the fuses, and their great, but i dont know where to go from there. And im not an electrical fanatic so yeah...

This isnt huge, as everything still works the way it should, just a little pest.

[Scattcatt]

Mine does the same thing from time to time, but goes away as rpm's get higher than idle which means it has something to do with the alternator output more than likely. I haven't been too overly concerned about it though as the flickering isn't bad enough to make it a hazard and if anything, makes my headlights even easier to spot (as if purple headlights weren't ALREADY easy to spot...) Curious, do you ride with you high beams on? I always have mine on, I've never tried switching to lowbeams while the flickering is going on to see what happens.

[gilmorec61]

Yes sir ALWAYS with high beams on, but even with the low beams only on it still flickers a little bit, and at idle it will flicker as well. I dont really notice it as it gets higher into the rpms as well now that i think about it...I just want to know why i just noticed it AFTER i washed it. And yeah thats exactly what i was thinking, we got free pulsing headlights

[Scattcatt]

Originally Posted by gilmorec61

Yes sir ALWAYS with high beams on, but even with the low beams only on it still flickers a little bit, and at idle it will flicker as well. I dont really notice it as it gets higher into the rpms as well now that i think about it...I just want to know why i just noticed it AFTER i washed it. And yeah thats exactly what i was thinking, we got free pulsing headlights

For me it's totally random, most of the time there's no flickering at all, other days it flickers pretty bad at idle (by bad I mean that even at their dimmest point in their flicker they are still plenty bright to drive safely by). If your "problem" is the same as mine, then I don't think it was the wash that caused this for you. Just as long as you don't have the problem with your headlights where they cut out completely if you hit a bump to hard like I do, then I say you're probably okay

[gilmorec61]

For me it's totally random, most of the time there's no flickering at all, other days it flickers pretty bad at idle (by bad I mean that even at their dimmest point in their flicker they are still plenty bright to drive safely by). If your "problem" is the same as mine, then I don't think it was the wash that caused this for you. Just as long as you don't have the problem with your headlights where they cut out completely if you hit a bump to hard like I do, then I say you're probably okay

Yeah, sometimes it completly stops but for the most part its their but not much. And yeah its not putting the lights out, so im good there

[DaBlue1]

I had a similar issue once. Tighten the battery terminals. If that does not fix the problem. Charge the battery on a charger.

- if your lights on the Ninja 250 begin to flicker or your gauges or engine speed start to act erratically, check your battery connections
http://www.ninjette.org/wiki/Battery

[gilmorec61]

I had a similar issue once. Tighten the battery terminals. If that does not fix the problem. Charge the battery on a charger.

- if your lights on the Ninja 250 begin to flicker or your gauges or engine speed start to act erratically, check your battery connections
http://www.ninjette.org/wiki/Battery

Okay, ill do that, thanks for the link.

[Skippii]

Stop tapping your right foot to the music. The load from the brake light can dim the headlight at idle.
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[Skippii]

Originally Posted by Scattcatt

Mine does the same thing from time to time, but goes away as rpm's get higher than idle which means it has something to do with the alternator output more than likely. I haven't been too overly concerned about it though as the flickering isn't bad enough to make it a hazard and if anything, makes my headlights even easier to spot (as if purple headlights weren't ALREADY easy to spot...) Curious, do you ride with you high beams on? I always have mine on, I've never tried switching to lowbeams while the flickering is going on to see what happens.

How many accidents have you caused so far by blinding all oncoming traffic?
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[Scattcatt]

Originally Posted by Skippii

How many accidents have you caused so far by blinding all oncoming traffic?
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Haha I'd turn them off if they were a problem. The roads here in Vegas even at night are bright, I've never had anyone flash at me with their high beams or put their hand up to their mirror to cover up my lights so I know I'm causing a problem. My brother's 250 on the other hand DID have that problem. He started riding with his high beams on all the time as I do with the factory lights, but his were aimed SUPER high cars all the time would flash at him or hold a hand up to their mirrors. I don't do it to be an idiot or anything, it's just if no one seems bothered by it, then I don't have a problem keeping them on full time. The moment someone complains I'll turn them off immediately without hesitation.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by Skippii

Stop tapping your right foot to the music. The load from the brake light can dim the headlight at idle.
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^^ Skippii has a good point here. With the brights on, the bike doesn't have a lot of extra juice, especially if the bike isn't above about 4k in the rpms. Even the blinkers or brake light can cause the headlight and gauge lights to go dim and bright again in accordance to when the other lights are on or off respectively. That's part of why I converted everything except the brake light to LED's; I found the dimming to be annoying.

[Scattcatt]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

^^ Skippii has a good point here. With the brights on, the bike doesn't have a lot of extra juice, especially if the bike isn't above about 4k in the rpms. Even the blinkers or brake light can cause the headlight and gauge lights to go dim and bright again in accordance to when the other lights are on or off respectively. That's part of why I converted everything except the brake light to LED's; I found the dimming to be annoying.

You have a point here, but everything on my bike is LED's and I still get this issue from time to time as well. I have no idea what kind of load the HID headlights require though (previous owner installed them). When it comes to my flickering it's very fast at roughly the same speed as my RPM. The blinkers and brakes don't have that big of an effect on the flickering for me.

[Skippii]

Originally Posted by Scattcatt

You have a point here, but everything on my bike is LED's and I still get this issue from time to time as well. I have no idea what kind of load the HID headlights require though (previous owner installed them). When it comes to my flickering it's very fast at roughly the same speed as my RPM. The blinkers and brakes don't have that big of an effect on the flickering for me.

HID would be 35W normally, especially if you're not blinding everyone. The pulsing is caused by the alternator doing it's magic in AC before it gets rectified by the RR, so the actual open circuit voltage rises and falls from 0 to about 15v several times a second. With a battery in place, it normally goes from about 12.5v (battery voltage) to about 14.5v. Any electronic circuit normally includes filter or smoothing capacitors immediately following the diodes, except in automotive applications because the battery normally does this by itself. Your battery is not providing this smoothing function.
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[Skippii]

...to the same degree as other batteries. Some batteries will drop almost immediatley from charging to resting voltage when power is removed. Others will fade down more slowly (we're still only talking fractions of a second.) Basically, you want the voltage drop to be less than a volt between peaks. In a house in the usa rectifying ac, that would be 1/120 of a second with a full wave rectifier. On a bike, it's equal to rpm*peaks per revolution, which depends on the design of the alternator.
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[Scattcatt]

Originally Posted by Skippii

HID would be 35W normally, especially if you're not blinding everyone. The pulsing is caused by the alternator doing it's magic in AC before it gets rectified by the RR, so the actual open circuit voltage rises and falls from 0 to about 15v several times a second. With a battery in place, it normally goes from about 12.5v (battery voltage) to about 14.5v. Any electronic circuit normally includes filter or smoothing capacitors immediately following the diodes, except in automotive applications because the battery normally does this by itself. Your battery is not providing this smoothing function.
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Do you know what the standard output of the alternator is at idle? Makes perfect sense to me, it's what I suspected all along anyway. Doesn't really bother me either. I'd have to check out how much the fuel injection kit is drawing too. I haven't noticed any flickering since the installation of the kit though so who the heck knows what was going on with mine. In theory it should be worse now right? Same alternator and same idle speed, but with even more power needing to be supplied to keep the ECU powered.

[Skippii]

I don't know the alternator output. HID ballasts work differently than halogen, though, and they really shouldn't dim so noticably. Their current draw isn't determined only by the resistance of the circuitry, but rather by the reactance as well, which is determined by frequency and the inductance. Because that, rather than resistance, is the limiting factor, available current shouldn't make much difference.
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[gilmorec61]

How many accidents have you caused so far by blinding all oncoming traffic?

None, as i know of anyways Since I'm only 16, i only have my learners and am not permited to drive at night, so the only riding i do is during the day. And the brights on these bikes arent bright to begin with, and riding in the day with them isnt going to affect anyone around me and will increase visibility of myself.

So the bikes still flickering, but i still havent gotten around to checking the battery connections yet. That seems like thats what the problem might be, loose or some corrosion on the wires. I'll find out next week during winter break

[gilmorec61]

Hey guys, so pulled off my seat yesterday, and check my battery connection. Sure enough my ground wire(black) was LOOSE!! Tightened her back up, and shes good as new Thanks for all your guys' help!