[Snomadrider]

I have a Vulcan Nomad 1500-G1. Last Friday the headlights quit working.
No high/low beam, no aftermarket /stock light bar on it.
I have battery voltage through the fuse. I‘ve read through the forms and unless I’m missing something
I know it’s a bad relay.
I have a simple question: where in the heck is the headlight relay on this bike?

 

[WFO-KZ]

It is inside the junction box, a big black box probably under the seat or the side covers. It will have massive amounts of wires coming out of it. Remove the cover. Your relay will be inside.

 

[GREENISBEST]

Location should be under the Right side Panel
Looks like the image below.
Fuse Box inc Relays & Diodes.
Although you can't remove the Relays (Unless you desolder them) you can at least test to determin if they may be the issue.
I can post up the method should you be inclined to break out the DMM

 

[WFO-KZ]

Thanks Greenisbest. I hate it when they make it next to impossible to swap out relays. I wonder if those relays are solid state and hence less subject to failure?

 

[GREENISBEST]

That's the idea but they still fail.
Reminds me of the MOSFET Reg/Rect when they first became common fittment on production Bikes, They proclaimed the end of Charging Issues.................NOT

 

[WFO-KZ]

That's the idea but they still fail.
Reminds me of the MOSFET Reg/Rect when they first became common fittment on production Bikes, They proclaimed the end of Charging Issues.................NOT

So have you had any success in removing and re-soldering relays like this one? I bet Kawi does not even sell the relay.

 

[GREENISBEST]

Kawi don't sell them, But that's Typical now days I find, Don't replace a part, Replace the whole component.
So much waste.
I've had some success with swapping out relays but time on with the Soldering iron it something you need to be aware of as they soon degrade internally if you go at them with a Big iron flat out, Bit of finesse is requred and you can win.
I have a small collection of junction Boxes for reusing parts.

 

[WFO-KZ]

Thanks for that info Greenisbest.

Now getting back to the OP's problem, I guess we all have to hope it is not the headlight relay or he will be looking at replacing the entire junction box.

I just checked on price and its not as bad as I thought. Partzilla lists the box at $137 USD, I was ready to see a price of over $400 so not too bad at all IMHO.

 

[9094]

Before you get too involved in it, the Vulcans have the relay triggered by one of the stators, so the lights dont come on until the engine is running, you may have fried a stator or rectifier, Try swapping the plugs between rectifiers and see if it works. If so, you may be replacing a stator or re-doing the 3 yellow wire connectors under the left side rear engine cover.

 

[GREENISBEST]

Good shout 9094, I forget you guys had AHO sooner than we did in the UK our VN's had a Light switch until the mid 2000's

 

[Snomadrider]

Location should be under the Right side Panel
Looks like the image below.
Fuse Box inc Relays & Diodes.
Although you can't remove the Relays (Unless you desolder them) you can at least test to determin if they may be the issue.
I can post up the method should you be inclined to break out the DMM

Yeah I’ve been using DMM for my tests for continuity and voltage just to make sure I didn’t have a break in the wiring at the front fork pivot. The image you posted looks like the fuse panel under the seat of my Nomad. The only thing that was under the right hand side cover (Curb side/passenger side) was my TCI/igniter control box with 3 plugs going into it.
If I’m understanding things correctly the fuse panel has the relays integrated into the fuse panel assembly?
There was also a suggestion to try switching the rectifiers at the plug as there could possibly be an issue with a stator or rectifier. I’ll be tackling this task later today.
any schematics, as well as ohms/volts in the circuits I’ll be looking at would be greatly appreciated.
I know it would have been easier to let the dealers mechanic fix it… but I’m always up for a good electrical problem challenge.

 

[GREENISBEST]

Yep under the seat sorry had to look up your specific Model for the info and there it was lol
See attached for testing.
Don't bother with trying to swap rectifier plugs as your Model only has one, Some Models do run Twin charging and that was a good shout but yours doesn't.

 

[9094]

Definitely verify output from both stators and through the rectifiers. unplug one at a time and check charging voltage at battery. If it drops to battery voltage on one, that one could be the one supplying the headlight relay control voltage..

 

[GREENISBEST]

Definitely verify output from both stators and through the rectifiers. unplug one at a time and check charging voltage at battery. If it drops to battery voltage on one, that one could be the one supplying the headlight relay control voltage..

Just double checked and Indeed your correct Twin charging, How did I miss that

 

[9094]

Another irony is the 99 Nomad was essentially built off the Classic frame. 2000 and newer Nomads got their own wider frame, yet the factory shop manual still says to lift the motor to pull the stator cover, which is not necessary on the 2000 and newer.

Edit: Unfortunately I believe a G1 IS a 99 model...

 

[Snomadrider]

Location should be under the Right side Panel
Looks like the image below.
Fuse Box inc Relays & Diodes.
Although you can't remove the Relays (Unless you desolder them) you can at least test to determin if they may be the issue.
I can post up the method should you be inclined to break out the DMM

Thanks for all the help people.
I didn’t realize that the fuse box integrates the relays in it seeing as its compact size. So as it stands I pulled the fuse box out and removed the 4 screws on the underside. Just a little information for anyone who sees this in the future. Pull all the fuses before trying to separate the two halves of the fuse block. After unplugging the fuse block I inspected both the pins and connectors and found some corrosion on both the pins and connectors. After separating the two, I found corrosion on the circuit board and solder points around (what I believe) the headlight relay. Used a contact cleaner to clean it but there are still a few spots that pretty tough. Both relays test out alright. I’m going to button everything up and see if the headlights work. I’ll let you all know what the ultimate outcome result is. Just in case I have the part number off the old fuse box.

 

[GREENISBEST]

I did once repair the circuit board by jumping across the effected Tracks with some small guage wire and soldered on either side.
Not something I would do normally but he was desperate for a fix and couldn't wait for the new box..But my point is you could try this to prove a failure and replace with confidance.
Pictures would be good, We love Pictures..

 

[Kawasakian]

I did a lot of T.V. repair. Some people put plants on their T.V.'s and actually watered them like that (the T.V. and the plants). What I found, particularly on Sony T.V.'s, was that drops of water would cause corrosion on the circuit traces.. The best way to fix it was with an E-Axacto blade. You would gently scrape off the corrosion till the trace was clean. Electricity passes along the surface of a wire, not through it. Corrosion can cause that wire not to conduct. This is why when you run speaker wire, lamp shade cord will give you just about the same quality as "Monster Cord", it's those fine wires, with those many surfaces running the current. The propagation drift is irrelevant.

 

[WFO-KZ]

Just as an FYI, because that box does far more than just house the fuses, it is properly called the Junction Box.

 

[jpd]

It is not uncommon for the solder joints at the relays to crack. Look at them with a magnifying glass. The quick fix is to re-solder the joint with just a touch of a solder iron. I am not sure what the pn of the relays are but if the box is that far open they can be replaced by soldering them in. No real knowledge of your model, but the boxes I have seen are sealed closed with pins on one side going through the holes in the other and then melted so the box can't be opened. Screws in the box may mean someone has been into it before.