The owners manual says, push in and turn...maybe they had a change after the books were published, and the info is incorrect.
Maybe I csn find sometime this weekend to fire up the garage furnace, and get out there and look at it.
Ive got more experience working on hondas ( im not sure if thats good or bad), than on yamis, so im more confident about how they work.
I still think, that maybe the filment is broke, and that may be the problem. Did you ohm check the bulb?
It does seem like us utility guys are outnumbered, maybe its because we have less problems, with our machines, and dont need to ask questions, because its working good.

 

hondabuster, yer being way too kind. i think it's cuz we don't need to talk trash about who's 'shee can blow away whoevers R250. we just wanna find some cool trails and ride with a group of good buds and make sure everyone gets thru. hey buddy, don't hit the shop on my account. my friend from Winnipeg emailed me the 5 day weather report today, and -40+++ with windchill is too much to hit the shop. BTW, yer right about what the owner's manual says... mine's the same... but it's wrong. they don't come out that way.

ya, it's too cold here to work on mine (28-30 degrees F). plus i know it's gonna be one of those aggravating jobs where i don't have any room to work, and can't see any of the wires with out really tearing apart more stuff than i wanna. a general pain to fix what'll prolly be a simple problem.

 

hahahaha whats wrong with Winterpeg's Weather?? hahaha... it is nice here... we just got over 40cm of snow, and they are calling for 30cm more!!! but yeah it is a little cold here in winnipeg.... I just wanted to post a reply to the guys adding solder to there bulds... i would recomend using Silver Solder, due to the fact it is Stronger, and has a higher melting point and it can take the current draw..... i work around a ton of halogen bulbs, and we use nothing but silver solder...

Does anyobody have the ability to post some pics on this? then we can help better, i have the 2005 kodiak, and i am not sure how they are the same... and it is a little cold here to play around.....

 

finally had a chance to take things apart and fix them . R bulb was plain old burnt out. Just happened coincidentally after L bulb wasn't working. took out L & R bulbs, and noticed there is soft lead contacts on the bottom of the bulbs, both had dimples from being squeezed against the contacts in the socket. so i melted some solder into the dimples on the bottom of the bulb (the working one0, then swapped sides, and it's still working.

Put a new bulb on the other side. It worked for 5 minutes and then popped. the glass broke on the bulb, and it was frosty white. dealer was good and gave me a new one for free. i put that in, but haven't tried it. hope this new one lasts longer. my old bulb was a "trident" brand. the new ones are Stanley.

have you guys found anyone other than dealer that sells these little bulbs? I paid $12 (cdn), EACH, tax-in. Oh, and what about bigger wattage?? would those just overheat and pop more frequently?

 

I don't know if the Kodiak still uses the same off/lo/hi switch as the big bear/wolverine/warrior, but the style my wolverine has does have a design flaw. The swith can be position just so that the hi and low beam are on at once. The current flow to the bulb during this time is too much for the bulb and it gets HOT!. Finally, the metal ring soldered to the base of the lamp pops off. Sounds like this wasn't your issue this time, but it's something to look into. I never ride with my low beams anymore because I've bumped the switch to the middle before when riding in Low. Since changing to Hi, I've not lost another bulb.

As for Higher Wattage bulbs, I do believe there is a manufacturer out there, however, I don't know who. I've just heard of people buying them. You should be ok if you just remember to wipe the glass part of the bulb off with some rubbing alcohol on a papertowel to remove any fingerprint oil. This is what typically causes the white hot spots and a busted bulb.

Hope this helps.

 

that's very interesting about the fingerprint oil. I did wipe it with a soft cloth after i put it in the socket, but i 'm sure i got my fingers on it again trying to manouevre it into the headlight assembly. If i pop this one, the alcohol is coming out!

I was aware of the switch issue, and yes, mine's the same as what you described. My dealer also told me to be aware of leaving the switch straddling positions. but thanks for bringing it up, cuz i'm sure a lot of others didn't know that, and i only learned it yesterday.

 

i see hondabuster posted the same thing about finger oil on the bulb. i'll be more careful, but i was just as sloppy with my old bulb and it's still fine, so this new one must have had a defect.

 

I would suggest some Jack Daniels[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

LOL, i was thinkin something like that too, but it'd a good Canadian whiskey like Crown Royal.

 

I have the same issue. The two plastic ears that snap over the bulb edge brake off. **** poor design on Yamahas part. These ears hold the bulb down to make connection. Only way I know to fix it is buy a new socket Yamaha changed the design in 2006. I am trying to convert mine to that style. Similar to a car headlight socket instead of the cheap crappy one on it.