2013 Triumph Explorer Dipped Lights Broken

Hi Bobby I'm afraid I'm no electrical help at all but it may help those who are if you add which bike this is on

 

First thing to check is whether the power is getting to the headlight connector using a multi-meter, or if you don't have one then a simple bulb test. Locate the connector block where your headlight connects into the loom and disconnect it.

When you turn on the ignition one terminal on the loom side should have power straight away and when you flip the switch to high beam a second one will receive power. If none of the terminals on the loom side of the connector show power initially then you probably have a broken or burnt out wire in the loom between the switch and the connector. Unfortunately it is not uncommon on bikes with always on dip lights as the wire gets too hot and is often routed in a way that bends it back and forth while driving.

If on the other hand you have power at both terminals then the problem is somewhere between the headlight side of the connector and the bulb holder. As well as the model of bike please tell us if the headlights are standard or after market "upgrades".

I had to rewire a mate's bike as he replaced his bike's single headlight with an aftermarket twin light set-up and it burnt out the front loom twice. If changing from a single to a twin headlight you should rewire from the switch to headlight connector with a heavier grade of wire as the original would have been selected to only be heavy enough to carry the current drawn by a single headlight. 2 headlights means same voltage but double the current drawn, which over heats the wire as it wasn't made to take that load.

If you want to fix electrical problems yourself then invest in a decent multi-meter. You can get one on Amazon for a little as 20 quid.

 

Unfortunately visual inspection will tell you very little about the state of the electrical connections. Only the multi-meter test I outlined above will tell you for sure where the problem lies, otherwise you will just be guessing at the cause of the problem. If both the park light and headlight are wired to a single connector block then it should have 4 wires, 3 live and one earth. One live will get power when the ignition is turned on (park light), a second live will get power when the engine starts (dipped beam) and the 3rd live will get power when the high-beam switch is turned on. Also try following the wiring the other way round, i.e. start at the back of the headlight and locate the main connector block where it joins to the loom. No need to trace the switch to connector block wires unless the initial test proves that no power is being delivered to the connector block for the dipped beam wire.