Lights keep blowing

[spete]

I have a 1984 honda 200x and the head light and tail light blow out as soon as you put them in,I hooked a test light up to the wire going to the tail light and blew that also.
Any of you guy's have any ideas?

[86250RZ]

Sounds to me like you have a wire grounding out on ya, ether to the frame or possibly another wire. Your only hope of finding it would be to open up wiring harness and check wires all the way through, im sure its just something simple but simple things will drive you nuts sometimes. Good luck hope I was of some help.

[spete]

Thanks for the help

[hondaATCman]

Yep, just like 86250RZ said... you have a bad ground. Some models have a fuse on them (not the 200x) and they will blow so your headlights won't but on models with lights running directly from the coil or without the fuse, the lights will blow because there it nothing to stop the current in between. Hope ya figure it out!

[TimSr]

I have a 1984 honda 200x and the head light and tail light blow out as soon as you put them in,I hooked a test light up to the wire going to the tail light and blew that also.
Any of you guy's have any ideas?

Its most likely your volatge regulator. Your stator puts out a lot more than 12v and the purpose of the regulator is to short anything beyond 12v to ground. When it fails and you rev your bike, it will jump up to 30-40v and blow your filaments.

[spete]

I called the Honda and they said the 200x had no voltage regulator.

[TimSr]

I dont know the 200x very specifically, but if its running lights its got one, but it may be built into another component. This can be easily checked with a volt meter on the lights with the engine running. Rev it up and watch the voltage shoot up.

The easiest and cheapest solution is to buy a universal aftermarket one, called "volt pack" from denniskirk.com. They are around $15.

[Wickedfinger]

.... its built into the alternator. If the bike is running fine, I would just get the aftermarket Volt Pack from D/K. Just remember to splice it in before the junction of the front and rear lights in the wiring harness.

[spete]

Ok sounds simple thanks for all the help guys :-D

[big specht]

Ok I'm bringing this old thread back cause I just did that tonight blew all the bulbs on the bike and my test light lol . So the 82-85 200x has the voltage regulator built into the stator?

[Dirtcrasher]

I won't say "bad ground" but maybe a short on the positive side from the lighting coil. I'd unplug all that crap and get a V reading at the lighting coil harness and then trace the rest of the wires.

I can't see a coil having LESS resistance and blowing bulbs but it could be possible.

E = I x R
V x A = Watts

[Frankencelery]

No, there's no regulator at all on the 200x. The lights are driven directly off the lighting coil, and the most likely cause is that that the wrong bulbs are installed. The bulbs do the "regulating" by putting the proper load on the lighting circuit. In your case, it sounds like yours was just fine until recently and then the bulbs blew? If the headlight blows, the taillight will blow very quickly and your test light would go too. Those lighting coils put out 30v or so unloaded. I agree with Dirtcrasher, I can't think of a shorting situation that would result in more voltage, only less.

UPDATE: The '86-87 200x look like they DO have a regulator, it's an AC regulator that clips the AC to keep it at a safer level and prevents this problem of all the bulbs blowing at once. You can certainly retrofit one of these to your 83-85, or buy one of the aftermarket ones that are available.

[Flyingw]

The 185/200 series trikes don't have a regulator unless they have a battery. They use the bulb filaments and wiring to regulate the voltage. The problem is when either the tail or headlight bulbs goes out, the voltage goes up causing the other bulb to blow. My advise is, replace both bulbs at the same time.

[big specht]

That makes sence I will replace both of the bulbs and start there