Keeping the Highway Lights on with High Beams

    • 5420 posts
    August 10, 2012 3:28 AM PDT
    I just saw in another post that on  the police model FLPD the highway lights stay on when the high beams are on.

    Does anyone know how to rewire a standard Road King (2007) to make it so the highway lights stay on when the high beams are on?

    As I mentioned in another post (
    Aligning Headlights) I like to keep my highway lights lower then the manual suggests to light up the road and the sides of the road right in front of me.  It would be great if I could keep that when running with the high beam on.
    • Moderator
    • 16822 posts
    August 10, 2012 5:53 AM PDT
    If H-D did it on the cop bikes, surely there is a way.
    I know here in PA there would be a legal issue in having them work that way.
    • 846 posts
    August 10, 2012 6:20 AM PDT
    Lucky,
    I'm sure it possible but the one thing I fear with my bike is the wiring. My highway lights are not controlled by the switches on the front fork columns. I you've ever seen any version of any HD police bike you will notice the the switch controls are different then those on stock bikes. My highway lights are control by a pursuit switch on the right side in place of the curse control. The lamps themselves are also different then stock (a pain when it comes to replacing them). But it may be some thing as simple as rewiring the switch to a direct power source and by passing the present cut out switch. Good luck and let us know how it comes out. I know I like having them on all the time.
    • Moderator
    • 19031 posts
    August 10, 2012 7:02 AM PDT
    Find the input wire to the headlight relay. Driving and fog lights are usually wired to the low beam output side. Change the lights to the relay input. If you don't have a schematic I have one for Rex and they might be the same.
  • August 10, 2012 8:59 AM PDT
    separate wiring through a separate switch mate.....over here we are not supposed to have highway lights on.....so all we do is put an interupter switch in line...its the opposite for maintaining all lights on at same time...

    Do it from a direct source and through a switch to ALL lamps you want on...it wont interfere with normal parts of the loom...all you are doing is taking a direct route, just make sure it goes through one part of the lighting system if you want it off when you take key out...otherwise just turn the extra switch off...Too easy???

    Ok, you could separate the loom at the relay department ...or put in an extra relay and run a new power supply through a new extra relay and then run a complete set of wires via ignition circuit and relay to whichever lights you want on like that...but in that case you would disconnect all previous wiring for lights...lol... Too complicated...lol...

    A single switching relay with a single power wire from a direct power source, link the lights and add the switch, at the switch side of the circuit run the negative to any screw or bolt anywhere you like.....any of all the above ways will work...lol...all I would do is a single wire jobbie!!!
    • 1 posts
    August 10, 2012 10:42 AM PDT
    Lets not over complicate things :-)

    Rex had it right, but you don't have to go back to the relay.

    On the Passing Lamp switch you have two wires; a Gray/Black and a Yellow wire.

    The Gray/Black goes directly to the passing lamps.

    The Yellow wire comes from the power going to the Low Beam (which is why it passing lights only work in low beam mode)
    It may come out of the connector coming from the left hand controls inside the headlight necelle (housing) its a  6 wire Gray connector. Or it comes out of the Yellow wire on the actual head lamp connector (forget what year they changed that)

    In that same Gray connector from the left hand controls pin #3 Beige wire is the 12v wire going to the Hi/Lo switch so its hot anytime the ignition is on.

    Remove the Yellow wire from whee it currently gets its power (either the LH control or headlamp connector) and tie it to pin #3 (beige wire) on the Gray left hand controls connector.

    Now I read what I wrote and it looks complicated with all that explaining. 

    Short version without the explanations....


    Connect the Yellow Wire on the Passing Lamp Switch to Pin #3 on the Gray connector for the left hand controls.

    Thats it!


    • 5420 posts
    August 11, 2012 11:04 AM PDT
    Thanks BailOut, worked great. Took about 15 minutes total (and that's only because of those 8 screws holding the headlight in, or I would have been done in 10 :-)

    Oh a note... the wire in pin #3 is Blue. I saw on the wiring diagram in the manual that its labeled BE, but that is the code for Blue not Beige :-)
    • 1 posts
    August 11, 2012 5:20 PM PDT
    Glad it worked out for you.

    You know I knew that on the BE, guess I was just having a brain fart when I was looking at the diagram.
    • 58 posts
    August 11, 2012 6:45 PM PDT
    By the way. My '05 FLHP has the driving lights on with low beams and off with the highs..
    • 284 posts
    February 10, 2013 9:06 PM PST
    There is actually a Fed law about amount of light that can be shined while in high beam, do not ask me why, but that is why they are factory set to shut off. You can only produce X amount of Lumen from a vehicle and with the side driving lights on with high beam it exceeds it. Not that any cop will know this.
  • February 11, 2013 1:32 AM PST
    Do cops notice, doubt if most care. Look how many idiots have their HID lights on which are aimed high. They are more blinding that any high beam, unless it is an HID high beam.
    • 1161 posts
    February 12, 2013 1:56 PM PST
    I had herd about the limited amount of light coming from a vehicle. Did not know it was a federal law, good to know. But won't those HID's void that because they deliver much more then regular light bulbs deliver? While driving I personally want as much light on the road and near me to see as possible.
    • 5420 posts
    February 12, 2013 3:18 PM PST
    Yes, it is technically illegal according to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 (page 481)...

    The wiring harness or connector assembly of each headlighting system must be designed so that only those light sources intended for meeting lower beam photometrics are energized when the beam selector switch is in the lower beam position, and that only those light sources intended for meeting upper beam photometrics are energized when the beam selector switch is in the upper beam position, except for certain systems listed in Table II.

    Since I would only use it riding with no traffic on dark roads, and I normally shut my high beams down as soon as I see an oncoming vehicle, I don't see it as a problem to do this for my own safety.

    By the way, if you are really bored you should check out
    Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 - 528 pages on motor vehicle lighting!
    • 284 posts
    February 12, 2013 8:21 PM PST
    Actually you can only hook X amount of watts thru your system before burning it out. The difference is Light Color.

    Like LED, which is closer to actual light, sunlight, it is a different light spectrum. Ever go to home improvement store and see a display for cool, white, natural light and hold your hand under it and it looks different.

    55 watt bulb, which is normal is 55/12V = 4.5 amps so your wiring is usually set for X amount of amps. If you stick in a 75 watt bulb you chance burning up your harness.

    When you change from standard bulbs which are yellow, and go to HID or LED the best it is whiter and you see more of the spectrum of color the eye can see. The whiter more sunlight like the bulb, it is not brighter, per say, it is allowing your eye to see more colors of the spectrum.
    • Moderator
    • 19031 posts
    February 12, 2013 11:48 PM PST
    I have been running an 80/100W bulb in Rex (04 RK) since new (72000 miles) and although I did replace a stator around 60K I do not believe that the higher wattage bulb caused it. Certainly no harness troubles. You do make a good point on a bike with less of a stator capacity.
    • 1161 posts
    February 13, 2013 11:34 AM PST
    Ya I can verify the harness problem. When I got my bike someone replaced the old headlight and took a 35W off of it and put on 55W and melted the wireing harness and the fuse box. Rebuilt the harness and got a replacement fuse box but can't seam to find another 35W bulb for a desent price and have it in stock.
  • February 14, 2013 1:53 AM PST
    Has anyone switched to the new Harley Led light setup. It looks great and the amount of output is about double a stock headlight. Let me know if you have made the switch.
    • 5420 posts
    February 14, 2013 2:32 AM PST
    Wheels, I rode a few weeks back with a guy who had one. I didn't get to see it at night to see how much it lights up, but I could see him 10x better in my rear view than a standard headlight during the day.
    • 284 posts
    February 19, 2013 8:14 AM PST
    I got the LED HD headlamp and 2 4" side lights. You can find cheaper LED that put out as much lumens but the HD is awesome. I pull less than half the amps on the LED hadlamp light and about the same Watts or Amps than just the standard 55watt bulb with all 3 lights. Even during the day, I notice people looking and not doing the, start to go then "Oh Shit a Bike" and stopping. It is like they see the bulbs and go "WOW COOL LIGHTS and never enter the intersections.

    Got the BAL LED rear brake light also, 3 levels of running light and 21 stop settings. I notice people stopping farther back than with the traditional brake light.....

    Not only is it more than 2 times brighter it is WHITER, so you see more color.
    • 5420 posts
  • February 20, 2013 1:47 AM PST
    A few of my buds got that HD kit, they seem to like it, I myself like to be able to give the slow poke in front of me the Hi / low flash which gives them 1 (high) then the 3 (Low and spots) to get their attention to get out of the way...eg.. get their butt in the slow lane so I can motor on..
    • 284 posts
    February 20, 2013 4:46 AM PST
    Lucky wrote...
    Wow, I just saw Harley sells a kit to use the driving lights with the high beams...

    http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/gma_product.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524448778661&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374309440873&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374309440873&locale=en_US&bmUID=1361312316667&bmLocale=en_US

    See again all the cool toys are for the FLGHYZ models.  I found the coolest oil cooler and not for Sportster, and I found A cool Gas tank that fit everything but Sportster, and when I looked at 6 speed trans, up to 03 Sportster and all the other bikes HD makes...

    So I have to be inventive.  The instructions for the LED lights was thru the low beam on a Sporty.  Now that I got a service manual I am gonna figure out how to rewire them.  

    • 5420 posts
    February 20, 2013 5:21 AM PST
    Well the kit doesn't fit a Sporty because only the FL and Softail have the factory Highway (Aux) Lights, so that is the only models you would need the kit on???