Yet Another Super 8 headlight failure!!!

[DMblues01]

Riding home Tuesday night, I hit my high beams. After about 3 or 4 seconds, my headlights completely shut off! When I switched back to low beams, still nothing! 
When I stopped though, the dim mode came back on. As soon as I started moving again, they shut down again!
So I turned the scoot off for a few seconds, hoping the system might reset, and it worked! My low beams were working normal again. I tried the high beams again, and it all shut off again. I restarted the scoot a second time and rode home with only low beams, and they worked perfect.

I remembered reading a thread on here about the light control module failing. So, I went to the dealer this morning.
Since faulty headlights constitutes a safety issue, the owner made the shop take it in to check immediately! (Of course, the fact that I ripped them a new one for the botched 1st service probably helped me get fast service this time too!)
They checked for error codes and guess what? FAULTY LIGHT CONTROL MODULE!!!
So they ordered me a new one (under warranty) and said it should be in in about a week. Luckily, since my low beams still work, I can still get to work and such.

The owner also told me if they stop working altogether, to bring it to them and he would get me one of their demo scoots as a loner till it's fixed! Apparently, they're trying REALLY hard to redeem themselves!

On a side note:  I was informed that the mechanic who screwed up my 1st service is no longer employed there!
DOING THE HAPPY DANCE!!!!!!!   

[BettinANDlosing]

Hey, I was informed by Kymco after one of our customers was having strange headlight issues like that that there's a technical service bulletin on the super 8 voltage regulator. It involves adding an additional ground at the regulator. Tel your dealer to do that or you may keep going through light controls. It's easy to do yourself if you have wire cutters and basic tools.

[DMblues01]

Hey, I was informed by Kymco after one of our customers was having strange headlight issues like that that there's a technical service bulletin on the super 8 voltage regulator. It involves adding an additional ground at the regulator. Tel your dealer to do that or you may keep going through light controls. It's easy to do yourself if you have wire cutters and basic tools.

Thanks  for the info! I'll definitely bring that up to them when I go back.

[BettinANDlosing]

Tell them to talk to Chip @ Kymco, he knows what's up.

[Nori]

im having same problem since day one !!!
but mine also didnt work on low beam it just goes off
but without battery everything was working fine till last 2 weeks....
i was at a mechanic he discovered the problem of the voltage regulator was defect and got very hot in few seconds after scooter
starts working... next week i'll keep you updated if a change the voltage regulator from another chinnese scooter
because i cant find in my country the original one..

[zombie]

They have to check the rectifier (that's actually what it is) with a diode tester to see what the pin configuration is. Kymco's are wired differently from all the other China bikes.
It's a simple matter to re arrange the pins inside the nylon connector. BUT if it is done wrong it will blow the new China rectifier, and possibly damage the stator. I have swapped a few of them but I never remember the new configuration for the wiring.

It takes less than five minutes to do correctly. For the ground B&L is talking about I add a pig-tail from the mounting bolt to the green wire that is the main ground going into the headset. You cant miss it. It has one wire connected to 5 others in a bunch of bullet connectors.

[DMblues01]

I seem to only here about this LCM issue, only on the Super 8's. Do any other Kymco scoots have a LCM, or is it only on the Super 8?

If it's only on the Super 8's, can it just be eliminated altogether?

[zombie]

It's on a bunch of models. There is a way to bypass them altogether but it depends on the country of origin.

I BELIEVE (maybe B&L can verify this) there is a 4 pin connector that plugs into the module, and you can simply jump the like color wires together.

I would use one of these for either side as a jumper...  Use a 7 amp ATC fuse if you have a 35 watt bulb or a 15 amp if it is a 50-55 watt bulb

The lights will dim at low rpm but it is at least an inexpensive fix.

[BettinANDlosing]

The only bikes I know of in America are the super 8(50 & 150) and the people s50 and s200. The only time I've messed with eliminating them the bike charges poorly. I think it's kind of a round about weird thing Kymco did, they should have just put awesome stators in those bikes with dual headlights!!!

[DMblues01]

The only bikes I know of in America are the super 8(50 & 150) and the people s50 and s200. The only time I've messed with eliminating them the bike charges poorly. I think it's kind of a round about weird thing Kymco did, they should have just put awesome stators in those bikes with dual headlights!!!

I agree! Just giving it a better charging system with a normal, simple headlight setup seems like a better solution than the over-complicated auto dimmer and LCM.

Oh Well! Can't win 'em all! 

[DMblues01]

Well, I got my LCM changed today. They called to say it was in a couple days ago.
I got there right when they opened, and they got my scoot in first as soon as they unlocked the doors.
Only took about 20 minutes to fix, and I was on my way again.
No charge to me, fully covered.
Rode around for a couple hours afterward and, so far, all seems to be working perfect.
Guess I'll see how it goes later tonight when it's dark out.

[zombie]

Nice!

[Nori]

i just changed the regulator

the difference ?
better energy all the way on scooter more light on dash with my led's everywhere
better headlight energy the are brighter now , and the horn works better
this overall better performance on electrical system comes without battery
so regulator is kind of problem in every chinnese scooter and i recommand to change it if you are having problem
with headlights or battery drain !!!
its worth it , i got one for 10$ and its easy to change with original jack .

~Warning the regulator wire color should match perfectly otherwise would create problem and cause any electrical
failure

[BettinANDlosing]

Technical service bulletin, add a secondary ground on the green wrote of the regulator to the 10mm bolt that holds down the regulator.

[blackhawkfan]

Technical service bulletin, add a secondary ground on the green wrote of the regulator to the 10mm bolt that holds down the regulator.

if anyone does this, can they submit a picture so we know what it looks like?  Also, can someone explain how to add this secondary ground?  Do you just take some wire and twist it around one end of the green wire on the regulator and then the other end around the bolt?  Does it have to be any specific kind of wire?  Also, I am assuming that the battery should be disconnected before doing something like this.

BTW, B&L, where do you get these technical service bulletins?  Thanks!