Headlight issues

So after my brother dropped my bike, I have noticed an interesting issue. The bike wasn't really damaged. Just changed the handlebar as it was bent a little. But now my headlight acts up. I'll try to describe it.
Turn ignition on. Headlight turns on. Start bike. Sometimes the headlight stays on, sometimes it turns off (along with the gauges illumination). When the headlight and gauges are not illuminated, the signal lights, and dash indicator lights (oil, fuel, turn indicator, neutral) still work. After letting the bike warm up, the headlight usually turns on. Sometimes it doesn't. I've had days that I rode the bike several times that day, and the lights worked fine all day. Some days, the light turns on and off seemingly randomly. Other days, after turning off when I press the starter switch to start the bike, it just won't turn on. This has limited my riding to daylight hours only :-( as I have to make sure I can get home before dusk. With the days getting shorter, that's really limiting.
Anyway, anyone have any idea what could be going on? I've checked the to make sure the fuses are seated well and have good contact. I've checked all the grounds I can see. And I've taken the headlight bucket apart three times to try to find a loose connection. Everything seems okay.

 

head light should only turn on after trying to start bike. check your head light relay.
you may have a loose connection, you may also have a broken wire in the controls that makes intermitant contact.
dissamble the control high low switch and check it out.
could be lamp connector is pulled off slightly

 

So when the ignition is turned to "on" the headlight should not be turned on?

 

On the 700 it DOES come on with the key.....yours SHOULD do that.

 

some bikes take a ground through the bars. are your new bars painted/powder coated or even anodized aluminum ?

 

Hmm, good point. I didn't think of that. Old bars were polished steel. New bars are painted black. I'll have to check it out. Surely the electrical diagram for the headlight circuit will have that ground noted (not the location though).

 

That's not the issue

 

By 1982, all XJ's had a ground wire from the bar controls, instead of relying on the handlbars and headstock bearings for ground.

 

Correct. And, even the earlier ones can be easily changed. It's just a matter of running a ground wire between the harness and the control. Attach a ground wire to the control, and hide it inside the pigtail from the control (or buy a newer control that already has the wire in it). Under the tank, where the control clips into the harness, just add a section of wire from a clean bolt or other splice into another ground wire......and run it into the connector in the empty 'bullet" hole.

 

The start / headlight switch located in the right control is likely the cause. The starter switch has a set of normally closed contacts that route power to the headlight and gauge lights. When you push the start button the normally closed contacts for the headlight open to disable the headlight in order to reduce the load on the battery during starting. The dash indicator lights are not affected by the start switch.

Disassemble the right control and inspect the switch. Perhaps when the bike was dropped damage occurred where the two contacts no longer line up correctly or are mechanically bound by bent components. If the contacts appear to align and close OK, a good cleaning and burnishing might suffice, but considering the risk of traveling with no headlight or a sudden outage of the headlight, a replacement may be in order.

 

Thanks for info. I'll do that and report back. Still riding but strictly during daylight hours.

 

Better tape a flashlight to the bars. A working headlight is required in all 50; day or night. The ticket is stupid expensive and a hassle.