As I was driving through the town of Saenz Peña, Argentina, a police officer waved me on.
I could have just walked past him, but I turned around and asked him what was going on.
He told me, “Your lights aren’t on.”
So I checked, and sure enough, the lights weren’t working.
I remembered that there was a loose connection during the annual inspection in Asuncion.
This XRE300 had a problem where the starter switch wouldn’t return and the lights wouldn’t turn on, so I thought that might be the cause.
I tried pushing the switch back and forth, but there was no change.
However, when I turned on the high beams, the lights came on.
The police told me to turn on the high beams and the fog lights, so I did some temporary repairs.
I figured that Saenz Peña is a small town and I wouldn’t be able to buy parts, so I decided to go to Jujuy province to check.
I decided to first determine whether the problem was with the lights or a loose connection.
The high beams were working, so I thought that the lights themselves were probably broken.
Screws on both sides
Remove the front screws and I remove the headlight itself
I’ll take the light off and check it out.
I have a spare battery so I’ll plug it in and check it out.
The light won’t turn on
I can at least confirm that the light is broken
I’ll buy a light at Mercado Libre and wait
The light is AR$8,999, about 7.9 USD
Shipping is AR$9749.99, about 8.57 USD
What’s going on here?
By the way, the light is low beam on the top, high beam on the right, and ground on the left, so I connect the electrode to either the ground or one of them.
A few days later, the light arrived and I checked it out.
The light came on.
Next, I’ll turn the light back on and check if there’s any loose contact in the starter switch.
The light came on.
So this time, it was just the light that was broken.
All I have to do now is adjust the angle of the light by adjusting the depth of the screw.
I’m glad it was fixed before I head to the Andes.
Maintenance date: April 17, 2025
