signal lamp to indicate headlight failure

[jsob]

"you can have a failed stop or turn light for a long time before you notice anything is wrong." Mine's an old bike using a thermal flasher. If a bulb goes out or the flasher fails, the console indicator displays steady instead of flashing. Good point about the brake light, though. Maybe another opportunity! I was also thinking of a similar installation in the primary circuit of my ignition system. I've had the bike a long time and it has only failed on me a couple of times: knowing right off whether my problem was electrical or carburation would save time trouble shooting.

[tooki]

Why do you need a light that tells you if the big light illuminating the road in front of you has stopped working?

Given that you’re in a country that mandates daytime running lights for motorcycles, you should know that headlamps aren’t only for driving in the dark.

It has value for this purpose, but more generally lamp failures are only obvious at night. If you drive mostly during daylight you can have a failed stop or turn light for a long time before you notice anything is wrong.

Who exactly are you trying to explain this to? I was responding to someone who seemed to think that “it’s obvious at night” negates the need for the indicator the OP was asking about.

[frogg]

the old school solution is usually to take advantage of the voltage differential that occurs when an open circuit is created when the bulb blows.