Anybody else eat through tail light bulbs?
I've always handled automotive bulbs with a paper towel or a rubber glove on. Something about the oils on your skin creates uneven heating of the exterior of the bulb and supposedly that is the cause of a somewhat shorter life, or possible breakage... so I've herd too.
I was thinking...we used to see these kinds of light problems on the helicopters I worked on in another life...sometimes rotating the mounting socket or the bulb 90 degrees would fix it. Lights going out like that usually meant harmonic vibrations in various places on the fuselage because the blades needed to be tracked.
Harley Davidsons are famous for their vibrations...could be you have something loose or out of balance somewhere like those old helos...
Harley Davidsons are famous for their vibrations...could be you have something loose or out of balance somewhere like those old helos...
Last edited by 2500hdon37s; Oct 5, 2015 at 08:26 PM.
My understanding of the 'touching-the-bulb glass' thing was specifically about halogen headlight bulbs (which get hellishly hot and the story is that oil from your skin can cause the glass to explode). That shouldn't be such an issue with regular bulbs like tail-lights and blinkers. I can't think of a reason why the oil would shorten the life of the filament though.
That said, it is good practice not to touch any bulbs, and use dielectric grease around the contacts.
I think the vibration theory is a good one (I've not had rear bulb trouble but I had a harmonic in my old fender so severe it actually caused a stress fracture several inches long through the steel next to the side of the donkey-dick taillight).
I'd also wonder about the rectifier/regulator (admittedly it's not very likely if only the tail bulbs are being affected). If you have a multi-meter, check the voltage should steady out at about 14.5V at 2k revs or so, and not go higher as you rev up. If it does, the rectifier/regulator probably needs replacement/repair.
That said, it is good practice not to touch any bulbs, and use dielectric grease around the contacts.
I think the vibration theory is a good one (I've not had rear bulb trouble but I had a harmonic in my old fender so severe it actually caused a stress fracture several inches long through the steel next to the side of the donkey-dick taillight).
I'd also wonder about the rectifier/regulator (admittedly it's not very likely if only the tail bulbs are being affected). If you have a multi-meter, check the voltage should steady out at about 14.5V at 2k revs or so, and not go higher as you rev up. If it does, the rectifier/regulator probably needs replacement/repair.
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