Tail lights burning out
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From: Harford Co., Maryland
Tail lights burning out
The rear signal lights keep burning out on my FXDB. The tail lights have been relocated, the wires were cut in that process. The wires were soldered back together and covered in heat shrink, so I don't think that's causing any of it.
Is it normal for incandescent bulbs to burn out all the time on bikes? It's not like it's expensive to replace them, a pair can be picked up for 55 cents, just annoying. One of the bulbs that just burned out was replaced about 2 months or less ago (2 or 3 thousand miles in that time).
Thanks for any input.
Is it normal for incandescent bulbs to burn out all the time on bikes? It's not like it's expensive to replace them, a pair can be picked up for 55 cents, just annoying. One of the bulbs that just burned out was replaced about 2 months or less ago (2 or 3 thousand miles in that time).
Thanks for any input.
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It's definitely not normal for them to burn out that fast - maybe corroded connections?
My '08 has over 96K and the only bulb that burnt out was the low beam at about 94K, the rest are all original bulbs.
My '08 has over 96K and the only bulb that burnt out was the low beam at about 94K, the rest are all original bulbs.
Last edited by joe.1955; Oct 5, 2010 at 03:56 AM.
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It's not like it's expensive to replace them, a pair can be picked up for 55 cents, just annoying. One of the bulbs that just burned out was replaced about 2 months or less ago (2 or 3 thousand miles in that time).
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Last edited by johnathan6418; Oct 7, 2010 at 05:15 AM.
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From: Harford Co., Maryland
It's not like it's expensive to replace them, a pair can be picked up for 55 cents, just annoying. One of the bulbs that just burned out was replaced about 2 months or less ago (2 or 3 thousand miles in that time).
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I'm guessing he was pointing out that you're buying 28 cent bulbs. I know the MOCO sells theirs for $4 but they say there vibration isolated or some such ****. Are you buying the bulbs on the economy over here? I'm willing to bet that could be part of the problem.
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Outstanding HDF Member
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From: Harford Co., Maryland
I'm guessing he was pointing out that you're buying 28 cent bulbs. I know the MOCO sells theirs for $4 but they say there vibration isolated or some such ****. Are you buying the bulbs on the economy over here? I'm willing to bet that could be part of the problem.
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Do you ride in the rain very often? Do you wash your bike fairly regular? There's a couple holes in the backing plate that the MoCo sometimes doesn't do a very good job of sealing. Next time youre in there, take a look and see. A little silicone might help the situation.
You've probably already done it, but you might consider cleaning the bulb socket with some brake cleaner. Nothing stronger. Maybe even a cotton swab with some alcohol on it. Could be some nasty got in there and is shorting the bulb.
You've probably already done it, but you might consider cleaning the bulb socket with some brake cleaner. Nothing stronger. Maybe even a cotton swab with some alcohol on it. Could be some nasty got in there and is shorting the bulb.
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Poke, if this problem began after the signal relocation that is where I'd be looking. If the soldered connection has high resistance (you can check w/ a multimeter), that causes a voltage drop across the connection, increasing the amount of current (amps) the bulb draws, which can result in early failure.
Thread Starter
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,030
Likes: 195
From: Harford Co., Maryland
Do you ride in the rain very often? Do you wash your bike fairly regular? There's a couple holes in the backing plate that the MoCo sometimes doesn't do a very good job of sealing. Next time youre in there, take a look and see. A little silicone might help the situation.
You've probably already done it, but you might consider cleaning the bulb socket with some brake cleaner. Nothing stronger. Maybe even a cotton swab with some alcohol on it. Could be some nasty got in there and is shorting the bulb.
You've probably already done it, but you might consider cleaning the bulb socket with some brake cleaner. Nothing stronger. Maybe even a cotton swab with some alcohol on it. Could be some nasty got in there and is shorting the bulb.
Poke, if this problem began after the signal relocation that is where I'd be looking. If the soldered connection has high resistance (you can check w/ a multimeter), that causes a voltage drop across the connection, increasing the amount of current (amps) the bulb draws, which can result in early failure.