Just fried my tail-light circuit board :(
May our Moderator Rest in Peace
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 11,386
Likes: 35
From: Rochester, NY
ANY automotive parts store will have the right bulb 3157 for your bike and you can't plug one in backwards, its the same no matter which way it goes in.
'IF' you had water on the connections and land patterns it might have fried the board and that will kill the turn signals too because they are hooked up through the same board.
Replacing the board should fix things up, but I would not try to use that bulb again, get a new one.
I suspect it may be defective in some way and there is no need to 'test' it and the logic board again when new ones are so inexpensive.
Also get hold of some dielectric grease and liberally coat all the connection pins on the new logic board as well as the new bulbs base. It is a silicone based grease that is water proof and will prevent any new water that might get in from doing any more damage.
'IF' you had water on the connections and land patterns it might have fried the board and that will kill the turn signals too because they are hooked up through the same board.
Replacing the board should fix things up, but I would not try to use that bulb again, get a new one.
I suspect it may be defective in some way and there is no need to 'test' it and the logic board again when new ones are so inexpensive.
Also get hold of some dielectric grease and liberally coat all the connection pins on the new logic board as well as the new bulbs base. It is a silicone based grease that is water proof and will prevent any new water that might get in from doing any more damage.
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 436
Likes: 3
From: Norway
Yeah I guess the bulb is right, so it can't be the reason it fried. Anyways. I took the circuitboard in and cleaned it up real good. There was almost a hole straight trhough the whole borad where the smoke had developed. But it was next to one of those pins that didn't connect to anything. Couldn't see anywhere where the board could short now, so I decided to try it one more time.
At first the left turnsignal didn't work, but after jiggeling a little at the connection it started working fine. And all of the sudden the brakelight worked too. I was amazed... But it worked for a few tries, then it stopped working, then it started working again. So theres a bad connection back there. Not sure if it's the board ( which doesn't really look to good anymore ) or if it's the connections. I'm changing the board, but it may take a couple of weeks to get it, since I have to order it from the states. Gonna call some Norwegian dealers on monday just to hear if they might have one laying around...
Now about that grease... It was all over the place back there. So Im sure it can't lead electricity cos then everything would short. So if it doesn't lead electricity, won't all that grease on the connections cause bad connections?? Wouldn't it be better to seal the taillight real good with sicaflex or regular silicone and keep it clean instead of all that grease?
At first the left turnsignal didn't work, but after jiggeling a little at the connection it started working fine. And all of the sudden the brakelight worked too. I was amazed... But it worked for a few tries, then it stopped working, then it started working again. So theres a bad connection back there. Not sure if it's the board ( which doesn't really look to good anymore ) or if it's the connections. I'm changing the board, but it may take a couple of weeks to get it, since I have to order it from the states. Gonna call some Norwegian dealers on monday just to hear if they might have one laying around...
Now about that grease... It was all over the place back there. So Im sure it can't lead electricity cos then everything would short. So if it doesn't lead electricity, won't all that grease on the connections cause bad connections?? Wouldn't it be better to seal the taillight real good with sicaflex or regular silicone and keep it clean instead of all that grease?
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 330
Likes: 1
From: Goldsboro, NC
Using the dielectric grease will keep the water out of your connections. So you should use it when you put it all back together. Make sure all of the water is out of the connections as well.
You need to figure out how water got in there in the first place. Is the taillight flush like it should be? I noticed that my taillight was not flush after I had taken it off once. I didn't realize it until I was washing it one day and noticed a gap between the taillight and the fender.
I hope you get it figured out.
You need to figure out how water got in there in the first place. Is the taillight flush like it should be? I noticed that my taillight was not flush after I had taken it off once. I didn't realize it until I was washing it one day and noticed a gap between the taillight and the fender.
I hope you get it figured out.
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 436
Likes: 3
From: Norway
Yeah I think the water must have entered through the hole where the wires go in.
But is the circuit-board really necessary? What about the guys who have sidemounted plateholders with just a small light on top. Do they keep the circuitboard somewhere or can it be dumped?
Haven't gotten my service-manual yet, so I have to ask
But is the circuit-board really necessary? What about the guys who have sidemounted plateholders with just a small light on top. Do they keep the circuitboard somewhere or can it be dumped?
Haven't gotten my service-manual yet, so I have to ask
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,493
Likes: 94
From: Belgium
You are right, you don't really need the circuit board, it's just to make it easier in case you need to do some work in that area of the bike.
You could probably fix the "ruined" board by soldering wires across it, recreating the existing connections. There might be or have been a crack in the board giving a faulty/bad connection.
Also you could look on ebay, the rear light/circuit board is the same for practically all HDs from sportster to touring.
Hope you get it fixed soon so you get some more riding in before winter, seeing you are in Norway, your season is short as it is!
You could probably fix the "ruined" board by soldering wires across it, recreating the existing connections. There might be or have been a crack in the board giving a faulty/bad connection.
Also you could look on ebay, the rear light/circuit board is the same for practically all HDs from sportster to touring.
Hope you get it fixed soon so you get some more riding in before winter, seeing you are in Norway, your season is short as it is!
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 436
Likes: 3
From: Norway
Ok thanks... Got the old board cleaned up and dried. Reconnected it, and now everything works, except the breaklight only works half the time. New board on its way from the dealer. So now it's all good. Just need to seal that tail-light to avoid this happening again.
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