Turn signal bulbs have a very short existence on my bike. It is the dual filament ones. The riding lamp fillament is the one that pops on my first and not the blinking one. I am not sure if it is related, but the last time it popped on me, was when I laid on the gas. Any ideas? I am going broke paying for turnsignal bulbs.

hehe.

I have the same problem and have learned to live with it. I always carry a few extras with me.

It usually happens to me over 100 MPH.

yep same here...but only on my wife's bike it seems...hmmm...

Try dielectric grease in the sockets (especially the sides...)....also, check to make sure they fit well...sometimnes you have to manipulate them a bit to make them tight....

The dielectric grease inhibits shorts within the socket, which normally cannot be seen with the naked eye, but still cause damage to the filament...

Electricity isn't happy with A path to ground, it wants the BEST path to ground...

Herein, I believe, lies most of these problems....

Remember, lamp holders are NOT engineered pieces....

I can't remember if I've EVER had to change a bulb.....

I've found that tightening the bulb sockets with some needlenose pliers, until the bulb just barely fits in it, helps reduce filament failures.

These seem to occur most often on rigid mounts over 3400 rpm on an 883 and over 3100 or so on a 1200, where the vibes begin to pick up.

....dielectric grease ....
Herein, I believe, lies most of these problems....
uep I think that this could very well be the problem with my wife's bike...I have a fair amount of dielectric grease in my sockets and she has quite a bit less in her's...and I haven't added any to her bulbs....I've never had to change a bulb in my bike as well :D

Cantolina,
Thanks for the tip. Never had one blow but will keep in mind if problem occurs.
Live to Ride!

Thanks, guys! I will give this a shot!

Yeah, I have a rigid mount and I live above 3000RPM! I don't even idle that low. :D hehe.

Also check your voltage regulator to see that it's not putting out too much at high rpms. It should read about 14V at all rpms. I caught mine putting out over 18V. It'll kill your lights and batteries early.
-benton

Thanks, guys! I will give this a shot!

Yeah, I have a rigid mount and I live above 3000RPM! I don't even idle that low. :D hehe.

Vibububububrattttttition kills 'em :D

I gave up on signials alltogether on my old Ironhead stroker,had a hard enough time keep'n mirrors and other stuff on it .:laugh

Also check your voltage regulator to see that it's not putting out too much at high rpms. It should read about 14V at all rpms. I caught mine putting out over 18V. It'll kill your lights and batteries early.
-bentonThanks! Will do!

Well, the battery isn't dying prematurely and I only just got around to trying the conductive grease and tightening the fit in the sockets. So far, so good. We will see how long this holds up. Will let everyone know.

Thanks a billion.

One last thing, if you are using the 1157 bulbs switch to 2057 bulbs, they are a heavier duty bulb and handle the vibration a lot better.

i replaced all my bulbs with heavy duty bulbs. they have a little support wire holding filament in middle. no blow outs yet.
may be as 94Sporty stated 2057. not sure

When I raced enduro's we had problems with keeping our sealed beam headlights lasting any amount of time. These were small, perhaps 4" or so diameter. I used to wire a toggle switch into the number plate/headlight to turn these on and off. I found that the bulbs (headlight and taillight) would last much longer if they were continuosly lit. The filament is flexible when hot and the vibration did not affect it as bad. I went from replacing 2-3 headlights per year to getting 3-4 years from a lamp. So....run your lights and that should help.

.. also if water is getting in there it will shorten the life of the bulbs dramatically.

No water. I will definitely try the heavy-duty bulbs. Thanks much!

Also check your voltage regulator to see that it's not putting out too much at high rpms. It should read about 14V at all rpms. I caught mine putting out over 18V. It'll kill your lights and batteries early.
-benton
good point, what does the bulb look like after it pops? is it shiny silver or white? thats a sign of a voltage spike, when does it happen? after the bike is hot? cold? doesn't matter? just test at the battery, standing volts (not running) then running, if you get volts 15 or higher, then you need a new voltage limiter to be tech correct. also when the bike is cold and sitting feel the regulator to see if its warm, if so you have leakdown and its bad as well.