This dude in a semi pulls up next to me last month and says "hey man you have no brake lights". I pull over and discover the bulb has blown. No tail light no brake light.
Long story short.
I keep replacing the bulb, it keeps blowing. The bulbs last about 1 week.
Inside the connector it looks like one side of the contacts burned a bit. Some kind of short I imagine. I cleaned it up and everything looks fine now but still blowing bulbs.
If you have a voltmeter, get a voltage reading in the lamp socket...get a reading when the bike is not started (battery only) and a reading with the bike running (through charging system). You should read about 13.5 volts or so...typically, it sounds like you have an overvoltage condition causing the bulbs to burn out.
Have you checked for moisture in there? Sometimes you have to leave it off for a bit and let it dry out if it's gotten water inside.
__________________
________________________________________
PROUD MEMBER OF THE 'IGNORED BY '79' CLUB __________________________________ RIP James "Mr. Jimi" Melton - 1947-2008
Godspeed brother.
________________________________ "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." --James Dean
________________________________ "A narcissist is someone better looking than you are." --Gore Vidal
________________________________
"I just love the 'mechanicalness' of it"
--Indian Larry Desmedt
Do ya use dielectric grease when you put in a bulb?
Make sure the socket is dry and not damaged....make sure there is "spring" left in the inside of the socket base....put dielectric grease on the bottom of the bulb (everywhere but the glass)...and finally, after you install the bulb, clean it off with alcohol.....oils from your hand will cause premature breakage from the heat that builds up there....
But DO check for that over-voltage possibility, just for grins...anything over 14.5 volts (while running) indicates a faulty regulator....
__________________ ~Chuck
"entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem"
Occam's Razor...
in English: "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity."
My definition: "The simplest answers are the most likely"
~NRHS machined 1200 conversion, shittin and gettin...
Good point with moisture...what color is the bulb after it blows? Is the glass on the bulb cracked?
Sam
Moisture must be the problem - When I changed the bulb yesterday there was about a pint of water in the housing. The bulbs are typically smoked on one side. Almost like a firecracker went off inside the tail light housing. One side of the bulb is black/dark gray. The other side clear.
That's typical with moisture...the hot bulb cracks when water hits it and the vaccum escapes causing the filament to vaporize on the glass turning it black.
Keep blowing tail/brake light
__________________________________
Linear Mode
