Tail light!

[johnnycash1980]

The tail light on my 1150 GS is playing up.

I changed the bulb but its not working right. It keeps going off. A little jiggle about will get it back on again. Then after a few miles it goes off again. Also when it is 'working' it doesn't change brightness for the brake light, it stays at the same intensity. Have I fit the bulb wrong? How many Cumbrians does it take to change a tail light bulb?!

Any ideas?

 

[mike wright]

Unscrew the unit and check the metal taps and clean them....also check the connectors on the unit

 

[GS7A]

Bin it and invest in one of these from Techno

After HID's it's one of the best mods you can make to your GS!

 

[73octane]

Bin it and invest in one of these from Techno

After HID's it's one of the best mods you can make to your GS!

+1 I had similar fault to yours johnycash1980, Technos replacement rear light solved this niggly problem. As well as being the dogs danglies of rear lights in the illumination department, it's of superb quality that's also easy to fit.

 

[Deleted account 220427002]

Sounds like you have a fault somewhere... have you pics of the bulb and another of the holder part?
is the bulb like the one on the right and has it got the filaments intact?

 

[johnnycash1980]

Sounds like you have a fault somewhere... have you pics of the bulb and another of the holder part?
is the bulb like the one on the right and has it got the filaments intact?

Thanks for responses!

It is like the bulb on the right. I just removed the new bulb and the one of the contacts has already came off.

Put in another new bulb. The intensity is still staying the same for taillight and brake light.

Looks like something may be faulty!

 

[johnnycash1980]

+1 I had similar fault to yours johnycash1980, Technos replacement rear light solved this niggly problem. As well as being the dogs danglies of rear lights in the illumination department, it's of superb quality that's also easy to fit.

These do look great! Would go well with my hid dipped beam. Would it solve the prob with the light not changing for the brake light though? Would that not be a prob with the electrics?

 

[73octane]

These do look great! Would go well with my hid dipped beam. Would it solve the prob with the light not changing for the brake light though? Would that not be a prob with the electrics?

Your problem sounds like a connection fault in the tail light/bulb connectors.
My fault was similar, brake light stopped working, would clean the connectors although they weren't dirty as such. Tried replacing bulb but after a few days noticed stop light not working again. I did fit one of the LED replacements, and because the connectors just fit directly onto the led board it seems to have bypassed my problem area, which I think was the spring connectors onto the bulb.
If your tail light is on and also when you apply the brake the stop light comes on, I would say that the replacement LED would work fine.

 

[johnnycash1980]

Unscrew the unit and check the metal taps and clean them....also check the connectors on the unit

found a piece of solder that had came off a bulb, and was shorting out the connections on the light. It was causing the light to be bright (brake light) the whole time and had gotten so hot that it had melted away some of the plastic where the bulb slides in. All fixed now.

Thanks to all for input!

 

[(RIP) ugg]

bmw have an off set bub, to fit a standard 21/5w bulb file off the back pin , itll still stay in yer housing , just another bmw quirk ye will discover

 

[aaroNZ]

bmw have an off set bub, to fit a standard 21/5w bulb file off the back pin , itll still stay in yer housing , just another bmw quirk ye will discover

I have a similar issue (and while no filing has taken place....I suspect we are achieving the same result).

Went to get a WoF and the friendly fella told me I had no brake when my tail light was on. He said, its probably the bulb, which he whipped out and said I had the wrong sort in there. (it had a bulb with parallel pins not offset) It had been working fine the last six months.

He fired a new bulb in with offset pins and told me I was good to go. Turns out a few jiggles and bumps down the road and I have neither brake or tail light now, and the bulb he pushed into place has carved a new track in the plastic (not happy).

What sort of bulb am I supposed to have?
If it is offset pins, which pin is offset?
Are the pins at the same height up the bulb or different heights?

I have put back in a Narva #47380 (fig5 on the website blow) bulb which is the same as when I bought the bike (2nd hand) and while it works it still doesn't seem to be the correct bulb.
http://www.narva.co.nz/products/browse/stoptail-indicator

'94 R1100GS


thanks folks.
Aaron

 

[D6]

Bin it and invest in one of these from Techno

After HID's it's one of the best mods you can make to your GS!

maybe not from techno, but the only electrical item i have had fail was a led tail board,,,
water ingress from a faulty seal caused it though, but a bulb would have stayed lit,

 

[carrera2]

From experience with other bikes - replacing the rear light with LEDs normally makes it an MOT fail as the reflector is no longer there - do you avoid it with this one as I'm quite interested?

 

[D6]

From experience with other bikes - replacing the rear light with LEDs normally makes it an MOT fail as the reflector is no longer there - do you avoid it with this one as I'm quite interested?

no it doesnt, only if you change the lense too,,,,your thinking of the white lenses? you can use led,s with a normal red lense too
if the new un hasnt got one you need to stick a red reflector on the rear

 

[carrera2]

no it doesnt, only if you change the lense too,,,,your thinking of the white lenses? you can use led,s with a normal red lense too
if the new un hasnt got one you need to stick a red reflector on the rear

No I'm definitely thinking of red lenses. I've got one on my other bike and it fails each year!

 

[motobiker]

I have a 'techno' LED board in the rear lamp housing of my bike.. with the OE red shell. It has gone through 2 MOTs with no problem whatsoever. The tester I use is renowned as being an 'anal jobsworth who delights in finding problems' - or in the local parlance "A C*NT": He has never commented.

Had there been any suggestion that it would fail the MOT.. I wouldn't have bothered.

the only thing that came out was the original bulb. So I wonder where is this 'reflector' I'm supposed to have removed?

 

[D6]

No I'm definitely thinking of red lenses. I've got one on my other bike and it fails each year!

cant see y it should, what does he put on the fail?