Taillight - Brake light Issues

[brendanb]

Howdy,

Pulled over by the Guards (what the police are called here in Ireland) Monday last around 11pm to tell my that my taillight is out, complete news to me. Lucky thing too as I was driving cross country on unlit narrow roads for about 45 minutes further. Thank god my brake light still worked perfectly.

In any case I figure the bulb probably needs replacing, I take it out (carefully, with gloves) to have a look and it's nearly completely black.
So I replace the bulb after buying a replacement, and the taillight is back working again. Simple.

However now my brake light is no longer working.
Confused is an understatement.

Any help is appreciated!

FYI: My bike is a '09 FZ6 S2, none of the lighting on the bike has been modified, the headlights, taillights and indicators are all stock out of the factory, additionally, all the other lights work perfectly, including the indicators and the hazard lights.

P.S. The guards were pleasant enough to let me off without a ticket if I promised to drive safe

 

[Motogiro]

First there are different type lamps for the tail light other than standard automotive replacement lamps. The standard number for that lamp is the 1157 dual filament which can be used in a pinch but the OEM lamp is same electrical configuration but the filaments have a re-enforced physical bridge that help against vibration failure for a motorcycle application. Order and install the OEM if possible.

The lamp may be installed improperly. Make sure to observe the bayonet pin heights on the lamp to insure they are matched to the socket. If the lamp was misaligned it may have blown the fuse that supplies the brake light, If your horn works the brake light fuse is good. They are both on the same fuse.

Let us know how you do.

 

[brendanb]

Thanks for the reply and the info definitely a few things there unknown to me that i can try out :thumbup:

While I didn't buy OEM parts, the bulbs I bought are "supposedly" dedicated motorcycle bulbs as opposed to standard automotive ones, but I haven't the eye for understanding the difference unfortunately.
Here's a link for the actual bulb I bought as a replacement:
https://www.halfords.ie/motoring/bu...ords-bike-it-motorcycle-bulb-hmb380-12v-21-5w

I'll look into getting dedicated OEM parts then if everything else goes well after checking on the actual fitting and the fuses.

Thanks again!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

The "re-enforced bridge" Motogiro refers to is a Yamaha bulb with literally a 3rd stalk holding the filament in the middle..

The bulbs you purchased may be heavier duty but per the pic, doesn't have the 3rd stalk..

For the tail light, its not sensitive to finger oils like a headlight bulb would be.. Also, I can state the Yamaha specific bulb IS brighter than a standard 1157.



**I had a bulb (dual tail light bulbs on my FJR) burn out and I replaced one. A regular bulb next to the Yamaha bulb showed it noticeably dimmer..

Note, surprisingly, the Yamaha bulb isn't significantly pricier than an auto bulb..

 

[brendanb]

Thanks again for the info, much appreciated

I've been combing a bit on google on various parts sites after giving amazon and ebay a go. I've found plenty of bulbs blaiming to be appropriate but none with a 3rd stalk that I could see, including this one:

https://www.partzilla.com/product/y...?ref=dd364c352a638ee3db840b8914940befa4304b18

Which reportedly is Yamaha OEM but again I can't see any discernible third stalk, perhaps I just don't know what to look for but it looks identical to the bulb I bought. Would buyijng this bulb and fitting be likely to solve this problem?

Meanwhile I had another look at the installation, from what I could tell it seems perfectly comfortable in the fitting but i took it out and redid it anyway, also to get a look at the bulb to see if both filaments were still good, which they were.
Also the horn is working so it shouldn't be a fuse?

Thanks again

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

The 3 stalk bulb won't fix the electrical issue. It will last longer than the non 3 stalk bulb..

You can test the bulb you have by grounding the exterior to negative on a battery, then positive to each terminal and they should light up..

 

[Motogiro]

^^^^ yes!^^^^ Do your front running lights work?