rider119
XS650 Addict
Wiring in my rear tail light, only comes on when I push the rear brake, is that how it's supposed to be?
-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
Rear tail light not staying on?
- Thread starter rider119
- Start date
-
- Tags
- electrical
rider119
XS650 Addict
Aftermarket, not sure what it is, came with the bike.
Is it a 2 wire light ? Does it have 2 bulbs or 1. If it has a single bulb it could/should be a dual filament bulb and one of them could be blown. Also be sure it has a good ground. But if your getting one to come it the ground should be ok..
rider119
XS650 Addict
Two wire one bulb, not sure about the two filament bulb thing.
rider119
XS650 Addict
Alright, I'll get to that tomorrow hopefully.
rider119
XS650 Addict
Will do, thanks for the help! Got a good link that shows how to make sure your cams are lined up right by chance?
rider119
XS650 Addict
Yeah, but I've got the pamco all the way clockwise. Full advance or retard?
rider119
XS650 Addict
And I haven't got a timing light on it yet.
Most tail lights are rubber mounted (or will soon fail) you need a ground wire.
rider119
XS650 Addict
No rubber mount for this one. PO hacked a hole in the rear fender and screwed this thing in. Should be ground right?
You need to understand the difference between a # 1156 bulb, a # 1157 bulb, and their corresponding sockets.
Remove the bulb and take a look into the socket. Does the socket have 2 small terminals at the base or just 1 terminal? I doubt it would be just 1 terminal , meant for a 1156 bulb. A proper tail light uses a #1157 bub, which has 2 filaments, and needs a socket with 2 terminals at the inside base. The shell of the socket is the ground connection, which needs to have a third wire , assuming a dual filament socket/bulb is used.
Many parts on the stock XS650 are rubber mounted including the rear fender. For this reason, the stock harness ran a black ground wire from the rear tail light forward to connect into the common frame ground of the bike.
If your bike is customized, then the fender may or may not be grounded. You're still better off to run a ground wire from a proper bare metal frame ground.
Remove the bulb and take a look into the socket. Does the socket have 2 small terminals at the base or just 1 terminal? I doubt it would be just 1 terminal , meant for a 1156 bulb. A proper tail light uses a #1157 bub, which has 2 filaments, and needs a socket with 2 terminals at the inside base. The shell of the socket is the ground connection, which needs to have a third wire , assuming a dual filament socket/bulb is used.
Many parts on the stock XS650 are rubber mounted including the rear fender. For this reason, the stock harness ran a black ground wire from the rear tail light forward to connect into the common frame ground of the bike.
If your bike is customized, then the fender may or may not be grounded. You're still better off to run a ground wire from a proper bare metal frame ground.
rider119
XS650 Addict
I got it all working! Not really sure what I did honestly, finally scared out ll the gremlins? Haha I have a 1157a bulb in it and the socket is a two terminal socket. Just wasn't sure what I was doing wrong, still not but oh well. Thanks for all the help!
rider119
XS650 Addict
Quite possibly, not 100% sure.
rider119
XS650 Addict
Now I've got to get this timing and carb issue solved.
