Hey, guys. I have an issue that's been going on since last season. I have an integrated LED tail light, and it seems to not want to turn on all the time. The brake light portion and turn signals always work, though. I've been chasing it down, and it seems to be the connections inside the socket that are causing the trouble. I assume it should be a simple matter to just pop the socket out and resolder the connections, but I'd like some insight from the gurus.

Thanks!

doesn't help if we don't know what integrated tail light or what it looks like inside.

It's a BikeMaster tail light. It uses the stock bulb sockets, so there are no modifications to my wiring besides resistors for the turn signals, which always work. To honest, I don't think that the tail light itself is relevant. The main concern for me is the socket on the bike. I know the tail light works, as it sometimes does. The problem is that it also sometimes doesn't. I've been able to narrow it down to the stock wiring; specifically the socket. Is there an easy way to pop out said socket?

Alright... You were right rado. It's the plug on the light. Both of the stock bulbs work flawlessly. I'm thinking it's a bad solder in the plug of the tail light.

Edit: I just ordered 2 1157 plug adapters. They should be here by Tuesday. Looks like I'll have to do some wiring next week. Thanks for questioning me rado lol.

Quote from: JAS6377 on March 12, 2014, 09:16:25 AM
Edit: I just ordered 2 1157 plug adapters. They should be here by Tuesday. Looks like I'll have to do some wiring next week. Thanks for questioning me rado lol.

What threw me was that you were talking about an integrated LED tail light; These are a unit that integrates turn signal functionality into the tail light housing so you can get rid of the ugly stock turn signals.  In your case, you were actually referring to LED replacement 1157 bulbs.

Nope, I was referring to an integrated tail light. The plugs I ordered are going to be spliced onto it because I think the current plug has a wonky solder. It keeps flickering like there's a short.

This thread is a disaster. Is there a facepalm emoticon? Lol.

Quote from: JAS6377 on March 12, 2014, 06:16:40 PM
Nope, I was referring to an integrated tail light. The plugs I ordered are going to be spliced onto it because I think the current plug has a wonky solder. It keeps flickering like there's a short.

Pictures help a lot either way

Quote from: JAS6377 on March 12, 2014, 06:16:40 PM
This thread is a disaster. Is there a facepalm emoticon? Lol.

Alright... It wasn't the plug after all. All of the power is where it should be, but the running light still isn't working. If I bridge the running light and brake light solders, the LEDs work. They also work if I bridge to a single LED. This tells me there's a resistor out somewhere. Would I be correct in this assumption?

Quote from: JAS6377 on March 16, 2014, 01:07:25 PM
Alright... It wasn't the plug after all. All of the power is where it should be, but the running light still isn't working. If I bridge the running light and brake light solders, the LEDs work. They also work if I bridge to a single LED. This tells me there's a resistor out somewhere. Would I be correct in this assumption?

Not quite sure I follow.  There are no resistors in the GS wiring harness.  Power is supplied to the parking/running light through the ignition circuit to the brown wire.

Have you used a multimeter to check the voltage to the wires on the tail light plug?  Black with white stripe is your ground.

Miscommunication is an issue here, I see lol. I meant a resistor on the LED circuit board. The power line supplies 12V, as does the brake light line when the brakes are applied. When I bridge the two solders on the circuit board, the LEDs light, which means it's a short somewhere in the running light portion. The stock wiring is fine, contrary to my first assumption, as is the plug. It's somewhere on that miniscule LED board.

That one.

Can you list what the wire color code is and post pics of the other side of the LED board as well as a closeup of the black area in the center of the pic?

Black = ground, Yellow = turn signals, Red = running light, Green = brake light. The LEDs are powered by both the red and green. Red is 12V, which I believe is stepped down to dim them somewhat. The green provides all 12 volts so they're brighter when braking. The same LEDs are used for both.

Here are the pics (left at full size):


Backside is just the LEDs:

I was hoping to be able to follow the traces on the circuit board to see the schematic, but I can't quite make it out, particularly since both the small board and main LED board are double-sided (traces on each side) and the black coating doesn't help either.  I can tell for sure the the chips with M7 stamped on them are switching diodes, the 2 3-legged chips stamped 2T are PNP switching transistors, and the other chips are various resistors.

Also, what happens when you activate each function individually or simultaneously?  e.g. what does left turn do, brake, etc.

All work normally, except the running light. Brake lights function, and the turn signals both work as they should. That's why I'm so confused by it.

I have an e-mail out to BikeMaster about it. If they can't help me, I'll just desolder the posts and see what the underside of that black circuit board is doing. Perhaps one of the traces is being goofy.

So, BikeMaster emailed me back and said that if I can provide proof of purchase, they'll either fix it or send me a new one. Awesome! So, hopefully this next one works out lol.

The brown wire in your GS tail wiring is the running light. Are you sure that wire is connected? Are you sure power is going through your running light? Maybe it got disconnected somewhere. Check it with a meter or temporarily re-connect your old tail light into the 3 pin connector and see if it's running light comes on.

Yep. Everything checks out. I probed everything with the volt meter on Sunday. The stock wiring is perfectly fine, and the stock bulb works. Even the solder on the circuit board showed  proper voltage. That's why I'm thinking it's a botched solder on one of the traces for the running light on the underside of the board.

I just waved to give you ask an update for thread closure. I e-mailed Bike Master and find them about my issue. They promptly sent another entire kit out to me, with a return shipping label. I just swapped the LED boards, then sent it back. My tail light works flawlessly.