Keep Blowing Tail Fuse

So I keep blowing my tail fuse every 500-1000 miles and It is starting to get annoying as when this happens not only does the tail light not stay illuminated, I also lose the use of my turn signals. I guess they are all part of the same circuit?

Anyhow, this started happening after I burned out the filament on my old tail light bulb. I went to Autozone to get a new one, and couldnt find the exact one, but I found one close enough that had the same socket. Put it in figuring it wouldnt be an issue, but could this be causing my problem?

Aside from that, I run a set of smoked LED rear blinkers (good quality) and also have a VS-02 kit on the bike. I am sure all my wiring is perfect because I am meticulous with it, but I am going to give it all a once over this weekend anyway.

Also noticed an odd smell coming from the rear of my bike lately after my ride to work (35 miles, mostly highway) which I have not noticed before, but have read about several times on this forum. It is kinda like a weird plastic/paint shop smell. I assume this is the dreaded exhaust smell that many talk about on here, but figured I would add this just in case it could be related.

What are you using? At the very least you should be running an 1157 bulb. If you are, and it's still blowing, you've got a short somewhere.

Not sure to be honest, but I bet this may be the issue. I jsut went to AutoZone with the old bulb in hand and tried to find a direct replacement. When I couldnt find one with the exact wattage and voltage, I got one that was close and had the same socket on the bulb.

I will try to snap a pic of the bulb later today and post..

Here is a shot of the bulb I am using. Anyone know if this is the issue?

The bulb is probably within range for current draw unless there is a defect in it.
Standard 1157 dual filament bulbs are not the best replacement bulb because the OEM bulb has a physical bridge on the filament. I believe the bridge is for better mechanical life because of vibration. I hear the OEM is also a brighter lamp.
I would consider an OEM replacement. Since the circuit is also shared with the directional lamps it could be the directional circuit that's blowing the fuse intermittently. Intermittent problems are generally simple but hard to find.

Good hunting bro!

Motogiro said:

The bulb is probably within range for current draw unless there is a defect in it.
Standard 1157 dual filament bulbs are not the best replacement bulb because the OEM bulb has a physical bridge on the filament. I believe the bridge is for better mechanical life because of vibration. I hear the OEM is also a brighter lamp.
I would consider an OEM replacement. Since the circuit is also shared with the directional lamps it could be the directional circuit that's blowing the fuse intermittently. Intermittent problems are generally simple but hard to find.

Good hunting bro!

Click to expand...

Damn! If I expected anyone to have a quick and easy answer to this problem it would have been you, Cliff! That being said, as we both know, there is almost never a quick and easy solution to an electrical gremlin.

If its not an issue with the tail bulb, I am thinking it is one of the following:

1. Wires that have worn thin up front after my VS-02 conversion. I noticed that the large bundle of wires behund the headlight do seem to rub on the sharp corners of the front of the frame. Will have a look this weekend.

2. A short in the rear LED blinkers I wired in. Will also take a look here to see if anything is exposed.

Really hope I can figure this out without too much angst!

ebster1085 said:

Damn! If I expected anyone to have a quick and easy answer to this problem it would have been you, Cliff! That being said, as we both know, there is almost never a quick and easy solution to an electrical gremlin.

If its not an issue with the tail bulb, I am thinking it is one of the following:

1. Wires that have worn thin up front after my VS-02 conversion. I noticed that the large bundle of wires behund the headlight do seem to rub on the sharp corners of the front of the frame. Will have a look this weekend.

2. A short in the rear LED blinkers I wired in. Will also take a look here to see if anything is exposed.

Really hope I can figure this out without too much angst!

Click to expand...

:Flash:Also check your license plate lamp and wiring to it. That's on the running light/tail light circuit....

ebster1085 said:

Damn! If I expected anyone to have a quick and easy answer to this problem it would have been you, Cliff! That being said, as we both know, there is almost never a quick and easy solution to an electrical gremlin.

If its not an issue with the tail bulb, I am thinking it is one of the following:

1. Wires that have worn thin up front after my VS-02 conversion. I noticed that the large bundle of wires behund the headlight do seem to rub on the sharp corners of the front of the frame. Will have a look this weekend.

2. A short in the rear LED blinkers I wired in. Will also take a look here to see if anything is exposed.

Really hope I can figure this out without too much angst!

Click to expand...

Go back to the last thing you did before the fuse started to blow,and go from there. I wouldn't be surprised if your signals are causing the problem. Aftermarket stuff tends to not be as high quality as OEM, and can cause serious headaches (I went through 2 brake light modulators because they kept dieing. I tore the 2nd one out after it burnt up and it went straight in the trash.)

Previous owner of my bike did a FE kit which means he was responsible for wiring in the plate lamp and rear turn signals. I am thinking it may be a shoddy wiring job by him.

Tonight if I have time I will take a look at his work and see whats up. I am also going to revisit all the wiring I now have behind my VS-02 headlight. I want to reroute some of it to ensure that there is no chauffage and potential shorts due to the wiring insulation wearing thin.

Thanks guys!

*UPDATE*

Pulled off the rear fairings this weekend and took a look at all the wiring done by the previous owner for the FE kit. All looked good and I found no issues. Then I pulled off my VS-02 headlight and started examining the wirning. First thing I checked was the turn signal leads and long behold, I found that the insulation on two of the three wires for the left signal had been chauffed and there was a little exposed wire. Cleaned this up, and then actually spent about 30 mins cleaning up all the wiring in front and tucking it nicely behind the headlight fairings.

Long story short, I believe I fixed the issue and the wiring is much cleaner and nicer looking now.

Just going to throw this one out there because I didn't see it brought up yet - but if you're drawing excess current because of your VS-02, rear led signals, combined with the non-OEM tail bulb. This could explain the "burning" smell you refer to.

If you kept the original harness - make sure the AWG gauge size of the wire is rated to pass the current you are drawing. If you are drawing more current through the same gauge wire - it is likely the burning you are smelling is the plastic insulation of the wire literally melting from excess current therefore generating heat.

The bulb sounds like the culprit to me but A: I don't know the specs of your bulb and B: I don't know what gauge wire you are running.

If you feel any warmth on the harness or wires, that would be a clear indicator that you are drawing too much current through too small of a gauge wire.


My 2 cents - hope it helps