Burns out: license plate light?

[Tailgate]

Say, I'm already on my fourth (4th) license plate lamp/light and I've had my bike only 10 months (7-8k miles). Anybody else experiencing (for those of you that even check?) this very short bulb life? It's significant for me because it means that police can pull me over for whatever and use the burned out light as justification. No thanks.

 

[ant_mb]

Don't know man! I've had my bike about 15 months and I'm still on the original bulb. Some kind of electrical problem maybe? Have you done anything to the wiring?

 

[bcityroller]

I haven't checked regularly but it was working late last summer when I installed my FE. That means it at least went 3+ years. Assuming it's still going since I haven't noticed otherwise it's more like 4 now.

 

[4fun]

Mine is over a year old, been through a crash and it still works.

Do you ride everyday?

 

[Tailgate]

Mine is over a year old, been through a crash and it still works.

Do you ride everyday?

Well, no, but I'd say average 4-5 days a week. I've checked screws, bolts, etc., for possible excessive vibration. I have a LED tailight set-up; I'm thinking that maybe since LED draws less that the license plate light is overpowered or something (I'm not an electrician). Where's BD43 with his electronics background?

 

[4fun]

The LED tailight has nothing to do with it, unless you wired them in series by accident.

 

[corekneelius]

i rigged my own LED plate light with my FE kit...not too worried about it burning out!

 

[Tailgate]

well, judging from the responses I now feel confident that it's not normal to burn through bulbs so much. I'm going to have to take a voltage and resistance check. Maybe trace the wire too. I'm SICK of having to constantly replace the bulb. Thanks everybody for the help.

 

[FZ1inNH]

Didn't burn out on the '05 and yet to burn out on the '08 and both had/have the FAZR6 FE Kit in play.

 

[necrotimus]

Is something loose allowing the bulb to bounce around too much? maybe the vibrations are causing the problem?

 

[wrightme43]

Mine is still orginal 23xxx miles.
Mine eats brake tail lamp bulbs instead.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I'm on my second bulb, as the 1st one burned out. I'm around 19.000 miles. Mileage is a better indicator rather than days, months or years because it's a better indicator on how much the bike is used.

 

[sportrider]

I had to replace mine once in two years

 

[inkrediboy]

Never had problem with LED style lights - on my 07 R1 I have a custom elminiator kit with blue led clusters lighting up my plates from above - you can put those things through hell and they keep lighting. If you can switch to an LED style setup, check into it, very robust and super long lasting solution.

On my custom cruiser I sold - man, I had headaches with that. Due to vibration rotation during riding, unscrewing the bulb from its socket - and therefore killing the contact = No light. So what I did was to solder the wires directly to the bottom of the bulb, and screw them back into the housing. Permanent fix. No more light outs - and rode very hard. It was nice to get rid of that weekly headache. Probably not your situation - but if your bulbs aren't physically burning out - it maybe the contact point between the housing and bulb screw bottom itself.

Either way, if there is an LED solution for FZ's, I say get it.

 

[abraxas]

I have also been having the same problem. The only possible cause i found was inferior quality bulbs.
Go buy from yamaha, they cost a lot more than a hardware store, but seem to be a lot more long lasting.

 

[Oscar54]

well, judging from the responses I now feel confident that it's not normal to burn through bulbs so much. I'm going to have to take a voltage and resistance check. Maybe trace the wire too. I'm SICK of having to constantly replace the bulb. Thanks everybody for the help.

Checking your voltage at the bulb is the best idea at this point. An over voltage could cause this problem. Your voltage should not be more than 13.5 volts..

Also, It seems to me that a bad contact from a loose bulb socket (as previously suggested) could cause this problem. Take a look at the contacts on the bulb and in the socket to see if they appear to be worn excessively or melted. If the light bulb is constantly flickering when riding it would shorten its life. Maybe have a friend follow you on a ride at night to see if it flickers.

Good Luck

Lewis

 

[reiobard]

at abot 11,000 miles and no issues with any lights burning out. good luck figuring it out,

You aren't by chance touching the glass of the bulb when you install it are you?

 

[coursonap]

Led is the way to go man.

 

[Oscar54]

I don't think overvoltage is a problem otherwise other bulbs would also prematurely blow. Having said that, altering tail light, etc, would not create an overvoltage situation. I agree with other posters, vibration certainly causes bulbs to a short life. I was also going to suggest loose connection but want to confirm that you have checked the bulbs you pulled that they were indeed burnt out (verified visually or better by using an ohm meter). Is it the right bulb? There are different wattage bulbs that have the same base. The brighter ones definitely do not live as long as their dimmer counterpart. And as also suggested, the cheaper bulbs don't last long either.

Courious to see what you find out. Good luck.

I agree that overvoltage would affect all light bulbs, however my thinking is that the license plate light is always illuminated as is the tail light and head light and front marker lights, and that the license plate light may be the least durable of these bulbs and tend to burn out first.

Since Tailgate is obviously capable of testing the voltage of his bike, and the test is easy, why not just check it and rule it out completely.

If the voltage regulator is allowing the voltage to go out of range only slightly now and blow a small bulb, it could become a more serious problem in the future. It does not hurt anything to check, does it?

IMO

Lewis

 

[wseifert]

Led is the way to go man.

Hey,
Do you have a source and a part number for the LED license plate bulb? Just want to replace the bulb, not the whole fixture.

Thanks,
Wayland