No rear running lights

[fatboy92024]

Thanks Glider , My rear running lights on my 1999 Fatboy do not light but the turn signals work . Also my taillight keeps blowing bulbs ( 2min -2 days)......does anybody know why this is happening? Thanks and have a long and loud ride!

 

[glider]

Your rear lights function ONLY as blinkers and not running lights like the front ones. Completely normal. As for the tail light, if everything is in order with the socket and the proper bulb being used and it is inserted properly, I would look under the fender at the tail light harness. They frequently come loose and rub through the insulation or the rear wheel will rub through it. Start under the seat where it goes through the hole in the rear fender and follow the harness to check it out. If you unplug the plug under the seat where it goes through the fender and test ride it being careful you don't get rear ended with no brake light, you will probably not blow any fuses then.

 

[fatboy92024]

I did exactly as you said and the wire and everything else seems fine. I hardly ever ride at night so I just assumed the signals lit like the fronts. I have gone thru 2 bulbs (fuses are fine) in about 2 days of riding. Could it be excessive vibration? Nothing is loose but I read that in the Clymer. Do they need to be from HD or can they be from anywhere if they fit? Thanks again for all your help

 

[glider]

Try to find a heavy duty bulb rather than the standard one and see if that helps. The dealers usually sell the heavy duty ones unless they cheap out and get the regular ones.

 

[desertroamer]

Sounds like to me you are shorting somewhere to ground. I would throughly check all the wires closely it could be just a small silt in the wire causing an arch. Determine which is power and start from there.

 

[Joyride]

Happened to my bike a few months ago. Check your signal wires and make sure they are not pinched between fender and struts or anywhere they can be pinched between metal which causes arcing and shorting.

 

[glider]

Only problem with the pinched wire theory is that it would blow the fuses and not the bulb.