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Signal Lite Socket Stuck

R_W_B

Senior Member
I'm putting the HD turn signal lite relocator to tag bracket, on my 07 Street Bob. Everything going fairly smooth, got everything off the bike with little problems. But then assembling the new parts on a table I got the part where you have to pop the bulb socket out of the existing signal lite cup.
The instructions say to "carefully" pry the socket out. It has a rubber ring around it's circumference wedged against inside of chrome cup. I have tried a thin screw driver, a razor knife edge, but I cannot get this thing to move. I have almost torn the rubber ring and I feel like I am getting ready to break the socket. Anybody know any tricks on this thing ?
The socket has to come out because the wires have to be rerounted thru the hole that the cup mounts on.
 
Have you tried using a curved or bent, sharp nosed pick? They work great for getting o rings off so this should be a similar task.
 
Ok I got it off, here is the deal on it. First off I found it's not an O ring, but rather it's the visible part of a complete rubber cup that seats the inside of the chrome cup. Actually it's a rubber cup with a hole in the bottom where the wires come off the bulb socket.
The bulb socket sits by side pressure friction in this rubber cup. I took a flat screwdriver and walked my way around the edge of the socket, putting the blade between socket edge and the rubber protrusion and twisting a bit on the driver blade till it compressed the rubber edge and caught on the inside of the chrome cup housing. It only moves a little each time and the blade does nick up the soft plastic edge of the socket a bit but I got them both out without breaking them.
My biggest problem was one set of my wires had damaged insulation where the sissy bar luggage rack was installed to the fender brace bolt (I bought bike used). I taped them up but then they would not feed thru the small hole in new chrome signal bar. So I had to drive all the way to Radio Shack to get the 20gauge wire small enough to replace the wire. I also lucked out and found some tiny 20ga wire nuts that will join the new wire to the old and tuck away behind the bulb socket down inside the chrome cup. Saving me a solder, wrap and liquid tape since there is no room for crimp connectors there and still allow wire to bend enough to go out the hole to the chrome bar.
My only negative to the design of HDs relo kit is that a rubber washer should have been included on the chrome piece that covers the side (wire exit) hole of the chrome cup. It fits snug but water can get thru the crack and it has nowhere to exit the cup once it gets in. So I put clear silicone around the crack and wiped off the excess.
Now I can mount some bags without problems. I really don't understand HD putting signal lights in the way of bags anyhow but that is just my personal opinion.
Tomorrow I mount my bag braces, will probably cut off the old 3" long signal light bolts since they are so long they won't push out without hitting the tire even with my bike up on a Harbor Freight lift. If I don't burn them off with my 4" grinder I would have to unscrew both shocks to get the wheel to drop down.
 
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