[triton_750]

I've just bought a Kisan Technologies Trailblazer 20W-D taillight for my '04 Thruxton and thought it would be a simple swap for the original bulb. Unfortunately when I plugged it in NOTHING! So I replugged the old light which now only works on the brakes, but not the running light
I checked the 5A fuse for the taillights and it's fine - in fact I checked a few of the others too and all seems OK.
I noticed in the instal guide that came with the package it had a caution in there that stated for Harley & Triumph that "...the sockets for some of these models have been known to be wired wrong..." however if that were the case then the original bulb would never have worked in the first place, right?

Anyone out there fitted this tye of bulb and had problems?

Cheers in advance
Steve

 

[pz1]

have had the light for about a year with no problems.

 

[NortonBrian]

I put one on my wife's 07 Bonnie and it was indeed plug and play.

Given you now don't have a running light, I suspect that a connection was marginal and went completely bad during your reinstallation. I'd get a wiring diagram and a voltmeter and check out the connections.

Just looked at the wiring diagram, but mine's too small for these old eyes to really follow - can't really tell the colors. But there's a five wire connector pretty near the taillight, feeds that, brake light, and rear turn signals. Shouldn't be hard to figure out even without a diagram.

 

[Baltobonneville]

Mine was plug-and-go too. If your old light bulb no longer works properly, then you must have a blown fuse or have a bad connection somewhere. Check all the fuses, some of the wiring on these bikes is not as straightforward as you might expect.

After checking the fuses, I'd start with a voltmeter on the socket for the light bulb. One of the connectors on the bottom is the brake light, the other is the tail light. Given that the brake light works, you should be able to figure out which is which.

If the running light connector is dead, and the fuses are alright, check the powered end of the connector for the tail light wiring harness. If you have a wiring diagram (in the manual or Haynes), you should be able to figure out which wire is for the tail light. Also check the ground wire(s). Check for continuity in all the harness wires from the connector to the light bulb socket.

"Socket wired wrong" might not make any difference for a polarity-insensitive item like a light bulb, but if the TailBlazer is polarity-sensitive, it would affect it.

 

[triton_750]

Thanks Marty & Brian for the advice I'll try and figure it out tonight - I'll need to get myself a voltmeter (me & electrics really don't get along!).
I don't know if this is relevant but I was a local bike dealer this past weekend (not Triumph) and the guy gave me a different Kisan bulb to try which I worked for 3 pushes of the brake then blew the 5A fuse. He gave me a new fuse and checked the website and then told me he'd given me the wrong one - I then ordered this one from Kisan after researching their website. Also the taillight is a Lucas style one that came from Brit Customs with the FEK - I had some issues with it when I first fit it as I think the wire was pulled too tight but I fixed it and didn't have any further problems - maybe that loosened connection?
Cheers
Steve

 

[Baltobonneville]

A multimeter is an essential tool, and not expensive. Good luck! Let us know what you learn.

 

[triton_750]

It's working

OK so I bought a test bulb & a couple of spare tail light bulbs in case. Even the new bulb had brake light only no running light. So I dismantled the entire bulb holder to find that the running light wire basically hanging out of the connector so it must have been shorting out on the holder - of course I don't have the hardware to make a new bulb connection so I dimantled the OEM tail-light and fit that into the Lucas holder - discarded 1/2 the Lucas harness & spliced it all back together - tried the Kisan bulb and hey presto ! It works!!
Spoke to Sean @ Brit Customs who said if the wiring were the problem he'd send me out a replacement unit - I only did this quick fix since I'm going to Bike Week next week and didn't want to chance it not arriving in the post.
So let's hope my splicing etc holds out til then!!
Once again cheers to all for the advice!
Steve

 

[Baltobonneville]

Good work!

 

[triton_750]

Great guys at British Customs!

After relating my problems to Sean at B.C. they have already sent me out a replacement F.E.K. kit which should arrive before I head to Bike week- so a big Thanks to Sean and the guys at B.C.!! These guys are awesome - AAA+++ for customer service! :thumbsup:

In the meantime my chopped and spliced temporary fix seems to be working!!!