Victory Motorcycle Forum banner

Tail light / brake light OUT

26K views 92 replies 19 participants last post by  Kray 
#1 ·
Guy pulled up to me in traffic this morning on my way to work to tell me I had nothing lighting up in the rear , which is disturbing since I left my home @ 5:45 AM , pitch black . I pulled into Dunky's to access the situation , sure enough nothing . I tapped on the tail light and it flickered and came on , I hit the brake and it went off again , tapped it , it flickered and came back on , braked , off again . Anyone have this issue in the past , seems like a bad connection at the tail light but it being LED it may be the light itself ? Looks like an ass pain to remove or get to the connection ....

Regardless , I have to ride it home tonight and may not get home until after dark so I am fairly alarmed here , any ideas would be great !
 
#2 ·
Got the rear lighting diagram from the service manual , I see a nice pinpoint test . Does anyone know off hand where the rear brake light to chassis connector is ? I believe its on the right side of the bike but I may be mistaken , looks to be a 6 cavity connector ..... Why doesn't this stuff happen to me when I'm in my garage with the day off ?:nerd
 
#3 ·
I had a problem with the tail/brake light on a 2012 XCT. It was really odd and intermittent. Sometimes the entire tail light would work great. Sometimes the top half of the tail light LED bulbs would go out. The brake light always worked but each time I pressed the brake, it would change the behavior of the tail light bulbs. The tail/brake light assembly is sealed and not servicable. I replaced the entire unit. Of course, if you wanted to cut it open, you would probably find a broken 5 cent resistor on the circuit board. You woudl still have to fix the problem and then find a way to seal the unit against water again.

It is a royal pain to get the brake/tail light unit out of the bike. You have to partially remove the fender to access the removal bolts that are on the inside of the fender. I took off the bags, unscrewed the bag/guard mounting bracket bolts on both sides, removed the smaller bolts that hold the fender on (four of them I believe) and was then able to tilt the rear of the fender upwards allowing access to the brake/tail light bolts and the wire connector for the brake/tail light.

A new brake/tail light unit was somewhere around $150.

G'day,

Vinish
 
#8 ·
I appreciate it , now that I recall on a mid August ride with spanknut24 , he told me on one of our stops he saw my taillight flicker a few times ... This was before my repair . I'm really hoping to find a loose connection rather then a new light . Whatever it is , it seems to be right at the light , tapping it causes it to come back on , or to at least flicker .....
 
#5 ·
I'm afraid I may be looking at a new tail light , cant get my hand up far enough to check the connector , but it does seem like its the light itself since it seems to be getting power and is flickering when tapped and goes right out when brake is applied .... Thanks for your input , tail light now goes for 209.00 if I pay full price , I will check with Paulie @ HET , he takes good care of us . If it is my light assembly , I'm probably done for the season ....
 
#6 ·
Sounds like you might have to remove the taillight anyway to check it. I'd definitely be looking for a frayed wire or poor ground too though.

Why doesn't this stuff happen to me when I'm in my garage with the day off ?:nerd
Isn't the answer obvious? It's all hitlery's fault of course. :D Somehow her evil aura managed to reach your bike and screw something up. :D :D :D

Hmmm... maybe there is one or two things that aren't her or obie's fault I suppose.
 
#11 ·
Maybe your extended warranty will cover it if that's the case now that you have that all straightened out.

Geez Mags; I'm starting to wonder if you got a Monday or Friday bike but things like taillights are made elsewhere in batches.

In our remove and replace world instead of remove, fix, and install world we used to live in sure has some drawbacks. It would be great if someone handy with electronics was doing the same thing with these expensive taillights as Rylan Vos does with the fuel pumps by rebuilding them to cut the costs drastically.

You're a good mechanic so if you say it's the taillight then it's the taillight.
 
#10 ·
While mine would not flicker or change by tapping, it would flicker and change randomly and whenever the brake was pressed and then released.

G'day,

Vinish
 
#13 ·
Could be , I will go over it tonight or tomorrow following the pinpoint test in the manual . I know some kind of power is getting to it .
 
#14 ·
If some of the LED bulbs are coming on but others are not or are flickering, it doesn't seem likely that it is a problem with the wiring. If it was a wiring problem, it would seem more likely that the brake and/or tail lights would simply not work. The symptoms you describe and which I encountered seem more likely to be an LED bulb circuit board problem. I unequivocally diagnosed my problem by removing the brake/tail light and then applying a 12 volt power source (trickle charger) to the appropriate inputs on the plug connector. The brake light LEDs would light correctly but the tail light LEDs would show the same symptoms as when on the bike (flicker, intermittent bulb outages, etc.).

As I note above, accessing the plug required partial removal of the rear fender.

G'day,

Vinish
 
#16 ·
I unequivocally diagnosed my problem by removing the brake/tail light and then applying a 12 volt power source (trickle charger) to the appropriate inputs on the plug connector. The brake light LEDs would light correctly but the tail light LEDs would show the same symptoms as when on the bike (flicker, intermittent bulb outages, etc.).

As I note above, accessing the plug required partial removal of the rear fender.

G'day,

Vinish
The pinpoint test says to do the very thing you did ... I know its a bad connection , bad ground , or bad plug behind the light , came right on when I hit it just right ... Brake light also working as is all the led's
 
#15 ·
Im at work , but I just went out , laid in the dirt and jammed my hand as far up my bikes ass as I could to jiggle the tail light wiring .... It came on and is all working now , more then likely temporarily ... Brake light too . I have a bad connection up under there . :nerd
 
  • Like
Reactions: adamnorthup
#19 ·
call dealer and see if your light is covered under extended warranty.

which brake were you trying the brake light with. Maybe hand one is not working but the foot one is. If foot brake is working then your going to have to go back into faring.

there are 6 bolts that hold the light in place with it looks like 3 wires going to light.
There are 3 of them on ebay if you care.
 
#20 ·
Thanks VJ , it was working with both brake levers once I had jiggled it into a good connection , I believe the whole issue stems from the rear section of tail light wiring .
 
#21 ·
It being a wiring issue and not a brake/tail light assembly is probably good news. It is most likely far cheaper to find and repair a loose connection or damaged wire than the entire brake/tail light assembly.

G'day,

Vinish
 
#24 · (Edited)
so you're now a proctologist.
did you lower the rear end. Wonder if tire has rubbed on some wires.
Mags you better quit screwing with the bike. You know the leaves and squirrels are waiting for your attention
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackhawkFan
#27 ·
The tail light wires on an XC are shielded behind a steel plate and plastic mud guard , it is virtually impossible for the wires to get damaged . I have it all apart , pics coming in next post shortly .
 
#28 ·
OK, took me 25 minutes to tear into this and have the rear fender removed , basic nuts and bolts , no snags whatsoever . There is a lot of soot under there so I'm happy to be able to clean it up while apart . The tail light wiring connector is here :
Auto part Vehicle Trunk Engine


From here there is a 9" section that connects to the TL assembly and out to the blinkers . This connector is accessible from under the seat behind the top of the fender for wire probing / testing . All my connections and wiring looks good and was tight . I have yet to probe with my meter but I think so far I'm leaning towards a defective TL . Tonight I will confirm the problem and report . I may do the Ness rear blinkers in RED , while apart .
 
#29 ·
Ahh, so now it is not the wiring. That's a shame. When you said that you thought it was the wiring, I was happy for you as that would likely be a cheaper/easier fix. Now it sounds again like what I encountered - a brake/tail light sealed unit with an internal flaw (probably in the circuit board). Try the test I described earlier where I used the 12 v output from a trickle charger to power the brake and tail light LEDs sequentially and see if the problem is apparent. If so, you will need a new brake/tail light unit. They are easy to replace once the fender is off. Best of luck.

Oh yeah, I agree about the amount of gunk inside that fender... yuck.

G'day,

Vinish
 
  • Like
Reactions: LILMAGS500
#30 ·
I just called the dealer , Nick, the service fella that helped with my Trans repair is submitting a claim for a replacement TL for me . As soon as he hears back he will contact me later today . Fingers are crossed ! I have the Extended Factory Warranty , NOT the aftermarket / Polaristar cheesy warranty . If I get this warranted I will be one happy camper !
 
#36 ·
#34 ·
Good luck bro! I hope MA Vic approves that claim

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: LILMAGS500
#35 ·
CLAIM DENIED .:soapbox:


Vic does not warrant lighting for any reason after the standard warranty is up . Oh well , it was worth a shot . I still have to confirm its the light , which I will do tonight . Thanks for checking Nick !
 
#38 ·
That sux!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
 
#40 ·
Did pinpoint test and all checks out ......Plug light in and works fine now , perfectly ... Unplug and plug back in , doesn't work .... Do it again , works great . Why are you busting my balls mr. taillight ???? :crzy:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top