Failed inspection; no tail light :(

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 5:15 pm

Just as in the title of this thread; my bike failed inspection because the tail light won't work. It isn't a question of the bulb, either--the inspector replaced it, but to no avail.

Has anyone had this happen with a new Stella? If so, is it an easy fix? I had a bad experience with the dealer from whom I bought my bike, so I'd prefer to go to another dealer for maintenance--although if it's something as simple as a pinched wire or something slightly out of position, well, maybe I wouldn't need to.

Advice is appreciated.

JohnKiniston · Post by **JohnKiniston** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 6:11 pm

Does the light on the dash come on when you use your brakes?

Try it with each. If the light on the dash isn't coming on then the switch for that brake may be bad.

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 7:42 pm

JohnKiniston wrote:Does the light on the dash come on when you use your brakes?

Try it with each. If the light on the dash isn't coming on then the switch for that brake may be bad.

I'll try it when the sun is less bright, later this evening (right now it's hard to tell much with respect to lights).

The brake light itself was working fine--I know this, at least. It's only the light of the lower bulb (license plate light) that isn't working. If I recall correctly, the light on the dash worked perfectly too. All lights seemed to work well except the license plate light.

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 11:58 pm

Checked all the lights--the ones that don't work are the license plate light and the lower bulb in the headlight. The rest are alright.

I may just have to take it in to the other Genuine dealer in my area--hopefully they aren't swamped with other bikes right now!

JohnKiniston · Post by **JohnKiniston** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 12:07 am

Spud wrote:Checked all the lights--the ones that don't work are the license plate light and the lower bulb in the headlight. The rest are alright.

I may just have to take it in to the other Genuine dealer in my area--hopefully they aren't swamped with other bikes right now!

Does your tail light have a single bulb or two bulbs?

Try taking the tail light assembly off and checking the wires on the back of it, One of them may have come off.

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 12:10 am

JohnKiniston wrote:
Spud wrote:Checked all the lights--the ones that don't work are the license plate light and the lower bulb in the headlight. The rest are alright.

I may just have to take it in to the other Genuine dealer in my area--hopefully they aren't swamped with other bikes right now!
Does your tail light have a single bulb or two bulbs?

It has the two bulbs--one is the brake light, which is working very well. But the other isn't working at all.

Try taking the tail light assembly off and checking the wires on the back of it, One of them may have come off.

I'll take a look; thanks.

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 1:33 am

I checked the wires in the taillight assembly. There are four of them. None seem to be disconnected, as far as I can see.

Here are some photos for illustrative purposes.

JohnKiniston · Post by **JohnKiniston** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 1:38 am

Swap the two sets of wires and then see if the lower bulb works when you use the brake pedal or handle?

At the same time is the upper bulb now lit for the running light?

This is just for testing, Don't leave your wiring setup backwards (Tho I've seen them like that!)

fisher1 · Post by **fisher1** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 3:22 am

Are you sure its not a blown bulb?

JohnKiniston · Post by **JohnKiniston** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 3:23 am

Spud wrote:Just as in the title of this thread; my bike failed inspection because the tail light won't work. It isn't a question of the bulb, either--the inspector replaced it, but to no avail.

Sounds like they tried that.

stASH · Post by **stASH** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:47 pm

I had this problem when mine was new as well. If I'm remembering correctly, there was a connector that had come loose, and I think I found it by removing the left cowl, but maybe it was the right side. It wasn't too difficult to find and then reconnect.

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 8:22 pm

I e-mailed Genuine about it, and they said if the cowls are removed and imperfectly put back into place, then there can be problems with the lights.

Does anyone have any tips & tricks for getting the cowls on just right after taking them off? I followed the instructions in the manual, but I wonder if it's really a bit more nuanced than that.

Also, unfortunately my Stella would not start today. I gave it a half dozen tries with the electric ignition (waiting at least 10 seconds between each try) and as many with the kick starter.

I do have almost a full tank of gas, but it is about a month old by now. Could the cowls have anything to do with this (i.e., interrupting the wires for the electric start or something along those lines)?

Or, am I more likely looking at a dirty carburettor?

JohnKiniston · Post by **JohnKiniston** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 8:37 pm

The only thing affected by having your cowls incorrectly installed would be the turn signal lamp for that side of the bike.

Your bike will work just fine without the cowls installed, People behind you just won't be able to know which way your signalling

Did you try using the choke when starting your bike?

It could be a dirty carb if your motor is turning and you are getting spark at the plug, I've not cleaned one on a 4T Bike yet.

Try and start the bike and then take the plug out, Is the plug wet with fuel?

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 8:39 pm

stASH wrote:I had this problem when mine was new as well. If I'm remembering correctly, there was a connector that had come loose, and I think I found it by removing the left cowl, but maybe it was the right side. It wasn't too difficult to find and then reconnect.

Aha. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the same problem with mine. I'll check it out.

Still bummed that it won't start tho. I can hear the electric starter trying, giving its little "wa-weem wa wa wa" whine, but that's it.

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 8:43 pm

JohnKiniston wrote:Did you try using the choke when starting your bike?

of course!! I also made sure there was fuel in the tank, and that the petcock was in the "on" position.

If the bike has been sitting for a few days with the petcock on "off", do I need to wait a good amount of time after turning it to the "on" position to try starting it? I waited about two minutes.

JohnKiniston · Post by **JohnKiniston** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 8:46 pm

Nope, it should be pretty much instant from when you turn the valve to on and when you have gas getting to your carburetor.

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Tue Jun 25, 2013 8:55 pm

Just a quick update--it's starting for the past few days, though I haven't been able to take it riding beyond a few neighborhood putts around because it's not legal for the road still.

I found that it is a YELLOW wire that connects to my malfunctioning taillight. It seems to be connected to the light and I don't see any kinks, but I only checked the taillight housing.

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:09 pm

The yellow wire (that leads to the non-working light) is encased in casing along with a black wire. It and the other wires are secured together via zip tie, as shown in the pic.

The zip tie is pinching them together. I wonder if I should cut it and see if releasing this pinch fixes the problem of the non-working tail light.

MrChet · Post by **MrChet** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:23 pm

Do you have a voltmeter? Why not just check to see if there is any current going to the housing before cutting anything?

Spud · Post by **Spud** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:47 pm

MrChet wrote:Do you have a voltmeter? Why not just check to see if there is any current going to the housing before cutting anything?

I don't, but I could probably get one tomorrow. I figured cutting the zip tie couldn't hurt, though...could it? (I haven't yet)

If I did get a voltometer, what would I do with it? I really don't know a lot about wiring.

Thanks in advance.

MrChet · Post by **MrChet** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 5:02 am

I don't know a whole lot either. When my top case light went out I confirmed that power was there with the positive probe on the powered wire (red in my case) and the black probe on a ground (metal point on scooter). When I applied the brake lever I could see the 12v coming through on the meter. I ended up replacing the light strip fixture and it works fine now.

If you have a harbor freight close by they often have a coupon for a free low end voltmeter. Without a coupon they are only a few bucks.

Good luck!

fatcharlie · Post by **fatcharlie** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 5:55 am

Did you ever get the taillight issue fixed?

You can check with either a test light or a voltmeter.

I will explain this using a voltmeter, but a test light will do the same thing.

First off find a suitable ground... turn your voltmeter to DC voltage (if its not autoranging, set it to something just higher than 12V... the cheapie Harbor Freight one has a 20V setting)

Here is how you find the ground (And kill two birds with one stone)

Open up the taillight and remove the bulb, inside the socket there will be two connections where the base of the bulb will touch. You can use these for the positive side of the voltmeter, or the tip of the test light probe...

Touch the red probe (Or the side with the light if using a test light) to the battery, and touch the black probe to the OUTSIDE of the socket for the taillight. (Technically polarity doesn't matter here, but I'm saying to do it this way just to keep things straight)

You should see ~12V or see the light turn on... if you don't, then it is probable that you have a problem with the light ground. (Unlikely because your brake light works) You can also touch other metal parts of the scoot and find other grounds.

Now attach one side of your meter to the ground and start touching the metal connections INSIDE the socket. One should only have ~12V when the brake is on (This is your brake light), the other should have 12V anytime the taillight should be illuminated.

If you have 12V, then the wiring should be fine, and you most likely have a bad bulb or a bad socket.

Check and post back with your findings...

Modern Buddy

Failed inspection; no tail light :(

Failed inspection; no tail light :(

Re: Failed inspection; no tail light :(