PE 175x rear tail lamp bulb blows

[moxie]

Hey group I’m not sure if anybody’s had any problems with rear tail light bulbs going out after short rides. My headlight bulb is fine I don’t know if it’s the Chinese bulbs I keep getting but I can’t seem to get a rear tail lamp bulb to last for more than 20 minutes ??

[Admin]

It is the quality of the bulbs, they are not made for the abuse and off road harshness.
They will usually last longer on my street bike that isn't taking the same pounding.
Many will say it's a bad ground, and that could be the problem also.

[moxie]

Thank you for your response . I plan on checking ground which I’m sure is ok. At least I don’t feel as crazy. Like I’m the only one who has experienced excessive tail lamp bulb failure .

[Admin]

A lot of people don't think the ground is bad, but a connector could be corroded or the connector/wire soldered connection may be bad. Depending on how your lights are wired, you could always run the brake light ground wire directly back to the coil ground and see if that helps.
Otherwise, perhaps use a voltage regulator, trail tech makes a cheaper one (or Moose or any other) , here is the directions for it's use, it prevents spikes by diverting the excess to the frame. cdn1.polaris.com/globalassets/trail-tech/2020/home/pdf/010-elv-106.pdf?v=8351f534
And finally , you can try a proper LED bulb, but I would try the other suggestions first to try and isolate the problem.

[ESR80PE]

Check condition of globe. If its cloudy or black inside, then it has blown due to an over voltage issue which can happen with high revs on a PE because their is no regulator. Make sure the globes are the exact same wattage as original specified by suzuki and not less (see owners manuals and parts book) or slightly higher wattage will help.
If the glass is clean inside and the filament just looks broken, then it is blowing due to vibration. Try and use high quality Japanese or European brand globes or get genuine suzuki ones as they tend to handle vibration better than cheap chinese globes. make sure everything like fender/tail light are rubber mounted as best as possible.

[moxie]

Ohm’d ground 2ohms resistance-good ground . Globes are clear filaments broken... ordered Japanese bulbs and a couple higher wattage. All bulbs purchased were from Babbitts..Bike Bandit all bulbs were crappy quality... found some alleged NOS Suzuki bulbs.. fingers crossed. I’ll post when I get them. Thank you so much for the time and knowledge 👊🏽

[moxie]

Hey guys, I wanted to update my rear tail lamp bulb issue. Thanks for the input. Grounds checked an verified proper resistance is circuit, Globes were all clear like you said indicating that filament vibrating open. Received two Stanley made in Japan bulbs. Been riding daily so far no issues. Also purchased a single post bayonet style led bulb so if I run out of filament bulbs . I have an led one to try. Thanks again!!

Max