Left fender lights stopped working

[Wildchild6969]

I have a 2008 GS. It does have the LED lights on the fender.

I just got the bike last week and was on a ride with some freinds when it was noticed that a wire was hanging down inside the left fender. At this point everything was working fine. Wasn't much I could do at the time so I rode it on home. By the time I got home none of the lights on the left fender was working. I took off the wheel and found the same wire from earlier had rubbed against the tire enough to wear all the insulation off of them so I figured I would patch them up and change a fuse. No such luck. After patching the wires and testing every fuse in the box they still aren't working. All other lights on the bike are fine it's just the left fender. I followed the wire harness to the end of the a-arm up next to the engine, and unplugged it. I then applied 12 volts to the harness and the fender lights all came on so I know the lights themselves work and my earlier patching up of the wires was successful. Is there something I'm missing here? Relay or additional fuses? Please help if you can. Thanks!

 

[Chupaca]

Depends..!

on who wired them and how. Some have inline fuses and some have module boxes. You may have to follow wires a bit further...:gaah:

 

[Wildchild6969]

From what it looks like to me the LED lights are wired into the factory light on top of the fender. No additional wiring was ran into the fender just spliced into existing wiring. I do not detect any inline fuses added.

 

[sabunim5]

Step 2

You know that the wiring on the light side is fine since you have applied 12 volts to that side and the lights come on. Now you need to put a meter on the other side of the connection and see if you have 12 volts at the connector. If you do; the connector itself is either defective or not plugged in tightly enough to make a good connection. If you don't; work your way back toward the fuse box to see where the connection is lost. Good Luck.
:thumbup:

 

[Wildchild6969]

You know that the wiring on the light side is fine since you have applied 12 volts to that side and the lights come on. Now you need to put a meter on the other side of the connection and see if you have 12 volts at the connector. If you do; the connector itself is either defective or not plugged in tightly enough to make a good connection. If you don't; work your way back toward the fuse box to see where the connection is lost. Good Luck.
:thumbup:

Yes thanks, that is exactly where I am at on this. All fuses check out fine. Which the only thing left are the relays. Does any of the relays affect the left fender lights independently? It appears there are no more connections from that point on the a-arm to the fuse box.

 

[billybovine]

Yes thanks, that is exactly where I am at on this. All fuses check out fine. Which the only thing left are the relays. Does any of the relays affect the left fender lights independently? It appears there are no more connections from that point on the a-arm to the fuse box.

The running lights (2 fender and tail). The power path is through 1 fuse. Then switched on and off directly by the ignition switch, no relay. Splits 3 ways in the harness at one junction point then to each light. That means the problem is in the wire between the plug and the junction where ever it may be. :dontknow: Possible but not likely.

First since it is a led bulb. Polarity is important and that particular bulb can be reversed in the socket. Eliminate that as a cause first.

 

[Wildchild6969]

Polarity is correct. Tested already <---- earlier in post

The running lights (2 fender and tail). The power path is through 1 fuse. Then switched on and off directly by the ignition switch, no relay. Splits 3 ways in the harness at one junction point then to each light. That means the problem is in the wire between the plug and the junction where ever it may be. :dontknow: Possible but not likely.

First since it is a led bulb. Polarity is important and that particular bulb can be reversed in the socket. Eliminate that as a cause first.

Could it be something in the ignition?

 

[Magdave]

Did you check the connector under the top black plastic "A" arm cover? There is a snap connector there.

 

[Wildchild6969]

Yes <--- earlier in post

Did you check the connector under the top black plastic "A" arm cover? There is a snap connector there.

I applied 12 volts to the connector at the end of the a-arm up close to the engine and the lights lit up fine. Issue is prior to the connector.

 

[Magdave]

I applied 12 volts to the connector at the end of the a-arm up close to the engine and the lights lit up fine. Issue is prior to the connector.

Then you will have to follow it back. My money is on a broken wire. Did you check the ground on the plug. Did you check for voltage on both pins in the connector to ground? One of the wires should show 0 ohms to ground (ohm meter). The other should show 12V with a voltmeter. If you are not seeing one of these that is the wire to trace back.

P.S.
Also try sticking a pin in the wire to test past the plug if you do not find the above readings. Plugs have been known to fail.

P.S.S.
Are you sure your wire repair did not change the polarity? LED's are polarity dependent.

 

[billybovine]

Could it be something in the ignition?

If it was the ignition then the other fender and tail light would be dark too.

 

[Wildchild6969]

Found it!!!

For those interested, I got to the root of it. After some disassembly and wire testing I discovered that there is a small microchip inline with the lights.



I knew the lights worked and that the fuses were fine so searching in between the a-arm connectors and the fuse box was that little beauty. It turns out that this is part of a kit that you can buy to turn your fender light(s) into a turn signal. Apparently when the wires rubbed naked under the fender instead of blowing a fuse it fried this little chip.

Funny that this little piece barely the size of my pinky nail caused me so much grief. Oh well lesson learned and to tell the truth I enjoyed my extra time in the garage with my Spyder. Thanks to everyone who read my posts and provided input.

 

[billybovine]

Your description of the symptoms and test results just did not add up and make any sense to me. Now that explains it that it was an aftermarket add on that was your problem. I was looking at the factory wiring diagram.

 

[MikeinGA]

Check at the end of the led strip where the wire is connected to the wire. That's where mine disconnect from the led strip.

Mike