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TECHNICAL MOTOBRICK WRENCHING In Remembrance of Inge K. => The Motobrick Workshop => Topic started by: frankenduck on November 22, 2012, 08:25:59 AM

Title: Instrument Cluster Backlighting Issues
Post by: frankenduck on November 22, 2012, 08:25:59 AM
Aside from a burned out bulb, one of the more common causes of a backlighting bulb not illuminating is that when a bulb is replaced the little copper contact "flap" gets folded under so it doesn't make good contact with the little black bulb holder socket:

Folded under - wrong:

(http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd470/Motobrick/93_K1100RS/backlight/ibl_folded.jpg)


Not folded under - correct:

(http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd470/Motobrick/93_K1100RS/backlight/ibl_unfolded.jpg)


A much less common issue is that there's a break in the circuitry somewhere so that not all of the backlighting bulbs are getting power/ground.  The geeky way to fix that would be to chase the wiring in the blue tape in an attempt to find the break.  A much easier way is to jump a wire from a working backlighting bulb to the non-working bulb.  All you need to do is strip both ends of a piece of wire and run it from the working bulb to the non-working bulb.  Take each stripped end and put it on the contact when you insert the bulb.  In the example below assume that the upper bulb is non-working but works if it gets jumped power from the lower right bulb.

(http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd470/Motobrick/93_K1100RS/backlight/ibl_wire.jpg)

(http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd470/Motobrick/93_K1100RS/backlight/ibl_fixed.jpg)


As with most DC circuits, you need to pay attention to polarity (+/-) when doing this.  The diagram below shows the polarity of the backlighting bulbs.

(http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd470/Motobrick/93_K1100RS/backlight/ins_clust_bl_polarity.jpg)