Ok gurus... 06 connie problems 25k on her.. J Box???

[Dan]

Was at port Clinton hotel, 1 mi N of Cabelas...  In Hamburg PA...
Was using a heated vest.... As it was in the 40s...

It got dark out, came out of the hotel to the connie, she started rt up.... Rock solid awesome. Need to get home.

Problem, No headlight, not good, but that was on low beam.....  Hit high beam, good, should make it home,

But no tail lights....  hmmmm no head light and no tail lights.  My educated guess, j box issues, all other electric worked, so drill the ribbits and re-souder the connections?  Any thing else to check....?  Thanks guys for the info. You have saved me more than once.


Dan in Pa...

[m hanlen]

Did you check the fuses. Here's the diagram. I'm thinking a bad front bulb and fuse for tail lights. KISS first

[Steve in Sunny Fla]

Agreed with M Hanlen. the headlight gets power from a common wire routed through the switch for hi / low, so bulb or switch / wires between switch / bulb is the answer there. BTW Connies are known for burning the connector on the headlight, so check it well. check fuses for the tailight. HTH, Steve

[LSGiant]

Check bulbs in in Tail light also my 06 burned them both out before I noticed also.

[m hanlen]

Electrical spikes will burn things out. This is voltage above 18 volts. An intermittent loose connection or bad regulator. Put a volt meter on the battery above 2k rpm, if it's ok, start looking for a bad connection. It can be on the positive or negative side.

[Two Skies]

I have about 45K on my Connie, and I'm on my fourth headlight bulb.  Admittedly, I replaced the stock bulb at the first opportunity (too dim), but keep it as a spare.

So 25K for a headlight bulb certainly sounds about right for replacing.  Keep in mind that  the vibes that you feel through the bars also add wear and tear to the bulb filaments.

As for the tail lights, check the fuse first, and also check the bulbs.  I just replaced both of my tail light bulbs at around 43K.  Brake filaments still worked, but running light elements were toast.  The good news is the tail light bulbs are standard ones (1157's?), and can easily be found at a reasonable price at any WalMart, parts store, etc..

The J Box certainly deserves attention, but your Connie is still kinda young, so that may not be an issue for you yet.  Of course, if the cheaper stuff doesn't solve it, then of course it's on the list of things to check.

[Rick Hall]

Slightly off topic, but I have a bucket load of P&B relay replacements for the J-Box. I might consider doing a relay swop in house for a Jackson, USPS Priority flat rate included.

FWIW, the relays (even the OEM ones) will carry quite a load, even though thy're rated for 10 amps (OEM is six I believe). The key to J-box relay longevity is how many times they're energized, switched on/off. EG: Many short trips and you'll see ~50k miles. More long trips and you'll see 100k miles.

One (or more) of mine puked at around 80k miles, my riding is a mix of 220 mile long and 12 mile short.
 
Rick

[Dan]

Great info...  thanks guys.
 

[Dan]

Dumb question, where might the fuse be located for the tail lights specifically?

[Jet86]

Take off the Left side plastic over and you will see the black J-box, pop the box cover off and all the fuses are in there.

[voileauciel]

Do the dash lights and clock still work? Reason I ask is I think that circuit is on the same fuse as the headlight, IIRC. If those do work and the headlight does not, then it could be something in the J-box.

[cmoore]

Wiggle the key and see if the tail lights come on. The head light may be just burned out. When I first noticed my tail lights weren't working right I thought it was a Jbox problem. It turned out to be the ignition. Something to do with dirty contacts. I always turn the key on and check the lights. If they aren't on I wiggle the key. They come on and stay on.

[vinny]

I would try the ignition wiggle first - as contacts can corrode or wear making a circuit unreliable.
If this is your problem you will need to remove the ignition barrell in order to clean the contacts and coat hem in dielectric grease. HTH

[Furbo]

Mine eats bulbspretty regularly. Replaced the rears with LCD's. I carry a spare HL Bulb now, having replaced it twice in 40K.