(Topic ID: 263374)

TAF backbox lights only working when pushing them in hard

By MintIndeed

4 years ago



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#1 4 years ago

The bayonet-ended blinkers in the backbox were working fine but I guess when I opened the backbox earlier I jostled them "just right", because now they're not turning on. If I press on them hard and fiddle with them a bit, they'll work - but as soon as I let go they stop. Any tips on fixing - do the seats just need a good cleaning or something?

#2 4 years ago

You can try turning the game off, and cleaning the end of the bulb and the inside middle of the socket.

They have likely lost their tension, so new sockets. Or carefully put a dab of solder on the bulb bottom making it a tiny bit longer, so it's tighter in the socket.

LTG : )

2 weeks later
#3 4 years ago

OK so I actually discovered something new here. I had blinking bulbs in the bayonet sockets, and when I tried it with non-blinking bulbs they lit just fine. I also discovered a couple of the blinking bulbs had gone bad, in spite of being only a few weeks old.

So here we go:
I had blinking bulbs in the bayonet sockets for about a month and they worked just fine, until they didn't.
When I removed ~1–2 of the blinking bulbs, the others started working just fine.
Right now I swapped 1 blinking bulb for 1 regular bulb and replaced the bad bulbs, and now all is good.

But I have no idea why having several blinking bulbs in would work fine for a while, and then just...not work. No fuses blown, no random resets, no problems at all that I've seen, other than the bulbs.

#4 4 years ago
Quoted from MintIndeed:

OK so I actually discovered something new here. I had blinking bulbs in the bayonet sockets, and when I tried it with non-blinking bulbs they lit just fine. I also discovered a couple of the blinking bulbs had gone bad, in spite of being only a few weeks old.
So here we go:
I had blinking bulbs in the bayonet sockets for about a month and they worked just fine, until they didn't.
When I removed ~1–2 of the blinking bulbs, the others started working just fine.
Right now I swapped 1 blinking bulb for 1 regular bulb and replaced the bad bulbs, and now all is good.
But I have no idea why having several blinking bulbs in would work fine for a while, and then just...not work. No fuses blown, no random resets, no problems at all that I've seen, other than the bulbs.

Are you using LEDS? Did you inspect the wiring going from bulb to bulb?Some LEDS are wacky I’ve had this problem before they would be fine then go out do To vibration.I placed LED in and with a pair of pliers I tightened the socket cause they were a bit stretched.Also if they are the LEDS with one leg pin on one side and one leg pin on the other side those will give you problems

#5 4 years ago
Quoted from pinmike:

Are you using LEDS? Did you inspect the wiring going from bulb to bulb?Some LEDS are wacky I’ve had this problem before they would be fine then go out do To vibration.I placed LED in and with a pair of pliers I tightened the socket cause they were a bit stretched.Also if they are the LEDS with one leg pin on one side and one leg pin on the other side those will give you problems

Yes, using LEDs. I did poke around at the wires behind just to make sure everything was connected and to see if jiggling it helped. I'll take a deeper look and try your suggestions. Thanks!

1 month later
#6 4 years ago

Just wanted to post my resolution -

Wires to the lights were fine, terminals were clean, etc. I ended up finding two problems:
1) One of my lights had burned out! Even though it was a brand new bulb. Didn't expect that, these things happen. I discovered it when my wife suggested putting the bulb somewhere else (because she wanted to see what it would look like).
2) Turns out the socket I was most worried about is "fine" - one of the arms on the back of the socket is slightly loose, so when monkeying with the bulb, it turned the socket against the arm in such a way that the connection stopped. When I moved the arm straight like it's supposed to go (parallel with the opposing arm) the light works flawlessly.

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