Hawk 250 Brake Light wired backwards? LED Bulb problems

wally · 11-18-2021, 04:27 PM

Just a small FYI for anyone who feels like their LED isn't working right..

I recently swapped my brake light for an LED bulb.

When I took out the stock bulb, I noticed that the bulb was jammed in at an odd angle instead of seated properly, and was in fact 180* off.

After put the bulb back in the proper orientation, I discovered that it was in fact wired backwards. Meaning that the "High" side of the brake light was always on, and the "Low" side would come on when I pulled the brake lever. I guess that this is why they jammed it in sideways at the factory.

I noticed in the reviews when viewing LED bulbs on amazon that many people complained that the LED bulb "barely got brighter" when they pulled their brake lever... which is exactly what having it wired backwards would do.

I ended up swapping over the two outside wires in the tail light harness side. The wire colors did match before I swapped them.

zero_dgz · 11-18-2021, 05:57 PM

This is a pretty common problem with dual filament bayonet base bulbs in general, and especially with motorcycles. Even by accident, it is very easy for an individual inserting the bulb with enough gusto to get it to go in backwards which will also cause the symptoms you describe. (On a correctly wired socket, anyway.) The two nubs on either side of the bulb base are at different heights to attempt to prevent that sort of thing and ensure that the bulb only goes in one way... But, well, the bulb socket is inevitably just thin sheet metal that's easy to bend.

wally · 11-18-2021, 09:03 PM

Makes sense, the LED bulbs have more of a chunk of aluminum for their base so the same trick won't work, I dont think you can flex it around enough to get it even halfway in wrong without breaking something.

11-18-2021, 04:27 PM	#1
wally Join Date: Nov 2021 Posts: 59	Hawk 250 Brake Light wired backwards? LED Bulb problems Just a small FYI for anyone who feels like their LED isn't working right.. I recently swapped my brake light for an LED bulb. When I took out the stock bulb, I noticed that the bulb was jammed in at an odd angle instead of seated properly, and was in fact 180* off. After put the bulb back in the proper orientation, I discovered that it was in fact wired backwards. Meaning that the "High" side of the brake light was always on, and the "Low" side would come on when I pulled the brake lever. I guess that this is why they jammed it in sideways at the factory. I noticed in the reviews when viewing LED bulbs on amazon that many people complained that the LED bulb "barely got brighter" when they pulled their brake lever... which is exactly what having it wired backwards would do. I ended up swapping over the two outside wires in the tail light harness side. The wire colors did match before I swapped them.
	1

11-18-2021, 05:57 PM	#2
zero_dgz Join Date: Jan 2020 Posts: 281	This is a pretty common problem with dual filament bayonet base bulbs in general, and especially with motorcycles. Even by accident, it is very easy for an individual inserting the bulb with enough gusto to get it to go in backwards which will also cause the symptoms you describe. (On a correctly wired socket, anyway.) The two nubs on either side of the bulb base are at different heights to attempt to prevent that sort of thing and ensure that the bulb only goes in one way... But, well, the bulb socket is inevitably just thin sheet metal that's easy to bend.
	1

11-18-2021, 09:03 PM	#3
wally Join Date: Nov 2021 Posts: 59	Makes sense, the LED bulbs have more of a chunk of aluminum for their base so the same trick won't work, I dont think you can flex it around enough to get it even halfway in wrong without breaking something.
	0