coy55boy Posted March 6, 2011 #1 Posted March 6, 2011 I need to replace a brake light in the left trunk assembly. I look up in the service manual how to do the job...3 nuts and the assembly falls out, right? WRONG! The nut in the middle just spins round and round like it wants to be a ballerina or something. I guess the stud broke loose from its' base. I've thought about it and thought about it and can't come up with any ideas that don't involve damaging plastic in some way. Anyone have an idea?
Eck Posted March 6, 2011 #2 Posted March 6, 2011 (edited) ...3 nuts and the assembly falls out, right? WRONG! The nut in the middle just spins round and round like it wants to be a ballerina or something. I guess the stud broke loose from its' base. Not sure if I am correct here so please forgive me since Im not familur with 1st gens... If you removed the "other two screws", would the lens not just come off in your hand with the 3rd screw still attached to the plastic stud that broke off the base?? The plastic stud base would still be attached to the 3rd screw, but once you have the lens in your hand you could easily remove the broken plastic stud from the 3rd screw on the work bench.. Ok, how far am I off on this one... Remember now, I dont know much about 1st gens.. Page down once your in the below link to see an enlarged picture of the back side of your tail light lens...maybe this will help you??? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300366063571&viewitem= Edited March 6, 2011 by Eck
Snaggletooth Posted March 6, 2011 #3 Posted March 6, 2011 He had me going there for a second to as there are no brake lights in the trunk of an '83 until I looked at which forum he posted in. It's on his "other" bike me thinks. Ecks thoughts may be the answer.
Marcarl Posted March 6, 2011 #4 Posted March 6, 2011 You might want to cut the nut off with a Dremel tool, and then things should come apart to be fixed right,,,,,,maybe???? I don't have a Honda, but that's what I can conjure up in my mind.
scotty Posted March 6, 2011 #5 Posted March 6, 2011 I am thinking it a gl1800. A nice one too. The tail light has 3 metal studs in the tail light plastic. Likely one of the nuts has bad threads and has broke the stud lose from the plastic. If this is the case it can be a bit nasty. I think I would start with a cutoff disk and cut the stud and nut off from the inside. Maybe a carbide bit to cut the nut off? It looks like there is room to work with the top one and the one to the outside. The one to the inside is in a bit of a hole. I hope this helps. Scotty
kj5ix Posted March 6, 2011 #6 Posted March 6, 2011 I need to replace a brake light in the left trunk assembly. I look up in the service manual how to do the job...3 nuts and the assembly falls out, right? WRONG! The nut in the middle just spins round and round like it wants to be a ballerina or something. I guess the stud broke loose from its' base. I've thought about it and thought about it and can't come up with any ideas that don't involve damaging plastic in some way. Anyone have an idea? What year of GW and are you talking about the tour pac AKA Trunk on top...... or saddle bags. Your post reads like the top trunk. If it is a GL1800 01 to 05. That is a common problem and mostly with the bottom nut,,, Some have had luck with pulling the light assy out a little to put pressure on the bottom stud, and getting it loose. Easy job if the nuts come off, but the harness is really short there.
Eck Posted March 6, 2011 #7 Posted March 6, 2011 What year of GW and are you talking about Kj5ix, I may be wrong here, but I thought ...or think.... he is speaking of an '83 Venture Royale'....not a GW... The pictures I posted are that of an 83 Venture Royale..and have nothing to do with a GW..
Snaggletooth Posted March 6, 2011 #8 Posted March 6, 2011 Hey Eck. He bought another bike a few weeks ago. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=56520
coy55boy Posted March 6, 2011 Author #9 Posted March 6, 2011 Sorry Guys...I should have updated my profile. It's an '01 Wing. It's the upper trunk. Although I think the PO upgraded the lighting assemblies to the newer '06 and above version. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n163/coy55boy/Black%20Beauty/IMG_0093.jpg At any rate, the dremel tool idea sounds the most promising. But, I still got a bad feeling I'm gonna mess up some plastic. As I continue to think through this problem, it occurs to me that once the nut (and likely part of the stud) are removed, I'll probably have to replace the entire assembly. Either that or live with the knowledge that it is only held on by 2 nuts... That being the case, I could cut through from the outside until I can get a grip on the stud from the other end. Hate to think how much that assembly will cost though...
felix Posted March 7, 2011 #10 Posted March 7, 2011 If the whole thing is turning just cut it off because its broke on the light. Had the same thing happened to my 02, bought a new light on Ebay:twing:
FreezyRider Posted March 7, 2011 #11 Posted March 7, 2011 Here is one thread on the gl1800riders.com forum about this problem. Couple of suggestions to try on that thread....good luck. Joe
coy55boy Posted March 8, 2011 Author #12 Posted March 8, 2011 Here is one thread on the gl1800riders.com forum about this problem. Couple of suggestions to try on that thread....good luck. Joe Thread? What thread? I can't see it!
Snaggletooth Posted March 8, 2011 #13 Posted March 8, 2011 Just a thought here but I had a similar problem on the tail light assemblies on a Lincoln Towncar. A couple of studs had broken loose in the housing. I picked up a couple of nylon screws from the hardware store and used 2 part epoxy to set them into the housing. When it set up they were as strong as the original studs and they are holding up well. Might work for ya......... Mike
Redneck Posted March 8, 2011 #14 Posted March 8, 2011 I need to replace a brake light in the left trunk assembly. I look up in the service manual how to do the job...3 nuts and the assembly falls out, right? WRONG! The nut in the middle just spins round and round like it wants to be a ballerina or something. I guess the stud broke loose from its' base. I've thought about it and thought about it and can't come up with any ideas that don't involve damaging plastic in some way. Anyone have an idea?The best way to fix that is to buy a venture.
kj5ix Posted March 8, 2011 #15 Posted March 8, 2011 Thread? What thread? I can't see it! Try this: A lot of info, and bunch of BS. http://gl1800riders.com/forums/search.php?searchid=2131692
FreezyRider Posted March 8, 2011 #16 Posted March 8, 2011 Oops, forgot to paste the link....I hate it when I do that. Here it is: http://gl1800riders.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186118&highlight=tail+light+stud Joe
OldBear Posted March 10, 2011 #17 Posted March 10, 2011 For what it's worth, there's a guy on the classifieds section at GL1800riders that just posted a complete set of saddlebag AND trunk tail lights for $125 for 01-06 GL1800.......Looks like it was just posted a few hours ago. May be worth checking out.
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