[psu1]

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Hi all,

Added Rudy's Smartlight to my 88 1500. Has about 250 miles since installation. On the way home from work today, I noticed that the light never came on.

Any suggestions where I should start my troubleshooting first? I'm sure, I'll hear from Rudy but open to all advice. Thanks!

psu1

 

[mikef]

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Does it flash when you turn the key on? If nothing is coming on, I would check all the connections. you also need to be careful handling the LED. That connection is pretty fragile.

 

[agnogel]

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Send Rudy a PM and he will sort it for you he gives a full no quibble back up service

 

[Rudy]

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Assuming the SmartModule is still functioning (and we've never had one not function)...
If the unit NEVER flashes then you either have a bad connection in the LED circuit or you don't have power going to the Smart Module (or the SmartModule failed).

My best guess is that either an LED wire got broken as Mike mentioned or you have one of the two LED connectors come loose on you (newer units have two connectors, one at the module and one 10" from the LED).

If you find a broken wire at the base of the LED itself, do not attempt to repair it. No one so far has done that correctly and successfully and you have a chance of blowing the SmartModule driver if done incorrectly. Let me know if that is the problem and I'll get another one coming your way.

I would start by pulling the seat and check the connections. Occasionally someone has a module positioned so that the seat presses down on the module connectors when they sit on it and that can cause a disconnect.

If that isn't the problem, simply unplug everything but the power and the LED. With the key off you should get one flash every 5 seconds, with the key on you should see the 1st gear blink on the Gearhead model or rapid flash on the Traveler model.

If that doesn't work, then use a voltmeter to verify that the outer pins of the power connector both have over 10 volts on them when they key is on (the center pin is ground). If not, check the SmartLight 5 amp fuse on the power harness and the 5 amp fuse in the aux power circuit in the Honda fuse box.

If you do have voltage on both outer pins of the power connector, then it is either the LED, the connection to the LED or the LED driver in the SmartModule but as already mentioned, the latter would be super rare.

Post back and give some results and I'll tag this thread to notify me.

I'm good till 8pm eastern tonight and then again in the morning.

 

[psu1]

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Mike,

No, nothing comes on when turned on.

psu

 

[Rudy]

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Oh... forgot to mention. Pull the power connector and plug it back in. If the module starts to work again then be sure to check the voltage spike clamping diode across the aux power terminals. If that is left off or bad, the spikes can make the processor get confused on some bikes due to electrical noise in the system.

 

[Dusty Boots]

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I'll lay odds the connection has come away/separated at the SmartLight module. Look under the front of the seat, or wherever you have it mounted and plug it back in if that's the case.

 

[psu1]

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Rudy,

It's Friday after a long long work week. I'm now enjoying liquid refreshments. I'll be assessing things tomorrow.

But as always, thanks to all for the prompt replies.

psu

 

[Rudy]

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psu1 wrote:

Rudy,

It's Friday after a long long work week. I'm now enjoying liquid refreshments. I'll be assessing things tomorrow.

But as always, thanks to all for the prompt replies.

psu

That will work too. I'll be in and out tomorrow but I'll get the posting notification and get back to you asap.

 

[psu1]

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Rudy,

Thanks! I could not imagine any better customer service.

Also, kudos to this site for making this dialog possible.

psu

 

[Wilson02]

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psu1 wrote:

Rudy,

Thanks! I could not imagine any better customer service.

Rudy is the man. :applause:

 

[psu1]

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Hello again,

All seems to be working well. Looked at all of the posts to identify the least to most difficult process. Looked at LED connection near forks. Seemed OK. Then checked 5A aux. fuse. It was fine. Removed seat. Connections to module looked solid. FYI, I chose to put a thin towel cover over the fuel pump connections and also the module connections. I did this after a fuel pump wire once came loose on me.

Back to the troubleshooting process. Removed the 5A fuse from the Smartlight. It was fine. Reinstalled and then observed that the LED was now operating. Fastened seat and took out for a ride. All seemed fine.

Any ideas why it stopped for that short term? Thanks again!

psu

 

[Rudy]

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A few things come to mind...

One possibility is that one of the connectors may have had some dirt in the contact area and was preventing contact until it got 'wiped' by the sliding action of un-plugging and re-plugging. These connectors are designed to be self cleaning that way.

A second possibility is that of having a connector being compressed when the seat is in place and compressed from sitting on it.

A third is that the processor got locked up by electrical noise that the clamping diode was/is not doing able to suppress. Possibly due to a missing clamping diode, a defective diode or noise higher than the clamping diode can handle alone. If the latter is the case, you may need some additional noise filtering on the bike.

Trick here is to see if it ever repeats and then make a change and retry to see if the problem is gone permanently. If it was the first cause, you will probably never see that problem again.

The reverse switch can also 'glitch' the system if is going bad or out of adjustment.

If the problem repeats itself or goes into modes that are not expected then it is most likely an electrical noise problem and we will have to address those one at a time until eliminated.

Post any additional events you experience if they appear again.
Thanks

 

[psu1]

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Rudy,

Thanks! As I stated previously, great customer service!

psu