Are there any brighter neutral light LED replacement bulbs?

[mattsz]

Jack - It's nice to know someone cares...   

I can't help it!  It seemed like it should be so simple and understandable, yet it didn't work the way I thought it should.  So many differing and somewhat conflicting responses and appeared when I tried to sort it out, I just had to get to the bottom of it.

Should I seek professional help?

[GreenMachine]

Mattz: It's all good...Remember its only snow and it will melt..

[mattsz]

Mattz: It's all good...Remember its only snow and it will melt..

I hope so!

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,15870.msg171747.html#msg171747

[mattsz]

Regarding the "warning indicator assembly" (the unit where the ammeter used to be) - how the heck do I get the fuel/MIL/park lamps out of the housing?  I can't budge them, and I don't see how the housing comes out of the nacelle.

The MIL lights can be a bit of a bear. I used some long needle nose pliers to pull them out.

The speedo indicator bulb sockets are mounted in black plastic housings, which you can grab with pliers and pull out of flush holes in the back of the speedo.  The MIL bulb sockets insert directly into collars which stick out of the bottom of the warning indicator assembly about 1/2 inch, and rubber covers press-fit over these.  The holes are not flush with the back of the assembly - even though they look to me just like the speedo bulb mountings.

I assumed that the MIL lights were the same, and since I couldn't get the assembly out of the nacelle, I tried to remove the bulb housings just like I did with the speedo.  However, in this case, gentle application of pliers = broken collar on back of assembly.  I may also have broken the chrome ring and glass from the top trying to remove the damn thing.  I have to remove it now, to try to assess the damage and hopefully repair it.

So:  How do I remove the warning indicator assembly" from the nacelle?  I can't see anything holding it in except for a press fit into a rubber grommet, but I simply can't budge it in any direction.

 

[Jack Leis]

Mattsz, I feel your pain. I couldn't remove my MIL/Fuel lamps either. I flat gave up. but, you can remove the entire gauge assembly by spraying Windex or any soap / water combination around the outside of the housing on top of the nacelle and deliberately press and wiggle from the inside to push it up. It might be slow moving at first but as lubricant is introduced inside the rubber it will pull out. There may be several other ways to do it but that's what worked for me.

[mattsz]

Thanks, Jack.  It's that disheartening crack and the realization that you were in fact tugging on something too hard that wasn't meant to be tugged on...

Does the rubber remain in the nacelle, or does it come out with the housing?

[Jack Leis]

Thanks, Jack.  It's that disheartening crack and the realization that you were in fact tugging on something too hard that wasn't meant to be tugged on...

Does the rubber remain in the nacelle, or does it come out with the housing?

Once the instrument body comes out , the rubber bushing can be removed if I remember right.

[FiRE Comms]

it all came out as one unit for me, and then I slid the rubber off the assembly...  Never did get the bulbs out...

[mattsz]

Well, I've got a fresh bottle of Windex ("tooling up" for my tire exchange) and so I'll put it too 'er and see what happens.  I've gotta get it out to see how badly I broke it.  I'm hoping some "super glue" will take care of it - I can flex the broken bulb mount housing underneath, but it's not completely separated.  Not sure about the lens, though.

Once I understood how the lamps were mounted (after breaking the housing!), I knew what to pull on to remove them, and I actually got the lamp socket removed from the broken fitting without busting it off altogether, so that's worth something, I guess.  Usually, I don't mind being dumb, but sometimes it pisses me off... 

[FiRE Comms]

so what is the trick to getting the bulb out?

[mattsz]

Well, I've cluttered up this thread plenty, but I want it to be useful, so here's the latest...

I was able to remove the "Warning Indicator Assembly" using Jack's Windex idea (thanks, Jack!!!  Also works for removing stubborn wedding rings - no, not for the reason you think  ), so I've taken some photos with everything apart.

I originally removed the speedo because I couldn't get to the two headlight-flanking pilot lights, and also because I wasn't able to get to the three colored speedo indicator lights easily.  As you can see, the bulb sockets are enclosed in a black plastic housing which inserts into a hole in the speedo body - the housings can be carefully pried out, or carefully gripped with pliers and pulled out.  The socket housings stay with the sockets:





I assumed that the Warning Indicator Assembly was the same, and now we know the result of that assumption!  It is difficult to see beneath it, even with the speedo removed.  It looked like I should be able to remove the socket housings in the same way, but not so.  The assembly has three tubes that extend below the body, and the bulb sockets fit into those tubes.  The socket housings stay on the assembly.  The sockets have a rubber boot which cover the socket housings, holding them in place (quite tightly) and protecting them from weather, I guess.  Sorry the pics are bad, but if you squint you can at least see the difference between this assembly and the speedo:





Because I couldn't budge the Warning Indicator Assembly from the nacelle, I went for the closest bulb first, the low fuel indicator, and tried to wiggle the socket housing out of it, like I did with the speedo's bulbs… essentially, I was trying to remove the non-removable socket housing, and I broke it.  Not completely, though - I wasn't pulling straight down on the housing, I was trying to wiggle it down so I snapped it sideways.  It's now loose, but one side is still attached (I'm hoping I can glue it back together):



But at least I knew now how it worked.  With the assembly still in the nacelle, I was able to use a flat screwdriver to slowly and carefully work the rubber boot off the socket housing by sliding the lip down in tiny increments, working my way around as much of the boot as I could reach, which was about half way:



I did this on the already broken housing, and I didn't make it any worse.  I did the same with the MIL light, the second-easiest to reach, and was able to do the same.  The parking light is the hardest to reach, but now that I've cheated and have the Warning Indicator Assembly out, they're all easy to reach.

Now that I have changed all the bulbs with the Warning Indicator Assembly off the bike, I see that it's unlikely that I would have been able to do it any other way.  Once I got the rubber boots off, the Low Fuel socket came right out of its housing, but the other two were so tightly wedged in there, I had to use a real solid grip on the assembly, and pliers to pull hard the sockets, with a twisting motion, straight out of the housings.  If I ever need to change a bulb there again, I'd definitely remove the assembly - Windex and a little wiggling and persuasion helped me pull it right out of the nacelle (the rubber bushing came right out with the assembly).

BTW, in case my super-glue repair doesn't work, our hosts supply the whole assembly/bulbs/harness as a unit, for $22.  Not the cheapest lesson learned, but all in all that's not bad...

[mattsz]

Here's another little something...

I like the warm look of the incandescent backlight bulb, and its brightness is perfect for me.  So how do I gain the power savings without changing the look?

I bought some extra LEDs to fool around with and see if I could get a suitable light out of them.  I found the bright 4-LED bulb was too bright, and too cool-white for my liking.  So... I dipped the head into some heavily amber-tinted water-based lacquer that I use for instrument finish.  I wasn't sure what would happen; it's interesting to see how the finish wicked up into the bulb and coated the various bits:





The bulb on the left shows the result of two dips, letting it drip-dry "upside down" so the finish would pool around the bright tip.  The bulb still works, and as long as it doesn't get too hot, the coating should hold up.  If not, well, I'll just plug in one of my other spares.

The result is really very close to the look of the original incandescent.  It's hard to see in the photos, but you get the idea...

Unaltered LED backlight - too white and bright for me:





Dipped LED backlight - just like the good old days:




Yeah, I know, too much free time...

[gremlin]

............. I dipped the head into some heavily amber-tinted water-based lacquer that I use for instrument finish.  ..............

excellent work & write-up

which finish ?  Marine Spar ?

[mattsz]

Gremlin -  the finish is KTM-9, made by Grafted Coatings...a waterborne, self-crosslinking hybrid urethane/acrylic.  I like it because it's one of the few "non-toxic", non-flammable finishes I can apply with a brush.  Makes my hurdy-gurdies hard and shiny...

[barenekd]

so what is the trick to getting the bulb out?

I had a long pair of needle nose pliers and I grabbed the two wires coming out of the bulb and pulled them out that way. It worked for me. No casualties. they were tight, but came out! Would I recommend it? I dunno. Would I do it that way again? Yes.
Bare