Tail light install problem

[iamheero_imp]

So I should preface this with the fact that I've NEVER done anything electrical in my life. That will become apparent as I describe the time I've had installing this.

I have a small alleyway off-street in which to do my wrenching, it's not ideal but it's better than most places in the city. I somehow get the old stupid tail light monstrosity off and try to wire up the new one without a proper wire stripper but the colors on the new wires are all different (black and red like you'd expect) and I have no idea how to test which is pos/neg on the old ones. Oh, and the new tail light doesn't have an obvious ground anywhere so I wasn't sure where to put that, is that what the black wire is?. Ended up blowing a fuse so I wrapped the ground (the black wire) around a steel bolt and taped it to the bottom of the fender until I figure out what to do with it, seems to work for now.

Anyway, I may have screwed up something because now my tail light doesn't come on as a running light, only when I depress a brake. I mean, I should be elated it works as a brake light but I want running AND brake lights if that's how it came factory. Any thoughts? Is this how it should work or am I missing functionality?
I actually found this:

[url=http://www.vsource.org/VFR-RVF_files/HondaWireColors.htm]http://www.vsource.org/VFR-RVF_files/HondaWireColors.htm

As a wiring color guide for Hondas and hopefully with this knowledge will be able to do a better job tomorrow. It's SUCH a pain because the mounting hardware was not at ALL adequate so with my 'solution' of using one of the bolts from the old tail light I have a real problem getting this on/off to adjust the wiring.

[flynrider]

The tail light comes on when you turn on the key (unlike the brake light). Typically, the tail light bulb has a dual filament. One for the tail light and one for the brake light. Is it possible you burnt out the tail light filament in the bulb when the fuse blew?

[curlyjoe_imp]

According to the 2013 service manual the OEM tail/brake light bulb is 12V 5/21 W. The bulb on your new tail light is 12 V 23/3 W. Maybe you should use the OEM bulb in your new tail light.

According to the wiring diagram, the OEM green wire is ground, the black/brown wire is the running light and the green/yellow wire is the brake light. This is consistent with your link to the Honda wiring guide.

[kennyw]

The new housing likely uses the body as ground without a wire. One wire would be for taillight and the other for brake light.

[iamheero_imp]

Hey perfect, thanks so much for confirming. I'll be going out this morning to disassemble it again. I apparently swapped the ground and the running lights! I am used to only having black and red wires for speakers, or working with computers where the plugs all either fit or they don't and the colors don't matter.

I've got all sorts of tools including heat shrink wrap and actual wire strippers coming in Thursday, along with the engine guards, but I'm the impatient sort, so I'll clean it up on another date as long as I get it working.

[iamheero_imp]

Update- Got it set up. Just to reiterate in case anyone is searching:

Tail light wires are colored such that green is ground, black and brown goes to the running lights, and green and yellow goes to the brake lights. On my particular taillight the black wire is running and the red wire is brake. I had to do some cutting of the rubber mounting thingy and the supplied bolts weren't long enough but I used one from the old tail light which is solidly in there now.


As curlyjoe suggested, I swapped the bulb too so it should be just as bright as OEM, which was working fine for me though I may upgrade at another point in time. For a complete newbie to this thing, it was a pain, although now that I've done it I could probably get it taken care of in 20-30 minutes.

[c-breezy_imp]

Glad to hear that you got it done! I'd love to see a pic of the finished product when you get a chance.

[ALPHADOG69_imp]

Is your old unit available for sale?

[pekingduck]

Is your old unit available for sale?

Check the classified ads. There is one for sale for &25 plus shipping. Or if you want to save the shipping and get it sooner, you can pm me.

[Bazbro_imp]

Congratulations, Iamheero. You truly are a hero now!

All the "How to's..." that I've done have been intended to encourage owners to have a go at simple nut/bolt wrenching, when they might otherwise have been too daunted by inexperience to try for themselves.

So maybe set this up as a "'How To..." yourself? There's great information in this Post.

Thank you.