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Tri-Bar Fender LED Rear Tail Light Lamp For Harley for Softail FXST FXSTB FXSTC

  • Retroman
    Retroman
    7 months
    Well today I finally got around the fitting an ebay rear fender Tri Bar tail light purchased a wee while back.
    That's into a 2008 CVO Springer with the 200 rear. Stock OEM LED cluster on that bike from new.
    My riding mates eventually got sick of the constant "flickering".
    Slipped the new (Chinese made) unit into the original OEM fitting bracket kit even tho' the newie came with a repeat fitting kit.
    It was just easier to reuse the original and slip in the new LED cluster unit.
    First thing I noticed is the eBay cluster has twice as much length of wiring harness, and the same fitting plug but in white not OEM black.
    Coiling the wire carefully it all fits together, and only the rear 2 fender strut Torx45 had to be loosened and 4 rear facing small Allen headed cap screws. 2 of those hold the number plate bracket on in Softail models.
    I reused the 4 original cap screws as they cleaned up fine with a bit of brake cleaner , as did the Torx 45 bolts which went back in with Loctite blue.
    No time to roadtest but it did light up and the brake light worked also. First impressions in a now dark garage is it's bright enough, but the jury is out if it's as bright as the OEM.
    Tomorrow we'll see on a sunny day ride how it works on the road.
    Delivered cost to me was $75 AUD delivered. Worth a try at that price.

    Shortly a good riding mate is going to open the OEM cluster (again) and on the workbench redo all solder joints and repairs. Put it back together with windscreen sealant. I did that maybe 8 years ago and worth doing again. The lamp is well known for that.
    He's a retired electronics tech and WAY better at that job than me! Then the OEM cluster will go back on the shelf ready for later if required.

  • Grease Monkey
    Grease Monkey
    7 months
    Didn't even know that forum existed! Good solid fix 👍
  • Retroman
    Retroman
    7 months
    Quoting 408 on 29 Sep 2023 09:25 AM

    This is the fix I used on my tri-bar tail light (09 CVO Fatbob )
    Still going strong after 7/8 years.

    Yes that's largely what I did 8 years ago. Your site is more in depth and in hindsight I "shoulda" done it that way and only had to do it once. You can bet the fixes I did back then are OK and more/other places have wiring/solder discontinuity.
  • 408
    408
    7 months
    Quoting Grease Monkey on 29 Sep 2023 10:30 AM

    Didn't even know that forum existed! Good solid fix 👍


    Can't remember now if I joined that forum a long time ago or not. Sometimes very useful stuff turns up in a search in places not often visited.
  • 408
    408
    7 months
    Quoting 408 on 29 Sep 2023 09:25 AM

    This is the fix I used on my tri-bar tail light (09 CVO Fatbob )
    Still going strong after 7/8 years.

    Quoting Retroman on 29 Sep 2023 11:14 AM

    Yes that's largely what I did 8 years ago. Your site is more in depth and in hindsight I "shoulda" done it that way and only had to do it once. You can bet the fixes I did back then are OK and more/other places have wiring/solder discontinuity.


    The soldered joints on the circuit boards were pretty fiddly. I didn't know whether I would stuff them or not. Your electronics tech mate should be able to manage easily.
  • Retroman
    Retroman
    6 months
    Original OEM rear LED cluster repaired. With more gusto then 8 years ago.
    broken solder joints all re-tinned better than new
    Don't look pretty but it don't hafta ! Can't be seen once siliconed back together.
    That's neutral cure black silicone to stop /minimise further vibration damage.
    Just done by my retired electronics tech mate. Better job than I would have done


    LED Softail rear light repair.jpg
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