Parking light/Speedometer light problem!

[jp9094]

Having recently acquired my 1983 r65 LS (May of this year) I am still learning. I noticed that the parking light was out and replaced it. It seemed to work fine for a while then burnt out  (or so I thought). I put another automotive bulb in ( 14 volts 4 watts) and the same thing happened.

I sought advice on the forum and Barry from the UK suggested a higher wattage bulb, which after much argy bargy and a tip to London (I live in Brooklyn) I managed to receive. While waiting for the bulb to arrive, I noticed that the speedo light was out ( again presumably burnt out). As I recently mounted a "Parabellum" brand windshield, accessing the instruments is a chore.

Putting the new higher wattage parking bulb in did not result in any light. I then noticed that the bulb I removed had an intact filament so I thought, ahha, a loose connection. Sure enough when I opened the headlight a second time and played with the connectors, I got my parking light back. I also got my speedo light back as well!

I thought great, problem solved. But when I went for a short spin last night, in the middle of the ride both the parking light and the speedo light failed. When I returned home I spent some time with the wiring diagram at the back of my Clymer manual without any illumination (pardon the pun).

All the other lights on the bike work perfectly including the head and brake lights. My thinking is there is a common point between the parking light and speedo light where they ground and this may be the problem. While this does not prevent me from riding it is annoying.

Does anyone out there have any ideas? Any and all help appreciated.

[Bob_Roller]

Looking at a wiring diagram, the parking light and speedometer internal lighting share a common wire a green wire with a black spiral band, it's the 12 vdc power for these circuits .

Looking a bit farther back on the wiring diagram, this wire comes straight from a fuse .

You may want to check the fuses for corrosion, or security, or broken, frayed wire at the fuse holder, this fuse box is a known area for causing problems !!!!

Suggestion, replace the fuse box with automotive blade type fuses when you can get around to it .

If the fuses are good, there is a splice where both of the lights share a common place, that could fail .

 But at this splice the other wire goes off to the tachometer, for internal illumination .

If the tachometer lighting is working, most likely there is a problem with this splice .

I'm sure it's buried in the harness, with 33 year old cloth tape on it .
 
With your current situation with a fairing, it's going to be a bit of work to find out what may be wrong with the wires .

As far as grounds are concerned, the parking light shares the same brown ground wire as the head light bulb .

A problem here would either cause just the parking light not to work, or have a problem with the head light as well .

The ground for the speedometer light circuit goes straight to a common ground splice that all the circuits in the instrument cluster, front turn signals and head light parking light share .

A problem with this ground would only cause the speedometer light not to work .

[jp9094]

Many thanks for the prompt reply. I had taken another, closer look at the wiring diagram after I posted and noticed the common fuse. Am hoping that the problem is there and not buried in the harness!

[mrclubike]

Here is link to the factory Diagram
It is a lot better than the Clymers because it shows the wiring thru the relays  If you would ever have an issue that would involve a relay
(The issue you are having now  does not involve a relay)
http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/R65Schematic.htm

If you tail light is working the problem is not with the fuse
I doubt your problem is with the splice  
More than likely the bulb sockets just aren't making good connection with the bulb or terminals
They can be pretty iffy after 30years
The parking light  bulb holder may be loose in the reflector  

[Bob_Roller]

Your bike probably has different color wires, my '81 R65 was the ninth bike off the assembly line for the '81 model year, it has a lot of left over parts from the previous year bikes .

My '81 has green and black, the '84 LS, has gray and black .

[jp9094]

Again, many thanks for all the replies. Have narrowed it down to the local connectors. On the way home this PM, the park light came back to life. When I got home I reached behind the speedo (no mean trick on an LS) and played with the bulb holder connectors and got my speedo light back. Will have to see how it shakes down on future rides.