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Turn signal replacement's short stud

werdigo

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Turn signals are a bit vulnerable. This tale might be useful to someone.

After damaging my 2014's right front turn signal, I ordered a Chinese replacement, something like $19 for a pair. Pretty much identical to stock Honda, except for the (photo) shorter mounting stud. The broken original is obviously on the right. Oh oh...studx2.jpg

Following Jeremy's "Lazy Man's" thread in How To's, I opened up the relevant plastic panels and tried fitting the new replacement. On the inside of the thick rubber grommet is a metal backing plate, with two cylindrical bushings that extend through the grommet, one for the wires and the other for the mounting stud. My replacement's short stud barely reached the backing plate, with no threads extending beyond it to accommodate a nut.

My first thought (well, a friend suggested swapping the studs, but they seem firmly molded in) was to extend the stud by drilling and tapping a small hole in the new stud, and another in a piece of a 6mmx1.0 machine screw, for a short piece of a 4-40 machine screw. (I happened to have some of these.) I'd screw the 4-40 into the stud, then the piece of 6mmx1.0 into the 4-40. That might have worked, but I don't have a drill press, and even worse no new sharp drills, so I screwed that up.

Finally deciding to dig in and obtain access to the short stud, I hacksawed the stud's bushing off the backing plate, shortened it maybe 1/4" and reinserted it into the grommet, enlarged the stud's hole in the plate so the nut would fit through it, then gouged out enough of the rubber grommet to make a few threads available. That was enough to get the nut threaded onto the stud; I tightened it so the end of the stud is flush with the surface of the nut. After hooking up the wiring, I reinstalled the panels.

With the nut tightened against the rubber grommet, not the solid metal backing plate, this right turn signal is more flexible than the originally-mounted left one, but aiming and focus aren't critical with a turn signal so it seems usable. I might find some black tape (duct tape or something stronger) to add some security and rigidity.

There's my story, guys... took some goofing around but it's winter here and I wasn't going anyplace anyway. This nut-on-rubber setup isn't ideal, but it seemed to solve the problem.
 

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I bent my signal light on a fall. I was able to pull it apart fix it up with some JB Weld. Your light was more damaged than mine but I have a new found respect for what can be done with JB Weld.
 
Keep a close eye on that fix. The rubber is good under compression loading but is likely to crack and fail under the tensile and bending load.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 
Keep a close eye on that fix. The rubber is good under compression loading but is likely to crack and fail under the tensile and bending load.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

You bet, Garry. I'm not really happy about this "fix" but it was all I could figure out. With the stud and nut, and the wires passing through the other bushing, the turn signal is not likely dangerously to fall completely out. But I will keep an eye on it...
 
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