JayBros
Well-known member
Having to get the Spyder inspected next month for annual registration renewal I checked it this morning and found the license plate light was out. No problem! A T15 Torx bit, the ¼ drive ratchet with a long extension and the light was out of its hole in the rear fender in a flash. I assume the procedure is the same for all RT MYs from 2014 -19 inclusive. Pulled the bulb, a common DE3423, 5W, and figured off to the nearest auto parts store for a replacement. Went to put the light back in its fender hole and, Aw crap, the screws wouldn’t bite. Why not? For those who haven’t plowed this furrow, there’s a plastic rectangle retainer that sits horizontally inside the hole in the fender and has the two female threaded holes to grasp the screws. See the picture on the left, Item #93, License Plate Light Support. That little bugger just floats around inside the fender hole and how am I going to get a fat finger into the hole to position it to accept the short, 16mm screws? Answer: a dab of black RTV silicone. The local store didn’t have an LED equivalent, but the incandescent bulb came two to a sealed pack, and they had a small tube of silicone. In the picture on the right you see Item #272, License Plate Light, and the screws are Item #59. The light has a rubber boot to seal the assembly from the elements and in test fitting the Light Support onto to the boot I found it wasn’t an easy slide on. I cleaned all surfaces with alcohol and with a popsicle stick gobbed a bead of RTV on a long edge of the inside of the fender hole, positioned the Light Support, pressed the fit onto the RTV and let it cure for a couple of hours. To ease the rubber light boot into the hole I swabbed it with silicone lube on a Q-tip and it slid into the hole slicker than deer guts on a doorknob. The most time- consuming part of the whole process was searching through the parts fiches for the License Plate Light – and I don’t type too quickly. Hope this helps the next ryder who has to replace a license plate light bulb.
