The Case of the Too-Tight Fasteners

I want to let GWRRA Members know of a problem I encountered when removing the tail light housing from the trunk of my 2004 GL1800 Gold Wing.
The acorn nuts on the stems that secure the plastic lens housing into the trunk, applied at the factory, were over-tightened beyond the pressure needed to hold the unit to the trunk.
When attempting to remove an acorn nut from the stem in the housing, the stem broke loose in the plastic. There was no way to remove the housing except by breaking out the red lens, then drilling out the plastic around the stem. Once that was done, the housing could be removed. Then it was necessary to use a set of lockjaw pliers to secure the stem, so that you could remove the acorn nut with a ratchet wrench.
The acorn nut was so tightly secured that a friend had to hold the lockjaws while I used extreme pressure to break loose the nuts. When each nut broke loose, it was with a cracking noise.
This method had to be used with both light housings in the trunk. After I damaged the first housing beyond repair, I decided to replace both housings with aftermarket lights.
I later learned a friend of mine had the same problem with his 2003 Wing, as the acorn nuts on his bike were also over-tightened.
I sent one of the damaged units to American Honda for their inspection, along with a letter of explanation.
I received a phone call from Honda’s customer service department, and we discussed the problem at length. Honda advised me that once I discovered the first of the acorn nuts could not be removed, I should have taken my Gold Wing to my dealer with the problem. I was further advised that this problem could have been corrected by Honda at no charge as it would be considered a manufacturing defect since there was no way to remove the unit to replace a burned-out bulb.
The light housing was being sent to Honda of America Manufacturing with my letter so that the engineering department there could check it out.
My advice is that should anyone else find that an acorn nut cannot be removed, have your Honda dealer attempt to do the job. If he fails, Honda places the housing under warranty or considers it mis-manufacturing, and will replace it.

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	By John W. Sonley • GWRRA #44561 • Chandler, Arizona The rear of one of John Sonley’s tail light housings, showing where the mounting stem had been drilled out in order to remove the housing. Acorn nuts were removed from the remaining stems to the right. I want to let GWRRA Members know of a problem I encountered when removing the tail light housing from the trunk of my 2004 GL1800 Gold Wing. The acorn nuts on the stems that secure the plastic lens housing into the trunk, applied at the factory, were over-tightened beyond the pressure needed to hold the unit to the trunk. When attempting to remove an acorn nut from the stem in the housing, the stem broke loose in the plastic. There was no way to remove the housing except by breaking out the red lens, then drilling out the plastic around the stem. Once that was done, the housing could be removed. Then it was necessary to use a set of lockjaw pliers to secure the stem, so that you could remove the acorn nut with a ratchet wrench. The acorn nut was so tightly secured that a friend had to hold the lockjaws while I used extreme pressure to break loose the nuts. When each nut broke loose, it was with a cracking noise. This method had to be used with both light housings in the trunk. After I damaged the first housing beyond repair, I decided to replace both housings with aftermarket lights. I later learned a friend of mine had the same problem with his 2003 Wing, as the acorn nuts on his bike were also over-tightened. I sent one of the damaged units to American Honda for their inspection, along with a letter of explanation. I received a phone call from Honda’s customer service department, and we discussed the problem at length. Honda advised me that once I discovered the first of the acorn nuts could not be removed, I should have taken my Gold Wing to my dealer with the problem. I was further advised that this problem could have been corrected by Honda at no charge as it would be considered a manufacturing defect since there was no way to remove the unit to replace a burned-out bulb. The light housing was being sent to Honda of America Manufacturing with my letter so that the engineering department there could check it out. My advice is that should anyone else find that an acorn nut cannot be removed, have your Honda dealer attempt to do the job. If he fails, Honda places the housing under warranty or considers it mis-manufacturing, and will replace it. PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE