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Message started by vineman on 05/22/12 at 12:22:22

Title: rear brake light not working
Post by vineman on 05/22/12 at 12:22:22

It comes on and stays on like it should but when I apply the brakes it doesn't illuminate any brighter to signal that I'm slowing down. I'm about to go down and look into it but I didn't know if any of you on here may have any ideas as to what it could be? Like a fuse or bad connector?

I figured if it were a bad connector then it wouldn't even be lighting up at all but I'm not positive.

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by EJID on 05/22/12 at 12:33:53

Start with checking the bulb, has 2 elements and 1 might be burned out.

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by vineman on 05/22/12 at 12:35:48

I was hoping for a possibly easy solution :D

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by EJID on 05/22/12 at 12:36:29

While you're there check for corrosion and make sure it makes good contact in the connector.

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by gcsdls on 05/23/12 at 10:39:53

I had the same problem...thought the brake light wasn't coming on, but it was on all the time. Found the switch cable from the rear brake pedal was sticking and holding the switch closed.

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by Dj12midnit on 05/23/12 at 11:07:49

Where is the rear brake light switch?

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by verslagen1 on 05/23/12 at 11:43:56

brake light switch is on the right side, just above the swingarm.

if it were a snake it woulda bit ya right on the @$$

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by gcsdls on 05/23/12 at 12:45:25

...looks like a cable connected to a spring connected to another cable (which is connected to the switch). :)

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by Dalziel_A on 05/23/12 at 14:22:35

I had a similar problem. The brake light would come on for the front brake but not the rear. It turned out that the cable had broke. I did notice though, that when I tried pulling on the cable it was seized. It took a couple minutes of playing around with it to work properly but it's good now. I actually reattached it to the brake lever with a guitar string ha ha.

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by vineman on 05/24/12 at 10:22:02

4C48584F47582B0 wrote:

I had the same problem...thought the brake light wasn't coming on, but it was on all the time. Found the switch cable from the rear brake pedal was sticking and holding the switch closed.

I got to looking at the whole thing and this is exactly what i found to be the case on my bike too! Is this common at all? Have you had anymore trouble with it sticking again?

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by gcsdls on 05/24/12 at 14:16:07

I just found it this past weekend. I haven't fixed it yet. I ended up disconnecting it for the short term, since I use both brakes when I stop anyway. Brake light then works for the front brake only.

When I get a chance, I'll get that cable freed up...then I'll put the spring back on. :)

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by vineman on 05/29/12 at 12:48:57

Been moving for the past week so I haven't been on here since but I did get a chance to look at my rear brake light cable and this is what I found.

http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t445/Vineman_67/IMG_20120525_165933.jpg

It seems that I had a bad exhaust leak due to my shoddy attempt at adapting my dyna muffler to my exhaust, which did not go on as smoothly as others had implied.

Sorry for the bad focus in the photos. The leaves had all of my camera's attention.

http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t445/Vineman_67/IMG_20120525_170006.jpg

I guess the cable just got so hot that it effected the cable inside the sleeve. I don't know what it did to the cable but it is a total b!tch to get the cable to move in the sleeve at all. even with pliers grabbing the light end of the cable it takes about all I have to get it to budge. And then once I have it set back where it should be, if I hit the rear brake lever the cable sticks again leaving the light on. I guess a new cable it is! Maybe eBay?

Sorry for the bad focus in the photos, the moving leaves had all of my camera's attention.

Title: Re: rear brake light not working
Post by Dalziel_A on 05/29/12 at 15:42:26

Yeah for me it just seemed that pulling it in and out a few times with needle nosed pliers loosened it up and now it works no problem. I guess your exhaust must have melted the outer part of the cable to the steel part. ? Just a guess. Either way, you can find new or used ones on eBay for around 15-25$.