Brake lights on

[stonewall]

Went for a 9/11 memorial ride last Sunday and when I got home I noticed that my brake lights were really bright (saw the reflection in my house window). With the wife's help, I checked both the front and rear brakes, but the light never changed. They are bright all the time, like they are engaged. The brake calipers are not engaged and the levers appear to be disengaging.

I talked with a few guys I rode with this week and they don't recall if my brake lights were changing or not while we were riding. I haven't riden the bike since my wiring harness recall was done last month, so I don't know how long this sitaution has existed. SELF FLOGGING: Shame on me for failing to do a safety inspection of the bike on Sunday prior to my ride. I usually do a walk around prior to take off, but didn't in this case.

My initial thought is that something wasn't wired correctly after they replaced my wiring harness. Could this be the cause? Could a bad fuse or failing light bulb be the cause? I'm going to check them this weekend to see what I can find.

I am not that really mechanically skilled, but am willing to learn. I appreicate any suggestions on what to look for, even if it is obvious to those with more skills. I have already learned a lot from this forum and want to continue to increase my skills in maintianing the bike.

 

[bramfrank]

I suggest you start by checking to see if the rear brake lever is binding (try to lift it up) - the mechanism can get dirty and bind - the solution is to pull the bolt, slide off the lever and clean up the shaft bushing.

If it isn't the lever, check the switch - the lever pulls on a spring that activates a switch that in turn makes the light come on - the spring may have been moved, the switch could be misadjusted. You could also have crud in the switch, causing it to short out. There is a plug a short way down the wire from the switch - you can try unpugging it to see if the problem is the rear switch.

The front brake actuates a 'micro' swtch which is in the assembly - if you check carefully you'll see a pair of wires terminating on connectors that are presseed on to te terminals of the switch. Pulling wither of the wires off the switch will make the light go out is that is the cause.

wither ---> either

I have no edit privileges. Sorry about that.

 

[Niehart]

The unusual suspect is the rear brake foot lever.

The brake lever shaft can get gummed up and not come all the way back up. Spray some oil [WD40, etc] on the lever shaft and work the pedal up and down and see if that fixes your problem.

 

[DELETE-PLEASE]

Happened to me. I had to play with the brake lever and make sure it was disengaging and moving like it was supposed to.I'd start there.

Alexi

 

[wfooshee]

Rear brake pedal. Sticky. 99.99995% probability.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Rear brake pedal. Sticky. 99.99995% probability.

Yep. Mine's doing the same thing right now. Sometime between now and departure for EOM I'll take a closer look. No big deal to me - I don't use my read brake that much. When I do, I just slide my toe under the rear pedal and lift it back up a scoach.

 

[odot]

Usually when that happens you also get an abs warning light on the dash. Got that in minneapolis on my way back to dallas from reno. Just clean the rear brake set up....

edit: Mine's an 05...not sure if other models are wired differently.

 

[stonewall]

Thanks for all the advice and recommendations. Went out over the weekend and cleaned around the rear brake pedal and the front brake lever. Lights are working fine now. Just in time to get my annual safety inspection done by the end of the month. Knew it wouldn't pass with the lights "on" all the time.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Rear brake pedal. Sticky. 99.99995% probability.

Yep. Mine's doing the same thing right now. Sometime between now and departure for EOM I'll take a closer look. No big deal to me - I don't use my read brake that much. When I do, I just slide my toe under the rear pedal and lift it back up a scoach.

Jeez, Geek! Put this on the list for tech day... EZPZ.

 

[BILL P]

how do you adjust the rear brake switch . Impossible to get to!

Thanks

Bill P

 

[Queensland Ken]

 

[ionbeam]

Bill P, I see you have two threads going on the same topic. If your brake light is on all the time you need to clean and lube the foot pedal like Queensland Ken shows. If your brake light is coming on late then you need to adjust the brake switch. I was able to adjust mine in place with some fiddling, but pulling off the foot pedal assembly is fast and easy with just two bolts, again as shown in Queensland Ken's video.