My brake lights just went out. They don't light when I hit the front, rear or both brakes. The tailights are fine. Signals, headlight and hig beams works fine. What is the likely deal here? Odds are slim that both bulbs burned out at the exact same time. Is there a brake light fuse?
Thanks
Could the connector have come loose?
I'm having a similar problem. My tail light is illuminated but doesnt go brighter once the brake is engaged (front or back). Signals are also out also..... :2guns: :dunno_white:
might also be the brake light switch. Have you tried both your font and back brakes???
look for loose wire connection under your seat/rear cowl.
Quote from: danno on May 07, 2006, 06:47:20 AM..Is there a brake light fuse?
No. There is no brake light fuse.
CLICK HERE ->(http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/41/41309/folders/183441/Thumbnails/1509765Brakeschematiccompgif.gif) (http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/41/41309/folders/183441/1509765Brakeschematiccompgif.gif) for a larger gif I made of the simplified brake circuit.
It could be the splice from the ignition ON circuit is bad (open), or the ignition switch itself -- not likely--, or another break in the source power for the brakes. Another possibility is that you have two bad brake switches -- again not likely--.
Did you do some mods like LED lamps?
Did a previous owner decide to mod the electrics?
Lighting and electrical is stock. Not likely to have both front and rear brake light switches go bad at the same time either. I'll check the wiring and connectors.
Thanks for the schematic.
Do the obvious first. Replace both bulbs before you start tearing things apart. It's unlikely for both to go out at once, but it happens. Always start simple. If the new bulbs don't fix the problem, follow the wiring from the tail light up and make sure connections are good and nothing has been clipped. Then check the switches. I'm betting something is disconnected or got caught and clipped.
Hehehe, most lights headlight and brake have two filament. One which comes on when you have the lights on ( i think you call it a tailight) and then another which (in the case where lights are already on) lights up and makes the tailight brighter to indicate braking and when the lights are off, simply switches the brake light filament. My guess would be the filament in the brake light has gone (not the tail light) but would involve replacing the bulb as both are incorporated into one pacakage i should imagine. This usually happens due to
vibration in bikes and not strong enough filament. Easy way to check this would be to take the bulb out, give it a gentle shake then hold it upsidedown with the glass facing the floor and look for parts of the filament. Or simply examine both filaments in the bulb to see if one is broken.
Could be another problem but i would bet on this :dunno_white:
I am thinking along those lines as well. Also if the bulbs are wired in series then of one circuit, the brake circuit, gets broken then the other on would not work as well. The bulbs are cheap, just replace both and see if it magically starts to work again as I am not sure to how the circuit is wired exactly off the top of my head.
Look at starwalt's wiring diagram. Since both brakes don't light the brake filaments my bet is on one of the two topmost wires marked white/black or their contacts in the connector. Those are the common points of failure that would create this phenomenon.
Im slightly confused, i understood that neither the foot brake nor the rear brake will trigger the brake light. In my experience both these trigger just ONE brake light. Or rather the brake light filament in the taillight bulb. If this is what i thought then it would be the bulb thats the problem - its very unlikely that the connector from both front and rear brakes would be stuffed.
Again: look at the diagram: both brake light filaments are wired in parallel (are fed by the same sources, drain in the same sinks). The source is either the front or rear brake switch (or both); they connect the brake light filament to 12V.
I am casting my vote with the change-the-bulbs crowd.
It is the most likely senario of failure as you wouldn't think about it if one brake filament failed. When the other fails, viola! No brake lights indicated regardless of the switch used.
If that doesn't fix it, you still have two spare lamps.
This is yet another good reason to build the "Visual GS Wiring" page that is floating around in my mind.
<grumbling to himself>
I've got to get something up on my domain space. :oops:
Alright, I'm having a similar problem, but didn't want to start a whole other thread about it. First off, I have the clear alternatives LED integrated taillight installed. The running light works fine, the turn signals work fine, but it's my brake lights that aren't working. For a while, it was just the rear brake that wouldn't illuminate it, but now the front brake doesn't work either. I've checked the connections at the triggering points for both brakes, and found nothing wrong, any other ideas?
If you have a DVM (digital volt meter) or old school VOM (volt-ohm meter a.k.a. multimeter) you should check the continuity of the wiring connections using the simplified schematic I posted above.
If you have none of the meters and don't know how to use them, you are doomed to using the search and inspect method. The only problem with search and inspect is that is does not reveal breaks or problems inside the taped wiring harness.
Go back over the modified portions of your harness that introduced the integrated signal. The places that were spliced into are the most likely suspects.
Of course it could be that your brake switches have gone bad.
Use them alot? :)
My 1st post :icon_mrgreen:
I just picked up a 2004 GS500F today... also my 1st bike. I have a BMW M3 and post on bimmerforums.com all the time (under ///brian92fs). That site has saved me $$$ and trips to the mechanic more times than I can count. It looks like this board is the same way. :thumb:
In any case, I noticed when I got home that the rear brake light is always on. I did some searches and checked this thread and followed all the advice... no luck until I inspected the front brake switch. The brake lever even fully released is not depressing the activation switch. So it constantly illuminates the brake light. I can quick fix it by unplugging the switch... that seemed to work and the rear brake illuminates it fine. But what is the permanent fix? Do I need to adjust the front brake lever?
Sounds like the front brake switch contacts are fused together or there's a short between the two wires inside the switch.
All you can do is try to disassemble the switch to see what is happening inside.
OR
Just replace the switch.
:cheers:
Switch works fine. If you press the activation point by hand... the rear lights go out. The problem is that even fully relaxed, the brake lever does not contact the spring pin
I missread your post. After taking a quick look at my brake it looks like there could be an adjustment there.
I'm a decent car mechanic, but I'm a bit of a newbie here as far a bikes go. Is this a simple adjustment?
I plan to go out and buy a manual and repair guide, but since I just got the bike today, I dont have it yet
The brake switch is not adjustable. It has a cylindrical protrusion that fits into a corresponding hole in the support, assuring its correct position. I assume that either that pin is sheared off or your brake lever is f$*ked up.
Yah... I saw that last night. That was my first repair attempt and I noticed it wasn;t adjustable. But the switch looks fine... no damage evident to the swith or brake lever. Must just need adjusting