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Brake light won't go off, frt/rear switches not at fault?

  • Thread starter Thread starter GoFast
  • Start date Start date
G

GoFast

Guest
1981 GS1100E
I'm having an issue where my brake light won't go off! I removed the front brake switch - light still on. Loosened the tension on the rear switch spring so it's not pulling on the pin, light still on! I tried connecting another tail/brakelight assembly, but light still remains on.

Does this mean there is a faulty/bad wiring issue somewhere between the tail/brakelight assembly and the switches? Is it possible that the wiring issue is within the headlight assembly?

Any help is appreciated...I've been around GS's for years but I'm still green on the electrical stuff!
 
GoFast said:
1981 GS1100E
I'm having an issue where my brake light won't go off! I removed the front brake switch - light still on. Loosened the tension on the rear switch spring so it's not pulling on the pin, light still on! I tried connecting another tail/brakelight assembly, but light still remains on.

Does this mean there is a faulty/bad wiring issue somewhere between the tail/brakelight assembly and the switches? Is it possible that the wiring issue is within the headlight assembly?

Any help is appreciated...I've been around GS's for years but I'm still green on the electrical stuff!
Click to expand...

Unhook the back brake switch completely.It is probably stuck Check the wiring under the fender in the rear.Could be damaged and causing a ground.
 
Well I removed the rear brake switch, completely disconnected it, brake light still on. Connected it again and even tried another one (that was working on my other bike) and have the same issue.

Since I connected another tail assembly and still had the same problem, I know it's not that. I checked all the wires under the seat to check for a ground and found nothing. The damn brake light just won't go off.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. Being no electrical expert I've done everything recommended. Could the ground be anywhere along the wiring harness, even up into the headlight bucket? I don't want to have to pay a guy to source the problem when I was sure I could to solve this on my own. But after doing everything that seems logical, I'm about to give in...
:confused:
 
just a thought do know if you have tryed following the wires out of the front switch. It should go into some sort of conector to the main wiring harness. I am corently have a similer problem with my headlight. i can't get it to turn off. I found it to be the plug of all the wires from the switch going it to the main harness. it has to be shorting at one of the plugs would be my bet.
 
Have you checked the bulb?

I had one where the brake light filament broke, one end dropped down and shorted on the main filament.

Si
 
Since the brake system is essentially a "dead" system (requires power to turn it on), you obviously have a short somewhere that is putting power to the brake wire. One place to look is near the steering stem or under the tank. Look for signs of pinching where the tank mounts or possible rubbing where the wires run near the frame. A hot wire somewhere has rubbed through the insulation and is touching the brake wire.


.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I looked over the wiring harness from front to back, there seems to be no significant pinching, no wires grounding. The connections for the front brake switch (inside the headlight bucket) appeared to be dirty but not too bad...I disconnected this from the harness but the light stayed on.

Big Si, The bulb looks not to be an issue from a quality standpoint, however I was browsing through my manual again and it says:
WATTAGE:
Tail/brake light - 8/23

This would lead me to believe I need a 23 watt bulb for the brake light. Since the bulb on the bike when I bought it was blown, I replaced it with one from my other parts bike ('83 of the same model). This bulb is clearly marked '12V8W' which I assume means 8 watts.

Is this my problem?
 
8/23 means a dual filament bulb(ie: two contacts on the bottom) the taillight filament is 8 watts and the brake light filament is 23 Watts. Sometimes people put the bulb in backwards. This is usually not possible because of the staggered posts on the side of the base. But occasionally they get forced in the socket wrong. That is why you see cars with one taillight dimmer than the other. On one side the little filament is on as supposed to be in a taillight while the brake filament is on on the other making it brighter.
 
Relic,
The tail light and brake light are two different bulbs...the tail light has staggered posts/buds and can only go in one way. The brake light bulb has two posts near the bottom that are not staggered - they're in the same spot on both sides of the bulb and can go into the socket either way. I figure since my manual says Tail/Brake light 8/23 (wattage), the brake bulb needs to be 23 watts.

Are you saying that both bulbs should be dual filament 8/23? Am I way off on something here????:oops:

Thanks again!
Graeme
 
Sorry for the confusion. I didn't realize you had two seperate bulbs. I looked at the parts fiche for your bike:

http://images.powersportsnetwork.com/fiche/images/Suzuki/1980/Motorcycles/2155_26.gif

Bulb 5 is the taillight= 12v 8w, bulb 4 is the brake light. I can't tell from the pic if it is a single filament or not. If there is one contact in the center of the socket it is a single 23w filament bulb. If it is a two contact socket it is a 23/8 dual filament bulb. If it is bulb 5 staying on and it is a single contact bulb, the only way it will light up is having power from the front brake switch, rear brake switch, or some other "hot" wire in the harness or taillight connector touching it via a bare connection.
 
Actually, the second bulb (furthest back) is for the taillight and the license plate. The one further in is a dual filament bulb that acts as a taillight and brake light. I recently had to replace the rear lens and rear light bulb. That rear light bulb is always on and a monofilament (that'd be #5 in relic's link).

Try and get the OEM bulb back in and go from there. It could be a matter of a bad socket.

Brad bt
 
Thanks Relic,
I too gave some confusing info - I'm doing this stuff all on my own and the learning curve is pretty big for me. I had the bulbs mixed up (4 and 5 on diagram).

So...it is an 8/23 bulb, dual filament.

Question 1:
I'm assuming that the one filament stays on all the time and the second filament lights up when the brakes are applied? Is this correct?

I went out and tried it but the second filament doesn't come on. I tried the tail/brake light assembly from my other bike, same thing. One connector with 3 wires powers this bulb and the wires and connector seem to be in good shape. One white wire was pinched/exposed but the wiring isn't affected inside the casing and there's no grounding apparent.

Question 2:
I don't have the front brake switch connected, but should that make any difference?

3:
So what is the purpose of the lower (8 watt) light? My wiring diagram in my manual actually refers to the smaller bulb as 'licence plate light' but in the troubleshooting refers to 'brake light' and 'tail light' as seperate bulbs.

Thanks again, off to check things out some more...
 
Thanks Brad,
Since I tried two different GS1100 brake/tail assemblies I don't see the socket being an issue...the bulb is new, in good shape, and I've tried 2 different bulbs.

Graeme
 
Hey y'all,
Just an update...the Stop Lamp (brake) light on the check panel is now going off when I start the bike. Does this give any of you guys any other ideas as to the problem? Or eliminate some possibilities? I checked the brake switch after this and there's still no brake light.

Thanks again...
 
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