no brake light... help

[s276l]

My taillight works but there is no increase in brightness when you apply the brakes. Both the front and rear switchs appear to be working, I even took the front apart to clean.

Where do I start looking to fix this problem?

Thanks,
Sean

[hampshirehog]

Have you checked the bulb?

[BassCliff]

Hi,

The switches "appear" to be working? Have you tested them for continuity? Is the tail light on with its high or low intensity? Are one or both filaments lit? Have you tested the socket? Have you checked the connections at the rear brake light switch?

The last time this happened to me, the brake light was on all the time (both filaments). It turned out to be the front brake switch. I disassembled it and found the contact had moved causing a short. I cleaned and reassembled properly. It works fine now.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[BigD_83]

My taillight works but there is no increase in brightness when you apply the brakes. Both the front and rear switchs appear to be working, I even took the front apart to clean.

Where do I start looking to fix this problem?

Thanks,
Sean

What kind of bulbs do you have in the back. Are they dual-filament? Does the brightness DECREASE when you engage either the front or rear brake?

I just had this problem and it was a pretty easy trouble-shoot. My brake light was on (both filaments) and actually got dimmer when I engaged the front brake. Activating the lever was actually disengaging the switch and hence the brightness would drop.

My solution was to reposition the switch so there wasn't contact. My long term solution will be a new switch as one of the copper plates in the switch was broken and shorting across to the other terminal. Now I have a working brake light, but I have to put a lot of pressure on the front brake lever to engage it

[Octain]

The front switch has slide holes where the screws hold it in place for adjustment. Perhaps it just needs adjusted.

[Scorpion]

just to chime in make sure its a daul filament bulb in the socket.

[sedelen]

Since the problem is common to both front and rear switches I'd start at the bulb and work back. Make sure you got the right bulb and that the filaments are good, take it out and put 12 volts to the contacts and it should light up, if it does, then check for continuity inside the socket when the brake(s) is applied. If you dont get continuity check your switches, could be both are out of adjustment or you got an open circuit,
caused by a bad connection or bad ground, or broken wire.

[s276l]

Thanks for all the replies! The front brake switch was reversed causing the brake light to be on all the time.