Brake light help

[Guest]

On a 1982 gs650gl is the front brake lever supposed to activate the brake light? Mine does not so I am asking for prosperity sake. If it is I have traced the wires from the lever to the headlight but that's as far as I got. Thank you in advance!!

[Steve]

Yes, it is supposed to activate the light.

Look on the bottom of the master cylinder, just inboard of the lever pivot. There should be a housing there that is about half an inch wide and almost two inches long, and should have a couple of wires coming out the middle of one side. If that is all there, you are already half-way there.

Inside that housing is a small circuit board that just has a couple of copper traces on it. Riding just above that board is a plunger that fits into a recess in the brake lever that has a spring-loaded piece of copper that can short across the two copper traces when the lever is moved. This is a high failure point, as it can get very dirty. Either the copper traces are corroded or the spring-loaded piece is jammed into place and is not being pushed onto the traces.

To open up that housing, make sure the cap is tight on the master cylinder, loosen the clamp on the handlebar, rotate the whole assembly so the brake switch is on top. Remove the two screws that hold the housing to the rest of the assembly, inspect/clean/repair what is necessary.

Now, if you don't have that housing, it might be a bit easier.
Just order up a new switch assembly from eBay for about $10 and install it.

Note that there are slots where the two mounting screws hold the switch. You can slide the housing a bit to control where it gets activated in the brake lever stroke. It's possible that your current switch might just need to be adjusted. It might be set to activate when the lever is pulled farther than what is necessary to stop the bike. Check that first, then clean or replace.

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[mainiac]

First thing I would do is check the bulb. If that is good I would see if you are getting power to it. The switch is in the lever assembly. http://www.partzilla.com/parts/searc...%29/parts.html. You probably need to take yours apart and clean it. The pieces are tiny and have tendency to fall on the floor and get lost,lol. I use a pressure switch that is connected to my master cylinder.https://www.z1enterprises.com/product/KS12-0013 I hope this helps