Brake light on when parked?

[Splittie]

I have an 81 GS750L.
Today when I got to work, parked my bike and when I locked the forks in place, the brake light was on.
It will come on with the wheel in either direction and only once I turn the key to the locked position. If I turn the wheel left or right, without the lock on, the light stays off.
What gives?

[trippivot]

bare wire grounding the circuit before the switch.
or water inside the harness sheath.

unless you are hitting the park selection on key switch.

watch it you might get a dead battery because of this.

[Nessism]

I think the brake light system is hot all the time, even with the key off. The front brake switch design Suzuki used is pretty poor and uses a sliding contact that is prone to corrosion. My guess is that your switch is dirty and when you turn the handlebars it pulls on the harness just enough to trip the switch. The switch itself is adjustable via slide the plastic housing after loosening two phillips screws under the brake lever. I recommend taking the switch apart to clean it but be careful not to loose the spring and contact (they are very small - hold your hand under the switch as you remove the two screws and pull down the plastic housing). It's a whole lot easier to manage if you turn the master cylinder over but be careful not to pull the brake lever with it inverted or air may enter the system. After cleaning, a small dab of dielectric grease on the contact is advised. Adjust the "on" point by sliding the housing after the screws are loosely installed.

Good luck.

[Nicholaschase29]

Do you lock the forks by turning the key to the right? There are two fork locking positions. On my bike you can lock the forks by turning the key to the right (clockwise)and that keeps the rear brake light on. If you turn the key all the way to the left (counter clockwise) then it should lock the forks without the light being on. Maybe I misread your question though....

Nick

[chuckycheese]

Forks

I'm surprised one of our European members hasn't responded. I'm pretty sure what you're describing is a set up required in many European countries whereby the parking lights of vehicles are required to be lit when they are parked at night. In fact, my wife's Audi has a similar feature.

As Nicolas points out, locking it in one direction turns the lights on and locking it in the other direction doesn't.

[Splittie]

Do you lock the forks by turning the key to the right? There are two fork locking positions. On my bike you can lock the forks by turning the key to the right (clockwise)and that keeps the rear brake light on. If you turn the key all the way to the left (counter clockwise) then it should lock the forks without the light being on. Maybe I misread your question though....

Nick

Thanks for the information I will post if it works for me.

[andrewclaycomb]

This is interesting. When I turn my key far right (park) the tail light doesn't come on unless I use a brake. When I lock the steering column (key turned far left) they don't come even if I use the brake.

[Splittie]

\\/BADDA-BING\\/
Thats the ticket!
Turned the key to the left and locked without the brake light coming on.
Thanks!!