BRAKE LIGHT

[Anonymous]

I finaly got my 83 750es up and running on sunday. Tonight when I was checking the bike over before taking it out I noticed my brake light wasn't working anymore. I take the lens cover off and took out the bulb, the housing that holds the bulb had one wire disconnected,the black and white, which I assume controls the brake light portion of the double signal.
thats about as far as I've gotten. Could anybody tell me if there should be conectors on these wires or if they're supposed to be soldered in? Do I need to buy a new piece? My local shop said I can't just buy the conector that holds the bulb, I have to buy the whole assembly.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Billy Ricks]

The black/white wire is ground. You can just solder that wire to the bub socket.

[Anonymous]

Brake light

Thanks Billy. If the black & white wire is the ground that shouldn't be the reason my brake light isn't working. Is that correct? Have any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

wrong.....DC power on a bike...flows from positive wire, throught the little wire in the bulb to make it bright (when brake pedel is active) out the ground, to make a complete circuit....


if one part of the circuit is open, it just doesn't work. solder that sucker back on and it should work like a champ again.

[Anonymous]

Not entirely correct. If the ground is disconnected/broken off a multi filament bulb, or somewhere in a multi bulb circuit, current will try to find ground through other means. Usually this is the other filament of the bulb.

Case in point: My brother used to have one of those campers you put in the bed of a pickup. The camper has running lights, as well as big honkin' tailight assemblies, since the camper overhung the back of the truck. All electical connections went through an 8 conductor plug about as big around as a beer can, and almost as long. We hooked it all up, turned on the lights and noticed that half the running lights didn't work. Stepping on the brakes made one light up, the other one to go totally out, the other half of the running lights to go out, and an interior light to come on. Fiddle-f^&*ed with it for half an hour, checking bulbs for shorts, the beer can connector, and all the running lights before deciding to check the main ground inside the camper, buried under a weeks worth of camping gear. Found the wire disconnected. Hooked it back up and everything worked as normal.
Electricity is an amazing thing.

[Billy Ricks]

Billy. If the black & white wire is the ground that shouldn't be the reason my brake light isn't working. Is that correct?

There is nowhere else for it to get ground. The socket is mounted on a plastic housing on yours and my bike so the ground circuit isn't present with that wire disconnected.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input, I'm on my first bike and learning as I go.
That being said, new question: I touched the ground wire to the housing and the light turned on and when I applied the brakes it lit right up. I didn't have much wire to work with but was able to solder it back on where it had been before. Having done that I turned the bike on and both the brake and tail lights stayed on though I wasn't pushing the brakes. I disconcted the wire and tried just touching it to the housing again and got nothing, neither light came on at all. I have no idea why that is or what to do about it. If you guys have any sugestions I'd love to hear'em.
also when I soldered the ground back on I stuck it slightly into the small hole in the back by the other wires as it had been before, could that have anything to do with my new problem?

[gremlin]

if you have a good auto parts store, thay should have sockets, that you can use to rebuild any of them on the bike.

the hard part is finding the right light base then wireing it up.

after fixing a ton of the lights on cars and trucks the bikes are easy.

[Anonymous]

thanks I'll see what I can find. the local motorcycle shop would only sell me the whole assembly. hopefully I find something that works, I've only had this bike out three times and it's killing me to have it sit.

[argonsagas]

Replacing the socket is possibly a solution, but you said both brake and tail lights came on and stayed on. The taillight is supposed to stay on as long as the ignition is ON, so it appears that you may have a faulty brake switch.

That could be the front one, and there failure is common, but can be repaired (or replaced) or the rear, where a spring adjustment may solve the problem.

As you have no lights now, you should first check your contact area as you may not be making full electrical contact, and check your fuses.

Re short wire length: do not be afraid to splice in a bit of wire if needed. Solder the connection, paste it over with liquid electrical tape and shrink wrap it for extra security and cushioning.

[Billy Ricks]

Check your fuses, you may have accidentally shorted the wire out and blown one. Grounding the wire to the socket is good enough. As for the brake light being on without the pedal being pressed the actuator needs adjusting. There is one for the front brake and one for the rear. The one for the front is located under the front brake lever. It is held in place by two screws and slides back and forth for adjustment. The one for the rear is on the frame just above the rear of the brake pedal. It screws in and out to lengthen or shorten itself. You need to turn it clockwise to get it to turn off. Then check to make sure it is working by pressing on the pedal.

[Anonymous]

it's me again, Billy you were right I blew a fuse. I changed that out and tried touching the ground to the socket and got nothing. I took the socket apart, put it back together, touched the ground to it and got tail light only.
I tried adjusting the actuator and still can't get the brake light to come on, my front actuator needs to be fixed, the tab that the lever pushes on sheared off. So I'm back where i started taillight but no brake lights.

[Billy Ricks]

Collin,
If the brake light isn't coming on now you need to turn the rear brake light switch counter clockwise until it comes on then back off a little until it goes out. It should then work when the pedal is pressed.

[92G]

Having done that I turned the bike on and both the brake and tail lights stayed on though I wasn't pushing the brakes.

Mine was the same way when I bought it. I adjusted the rear brake light switch to fix it. Takes 2 min...
Terry

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your input