Brake lights staying on:

[richardthemotorcycle1]

Sorry, My bike is a 1983 XS650 Heritage Special.

 

[richardthemotorcycle1]

Still looking for my front brake switch

 

[Herd]

There is no "front brake switch", just a brake switch, and it is located by the right foot peg. Both the front and rear brake run thru it, so they individually activate the brake light.

Check the housing that the kill switch is in. The wiring goes from that housing to the headlight, back to the brake switch at the rear. If the brake light is on (which it is), the circuit is being completed. So it is not your wiring.

There is a mechanical component inside that housing that completes the circuit and when you are depressing the front brake, it is not returning as it should. The problem is in that housing.

 

[richardthemotorcycle1]

Thanks, I thought I was going crazy, the foot peg working good, just when I squeeze front brake handle is when the brake light stay on, now if I turn bike off and come back turn key on, brake light normal until I squeeze front brake. Will check it out and let you know what I find.

 

[fredintoon]

Thanks, I thought I was going crazy, the foot peg working good, just when I squeeze front brake handle is when the brake light stay on, now if I turn bike off and come back turn key on, brake light normal until I squeeze front brake. Will check it out and let you know what I find.

Hi richard,
Herd's bike may well have been modified to only have a single brake light switch on it's rear brake pedal but if your Heritage ain't been messed with it does so have a brake light switch built into the front brake lever.
Follow the wires up to the front brake lever.
Slacken the bolts that clamp the lever perch onto the bar and rotate the perch back until the lever is upright and you can see what goes on underneath it.
The little black plastic cylindrical thing on the end of the wire that's plugged into the perch is the brake light switch.
Look at MikesXS site electrical pages to see a replacement so you'll know what you are looking for.

 

[weekendrider]

Hell Fred he won't even look when given exact instructions to find it.

 

[weekendrider]

There is a mechanical component inside that housing that completes the circuit and when you are depressing the front brake, it is not returning as it should. The problem is in that housing.

Yeah there is a name for that. It's called a. . .
switch.

 

[richardthemotorcycle1]

thanks guys, I'll look.

 

[Herd]

Yeah there is a name for that. It's called a. . .
switch.

Forgive me if the jargon wasn't accurate, but the information I was trying to relay was clear enough. If you really want to be technical, it's a momentary switch.

 

[richardthemotorcycle1]

Hey guys found the switch (stupid on my part too) I took I look at it last night, it seemed loose pushed it in and brakes lights seemed to be working, I'll keep an eye on them. Thanks to all of you for the help

 

[5twins]

You must go through band-aids at an alarming rate because from the sound of things, your bike is just covered with them, lol.

 

[fredintoon]

You must go through band-aids at an alarming rate because from the sound of things, your bike is just covered with them, lol.

Hi 5twins,
our Richard reminds me of a co-worker, a theoretical engineering genius but NOT a hardware man.
He'd push his bike into the club workshop saying "It needs (this or that) done to it"
and we'd say "No, Phil, let it live" take his wrenches off him and do the job ourselves.
But that won't work on line; hopefully our Richard will learn by doing.

 

[richardthemotorcycle1]

Hey guys I am doing lol.I worked on the rear brake switch until I got it working and then was tracing down the front brake switch problem I can tell you I'm not a genius but I try to listen to you guys and then do the work, hopefully in the future you guys will come to see that I am a hardware man (something to shoot for) Thanks to you guys I have learn a lot and I want to continue to learn.

 

[richardthemotorcycle1]

Here is my switch... Going make sure it's cleaned and performing right (no short cuts).

 

[XSLeo]

Herd if you look at a wiring diagram at the brake switches you will find two, one front one rear. Power flows to both switches on a brown wire, from the switches to the brake light on yellow wires.
When you use the front brake power is sent to the brake light. When you use the rear brake power is sent to the brake light.
No power is sent from one switch to the other.
Leo

 

[Herd]

Herd if you look at a wiring diagram at the brake switches you will find two, one front one rear. Power flows to both switches on a brown wire, from the switches to the brake light on yellow wires.
When you use the front brake power is sent to the brake light. When you use the rear brake power is sent to the brake light.
No power is sent from one switch to the other.
Leo

Thanks for clarifying, Leo. Wiring isn't my strong suit, and it appeared both physically (following the wiring on my bike) and by looking at the diagram that the switches were wired in series. That was why I referred the gentleman to the rear brake switch, as it was closest to the light, before directing him up front.

Upon closer examination of the multicolored spaghetti... err.. wiring diagram, I see what you are saying. It still kind of looks like they are in series or more like series/parallel. The diagram shows the green and yellow wire running to both switches and teeing off in between to a yellow wire, which then runs to the brake light.

Either way, thanks for the insight. I'm still learning (eagerly).