Member Contributer bill220 Posted December 14, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted December 14, 2008 Anyone run across this? I recently bought this bike and didn't notice that the brake light doesn't light up when I pull in the front brake lever. Back one works fine. Would it be best to just have the dealer fix it? I have to take it in to the dealer in the spring for a state inspection. If it's not complicated, I'll give it a try. I did a search and found one post about the front brake switch but there wasn't much information on how to go about fixing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CitizenOfDreams Posted December 14, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted December 14, 2008 Brake switches do go bad (I just replaced one on my 4th gen). BikeBandit sells them for $14.47, and no, you don't have to let the dealer install it if you know how to use a screwdriver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Malstorme Posted December 14, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted December 14, 2008 ...the brake light doesn't light up when I pull in the front brake lever. Back one works fine.... I had a similar problem on my "new" (2002) purchase. I figured it was the switch, and searched on here for previous posts. The post I found described a troubleshooting method of bridging the wires to check the switch, so It broke out the maintenance manual I got with the bike and went to check it. Turns out something had snagged on the line and pulled off both contacts (bent them in the process too). I straightened out the prongs and plugged the connectors back in with no problem. No idea what snagged the line, nothing on the bike comes close. <shrug>, rear brake handle activates the light now after 2 minutes of "work". Mals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer KevCarver Posted December 14, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted December 14, 2008 Can you hear the switch clicking when you operate the brake lever? If not, the the switch is broken. It can be repaired, but probably not worth it. I took one apart on my PC800 and reassembled it to get it to work, but for another issue wound up buying a whole replacement master cylinder which had another one on it already. If you do hear the switch clicking, then its something electrical. Either the plugs are loose or wires are broken, etc. But be sure to test the switch with a continuity tester anyway to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Peto Posted December 14, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted December 14, 2008 Yeah, don't go to the dealer. The part (35340-MM5-600) is only $11.29 at acextremesports.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer FotoMoto Posted December 14, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted December 14, 2008 Remove it (one phillips head screw and two wires) and squirt some wd-40 in it (holes and around plunger) and work the plunger part in and out. Reinstall and rewire. If it works again, great. If not, time for a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer bill220 Posted December 14, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 14, 2008 I can hear it clicking when I pull the lever in. I'll take it apart, have a look and try the WD40 suggestion. I have yet to look in the service manual but will do that also. Thanks everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CitizenOfDreams Posted December 15, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted December 15, 2008 If the switch clicks, it most likely works. Try shorting together the two wires that go to the switch. If the brake light does not come on (with the ignition switch on, of course), you have a problem somewhere in the wiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer bill220 Posted December 15, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 15, 2008 Can you hear the switch clicking when you operate the brake lever? If not, the the switch is broken. It can be repaired, but probably not worth it. I took one apart on my PC800 and reassembled it to get it to work, but for another issue wound up buying a whole replacement master cylinder which had another one on it already.If you do hear the switch clicking, then its something electrical. Either the plugs are loose or wires are broken, etc. But be sure to test the switch with a continuity tester anyway to be sure. What the heck is a continuity tester? I have a voltmeter and another little tester (Two little metal pointy things with wires on them and a light) that I used to test my wall outlets in my house. Will either of these work? Yeah, don't go to the dealer. The part (35340-MM5-600) is only $11.29 at acextremesports.com. Thank you. If the switch clicks, it most likely works.Try shorting together the two wires that go to the switch. If the brake light does not come on (with the ignition switch on, of course), you have a problem somewhere in the wiring. You mean disconnect the wires from the switch and then touch the two wires together, correct? Will that potentially blow a fuse? What if I hold them together, turn the ignition on and see if the brake light works? If this test fails, I'm screwed and will have to take it to somebody that knows how to trace and repair these things but I'm getting ahead of myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 touching the two wires together completes the same circuit that the brake switch does...so your light will activate. To test the swtich, set your voltmeter to "ohm" or the diode ( --|<--) type of setting, and touch both wires coming from the switch. When you activate the switch your meter should go to 0 where before it was showing no connection (same it showed when not actually connected) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Peto Posted December 15, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted December 15, 2008 No, you can't use the thing with the light bulb. That only tests powered circuits. Your switch is just a switch. You have to look at the choices on your voltmeter and see if you have the ability continuity. Coninuity is basically an electrical path between two points. You are actually looking for the presence of resistance in the wire or device. Use the "ohm" setting, the greek letter Omega, upside down horseshoe. If your meter has the setting. put one prong on one wire of the switch, one prong on the other. Should get no reading at all (all dashes). When you push the switch button you should get a reading. Try it a few time to make sure its not an intermittent problem. This will determine if the switch is good. Next short the switch. Connect the two wires coming from the bike together with a paper clip and see if your light activates. If it does, its the switch. If not, you have to begin to test segments of the whole circuit for non continuity (breaks in the wire). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer bill220 Posted December 15, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 15, 2008 Thanks Tightwad. I'm going to try and get to this on Friday. Hoping it's not a wiring problem. The PO stored the bike in a heated garage (as do I) and from the looks of it, it hasn't been ridden in the rain much, if at all so the wires shouldn't need to be replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CitizenOfDreams Posted December 15, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted December 15, 2008 You mean disconnect the wires from the switch and then touch the two wires together, correct? Will that potentially blow a fuse? Yup, disconnect the wires from the switch and touch them together. That is exactly what a working switch would do, so it's a perfectly valid method of testing. Do not touch any of the wires to the ground (any bare metal on the handlebars) though, THAT will blow a fuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer bill220 Posted December 18, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 18, 2008 Well, I found my problem. Somehow during transport (like when I tied the front end down) the wires got pulled from the switch. I did not see exactly where to connect them back up but the clips are still intact on the wires. I couldn't get a good look at the connection point on the switch, my garage is kind of dark. I did test the wiring with a paper clip, as suggested and the brake light lit right up. Front Brake Switch Wires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VtownGT Posted June 7, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted June 7, 2013 I have been having a similar problem with my front brake circuit switch. It still clicked, so I tested it with my multi-meter and was getting intermittent continuity, which I thought could be caused by stickiness and schmutz. I tried the WD-40 suggestion above by FotoMoto by spraying it into the two small hole post things. I let it sit for a while, then gave it another spray and worked the switch a bunch of times and it returned to normal operation with the meter and on the bike. Regardless, I found one on Amazon from a seller called Powersport Superstore for $8.52 including shipping, so I have a spare on the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrcapn Posted June 8, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted June 8, 2013 Holy dusty threads batman. So, did bill220 ever find a flashlight and was he able to hook up his brake light wires? What ever happened to that guy that just got elected president? And how did the economy do, last I recall in '08 things didn't look so good. Do you think Rossi will defend his championship in '09?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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