Brake light always on.

[xs400newbie]

Hello all,

I'm having issues with my brake light, it's always on. I examined the switch near the brake pedal and it looks like the pedal operates a plunger. Well that plunger wasn't making contact with anything whether the pedal was in the up or downward position. I figured it was an easy fix. When I adjusted the contacts at the top of the switch to make contact with the plunger when the pedal is not depressed, the signal fuse blew. I blew a couple of fuses trying to adjust this thing. When the fuse blew, the tail light stayed and the brake light turned off. Please shed some light on this problem.
Thanks.

 

[xs400newbie]

Ok, so I totally forgot about the front brake switch. Possible this switch is triggering the brake light, but still not sure why I blew fuses when adjusting the rear brake switch. Am I wrong about how the rear switch works? When the pedal is depressed, the plunger loses contact with the two contacts (one from the brown wire, one from the yellow) and the light goes on. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[ThePsuedoMonkey]

The brake switches are normally open, so using either brake will complete the circuit between the yellow and brown wires. It sounds like the switches aren't working, so disconnect each of them to see which is the problem.

 

[drewpy]

the brakes switches are live too and not earth, make sure that they aren't snagging on the frame.

sounds like a faulty switch to me

 

[xs400newbie]

the brakes switches are live too and not earth, make sure that they aren't snagging on the frame.

sounds like a faulty switch to me

I'll try to isolate the problem by eliminating each switch. Can you please explain how that rear brake switch works, internally I mean? Reason is visual inspection suggested the circuit actually opens when the pedal is depressed. There is a plunger with a metal tip, looking from the top, and it moves downward when you push the pedal down. I couldn't see how it closes the circuit when it does that.

 

[drewpy]

basically its a T with a spring under it. at the bottom of the T is a hole for the spring to hook into and then it goes to the rear brake lever.

the T is pulled down and makes contact with a "washer" near the bottom and makes contact. really simple devices!

 

[xs400newbie]

basically its a T with a spring under it. at the bottom of the T is a hole for the spring to hook into and then it goes to the rear brake lever.

the T is pulled down and makes contact with a "washer" near the bottom and makes contact. really simple devices!

I see. It goes to show that when you don't understand something, trying to "fix" it leads to other problems. Seems plausible then that the only cause of the short was yours truly. This seems to point to the front switch as the likely culprit. I'll start there. Thanks!

One thing I found out is that the brake light being on will drain your battery faster than it can be charged. I took the bike around the block a few times and had to recharge the battery after.

 

[Old Okie]

The switches are independent, they do not work together, either one should activate the brake light.

 

[xs400newbie]

The problem was with the front switch. One of the tabs that secures it is broke so it doesn't fit snug, which means the front lever doesn't push up against it well enough to turn off the light. Rear switch works fine. Guess I'll be ordering a new switch. Thanks for all the help.