Tail Light Issue

[Anonymous]

Hello, everyone!

Unfortunately, I'm having trouble with my tail light and I'm hoping I can get some advice from you guys. I have a 1982 Suzuki GS850GLZ with 14,000 miles that is otherwise in perfect working order.

The brake light comes on just fine when the brakes are on, but when the brake isn't depressed, there's no light at all! I don't need to tell you this is really dangerous, especially at night. 8O

The problem isn't the bulb. That's the first thing I tried. Any ideas what to do? What would be the most likely problems? Would it be easiest just to go on Ebay and buy an identical tail light for it for fifteen bucks? Any help would be appreciated, as I daren't go on the road at night without this problem fixed.

Thanks again!

[focus frenzy]

have you checked the wiring coming from the tail light?
there will be a connector pretty close to the tail light, it may have come loose or is corroded.

work your way back from there checking connections as you go.

PS: it will be a brown wire.

[Steve]

You say the tail light is not on. How about the front turn signals? They should also be on as marker lights. How about the instrument lights? If all these are on, check the wiring as Leon suggested. If you had a bad fuse, the headlight would also be gone.

On my 850 (just like yours), the connectors for all the rear lights are between the battery and the rear fender, just under the tool kit tray, so they are not hard to find.

[gsBert]

before you spend any money, check all your connections at the taillight as was suggested...
sick a voltmeter on the leads going to the bulb, if you get no juice just follow the yellow brick road to the shorted or disconnected wire (if all your fuses are ok)

the sockets on my previous vehicles have been a bit screwy to say the least, if you get juice at the wires, check the sockets... some of that stuff was built by the lowest bidder....

[jimcor]

Like Leon said, but don't forget to give the socket a shot of contact cleaner on 'General Principal' alone. BTW, have you tested the bulb? Sometimes that filament looks good but isn't. Other times a bulb will last forever but the solder nub on the base will wear because of vibration and become too short to make connection. Might replace the bulb just for yucks. 1157s used to be cheap. Last time I bought 'one' it came in a darn bubble pack of two. :x

[Anonymous]

The front turn signals AREN'T on. What does that mean?

-Erik

[Steve]

How about the headlight? One fuse (the top one) controls all the lights. If the headlight is on, and none of the other lights, check all the connections going to the lights, or check for a broken wire in the harness. Broken wires in the harness can be a BEAR to find. Lotsa luck.

[Anonymous]

Well, the brown wire that goes from the tail light ends up in the headlight. The connector that ends up in the headlight for the brown wire just dangles there, unused. There's no place to connect it to. Wiring diagrams show it's SUPPOSED to just sit there, unused.

I find that if I splice this brown wire into the yellow wire (on when ignition is on, turns on the headlight) that goes to the headlight, the dim always-on tail light comes on, just as it should, and the brighter light comes on when I hit the brake, just as it should.

This seems to work, though I don't think it was quite intended that way. Any chance of me causing a fire this way?

[Anonymous]

Whoops - I'd be splicing the brown wire into the WHITE wire

[EZ OUT]

Mr. T-bird,
I am attentively following your thread because I have the same problem with my 82 850 GLZ. I used to have a Vetter Windjammer and due to a little crash - had to discard its remains. I am going naked for the time being and after I wired in the new turnsignals I notice that my tail light seems to come and go. I have a separate brown wire coming to the front with a female plug end but don't know where it is supposed to connect. Keep the cards and letters coming and good luck sorting out the electrical gremlins.

[Anonymous]

Well, I did just what I said I would and everything seems to work fine. My wife promised to let you guys know if I die a horrible flaming death!

EZ, try doing this: Take your headlight apart and find the loose brown wire. Slit the plastic around the connecter so you have metal out. Turn on your ignition. Touch the metal part of the connecter to metal part of the socket of the headlight plug with the white wire going into it.

If your rear light turns on, you had whatever problem I had.