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Front Brake Light Switch Issue's

  • Thread starter Thread starter 602busa
  • Start date Start date
1) Find the White wire connector near the front brake switch, in the headlight bucket probably.
You have 12v on the White wire from the brake switch when pull the lever?
and about no voltage when dont pull the lever?.
The White wire.
THe White wire FROM the switch, plugged into a white wire of the bike, probably in headlight shell.
(Not the Orange/Green (or Orange) wire TO the switch, that should have power all the time the key is on.)

2) You have 12v on the white wire of the bike near the brake light when pull the lever?

3) The light bar has 3 wires?

4) what color wire on your LED light bar is suppose to be the brake light?
and you have that connected to the white wire of the bike?

5) what color wire of your LED light bar is suppose to be the common/ground/negitive?
and that is connected to the bikes black/white wire or grounded somehow?

6) what color wire of the light bar is suppose to be the tail light?
and you have that connected to the bikes brown wire?

Lets answer the questions 1 thru 6.
Then proceed.


If 1=yes but 2=no,
well then you are loosing it along that white wire somewhere between the front brake area and the rear of the bike.

7) Other note, other thought. ....
You say there is no switch on the rear brake pedal.
Did you take out the wiring to that switch? Didnt pull those wires out of the wiring harness did you?

1. I have constant voltage on the orange/green wire AND the white one from the bike when the ignition is on. (Strange)
2.I have 12v at the white wire near the tailight no matter whether I pull the brake lever or not. It stays hot
3. Light bar has 5 wires
4. Red. I connected it to white (which is always hot and it doesn't activate the brake light. I connect the red wire from the tailight to the positive battery terminal and the brake light works
5. Let me check on that. I think you are on to something as I don't know which negative but i think its the black one
6. White is the running tailight which works.
7. There was no rear brake light switch when I bought her
 
If your voltage on the white wire goes away when you pull the lever, you have the switch installed backwards. :-k

The wires need to exit the housing toward the handlebar.

.
 
If your voltage on the white wire goes away when you pull the lever, you have the switch installed backwards. :-k

The wires need to exit the housing toward the handlebar.

.


ok....but let me make sure I made myself perfectly clear. When I tested that, I have the orange wire from the switch to the orange/green wire to the bike tied together. Again I get 12v there when ignition is on at that connection. I disconnected the white wires from the bike and the brake switch. I put my meter from ground to the white wire from the brake switch. When the lever is pulled the voltage from the white wire goes away. When I let go, voltage is back. Are you saying its wired backwards from the switch? Like I need to flip flop the orange and white cables where they are connected to the brake switch? When I do that I get 12v all the time from all connections but still no brake light. I might be completely wrong about this but I thought the switch was there to close the circuit. Even when I Ohm out the two terminals coming from the brake switch I get a tone when the lever is not pulled, but when I pull it the tone goes away.
 
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1. I have constant voltage on the orange/green wire AND the white one from the bike when the ignition is on. (Strange)
2.I have 12v at the white wire near the tailight no matter whether I pull the brake lever or not. It stays hot
..........
Constant power on the white wire, but the brake light is not on.
Hum, Maybe you have found the one disadvantage of using a voltmeter. It puts about no load on the circuit being tested, so maybe the meter shows voltage that is a little bit of bleed thru thru the led unit but of no capacity to light the light.
Try it again with the orange wire connected but the white wire disconnected from the LED unit, measure the voltage on the white wire from the swtich.

Your continuity testing with the meter beepeing seems to indicate that the swtcich is operating backwards (note:swapping the orange with the white wire will not reverse that), but lets test it better by measuring voltage with the LED unit disconnected from the swtich.



......
3. Light bar has 5 wires
4. Red. I connected it to white (which is always hot and it doesn't activate the brake light. I connect the red wire from the tailight to the positive battery terminal and the brake light works
5. Let me check on that. I think you are on to something as I don't know which negative but i think its the black one
6. White is the running tailight which works.
............r

So is like Rick suspected
Wiring Guide:
Black = Ground
White = Running
Red = Brake
Green = Signal
Yellow = Signal

And then
LED black to bike blk/wht for ground.
LED White to bike brown for tail light
LED Red to bike white for brake light
(and you are not asking about the signals)

So you seem good there.
Tail light works, so the ground must be good.


..
...
7. There was no rear brake light switch when I bought her
I was concerened that if/when the rear brake swtich was disconnected maybe the white wire was ripped out of the bike harnesses in such a manner that it disconected the white wire inroute from the front switch to the brake light.
7A- Can you say if the brake light worked (with the front lever) on the original brake light before you started this?
7B- You say you can put power to the LED red wire and the brake light lights. Buit how about if you jump power to the white wire up by the brake swtich...? If that doesnt light the brake light, well then the white wire by the brake swtich AINT connected to the white wire at the back of the bike NO MO' .
7C- try the continity test of the meter beeping of the white wire up front (disconnect from swtich) to what should be the other end of that wire, the white wire near the back.
 
ok....but let me make sure I made myself perfectly clear. ......... .............
Yes, good.



ok....but let me make sure I made myself perfectly clear. When I tested that, I have the orange wire from the switch to the orange/green wire to the bike tied together. Again I get 12v there when ignition is on at that connection. I disconnected the white wires from the bike and the brake switch. I put my meter from ground to the white wire from the brake switch. When the lever is pulled the voltage from the white wire goes away. When I let go, voltage is back. .............

Oh. THis is specifically what I was suggesting you do in my #1 above.
Good test. That shows that the swtich is a swtich and it is swtiching the voltage off and on. Just that it is doing it backwards (just like your continuity meter beeping test showed).
Swapping the orange and the white will not fix this.

I know the swtich can be adjusted some by loosing the two screws and sliding the body of the swtich back and forward. I dont know that it can be moved so far as to make it backwards.But try it. Just loosen the screws just enough so can slide the body of the swtich back and/or forward.

I dont know, but maybe, (since you have found it is Backwards), maybe the body of the swich can be turned around and put on backwards and then you need to turn it back around again.
When you take out those screws, be prepared for little springs and parts to fall out. Maybe hold a towel underneth. Maybe turn the entire brake lever-resevour on the bar (watch dont slop brake fluid on paint). Taking apart and putting back that swtich is an entire disccusion on itself.

>>Later note: If Steve says the swtich body can be installed backwards and then it will operate backwards, well then, the swtich can be installed backwards and then operate backwards.





................When I do that I get 12v all the time from all connections but still no brake light. ...............

Yes, good to question that.
I can see that this is throwing in a bunch of confusion.
Let me suggest that you have two problems.
A) Why get no brake light ever?
and
B) Why does the brake switch seem backwards?

Each one needs to be worked on seperatly.


... gatta go, will chack back later today.
 
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Get a piece of wire and connect the orange/green stripe and white ends.
Turn your key to ON and your brake light should turn on.
If it does. you need a new switch or to disassemble and fix the switch.

Tried this. I still get no brake light. I'm only getting a brake light when I jump directly from the brake light lead wire to the positive battery terminal



Ok. forget the switch for awhile and forget the multimeter for awhile... Not needed to get white wire to do it's job ...
that white wire also has a another white wire tapped off it that goes to rear brake switch. Then, it goes to the brake light. those are the only places it goes. Be sure the white is disconnected where the rear brake light switch used to be.

connect a jumper from positive battery terminal to white wire...brake light should light.

If it does, you can move on to the switch . If it doesn't you have a bike that doesn't follow the wiring diagram I'm looking at for a 750

otherwise...
The orange/green stripe wire feeds + power through the brake light through the white wires at front and rear brake switches. Orange/green stripe also feeds the turn signal relay, which is why you are interest in that I guess...well, LEDS as turn signals can be trouble ...usually it has to do with the turn signal indicator bulb in the dash. but first things first. Get the white wire to do it's job, then figure out the switch and then if something on orange/green stripe circuit is the problem....
 
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Be sure the white is disconnected where the rear brake light switch used to be.

connect a jumper from positive battery terminal to white wire...brake light should light.

If it does, you can move on to the switch . If it doesn't you have a bike that doesn't follow the wiring diagram I'm looking at for a 750

Ok I tried what you mentioned but I still get no brake light. Just the running tailight.


otherwise...
The orange/green stripe wire feeds + power through the brake light through the white wires at front and rear brake switches. Orange/green stripe also feeds the turn signal relay, which is why you are interest in that I guess...well, LEDS as turn signals can be trouble ...usually it has to do with the turn signal indicator bulb in the dash. but first things first. Get the white wire to do it's job, then figure out the switch and then if something on orange/green stripe circuit is the problem....

So what should the white wire be doing? If I'm understanding correctly, on the orange/green wire should be providing power to the brake switches front or rear, and not the white. So am I looking to find out why the white has constant voltage?
 
Try it again with the orange wire connected but the white wire disconnected from the LED unit, measure the voltage on the white wire from the swtich.

I tried this and got 0v on my meter with the lever pulled or not pulled.

I was concerened that if/when the rear brake swtich was disconnected maybe the white wire was ripped out of the bike harnesses in such a manner that it disconected the white wire inroute from the front switch to the brake light.
7A- Can you say if the brake light worked (with the front lever) on the original brake light before you started this?
7B- You say you can put power to the LED red wire and the brake light lights. Buit how about if you jump power to the white wire up by the brake swtich...? If that doesnt light the brake light, well then the white wire by the brake swtich AINT connected to the white wire at the back of the bike NO MO' .
7C- try the continity test of the meter beeping of the white wire up front (disconnect from swtich) to what should be the other end of that wire, the white wire near the back.

7A. I'm not for certain. I bought the bike with the LED bar and don't have the OEM light to verify

7B. I applied voltage to the white wire up by the switch and get no brake lights.

7C. I get a continuity from the white wire near the tailight to the white wire in the headlight bucket (disconnected from switch)
 
I was concerened that if/when the rear brake swtich was disconnected maybe the white wire was ripped out of the bike harnesses in such a manner that it disconected the white wire inroute from the front switch to the brake light.


I am a complete idiot, I pulled off the right side cover, and lo and behold, I found the rear brake light switch.....troubleshooting further.
 
Ok now that I went ring around the rosey with this I think I found the hidden culprit. I disconnected the white wire from the REAR brake switch ( I can disconnect both of them and the same happens) and now my front brake switch works. This leads me to what i think is a defective rear brake switch thats causing all this. I press the rear brake while testing continuity and nothing changes when I press it. It gives me a tone all the time. But like some have stated, the front switch appears to be working backwards. When i turn on the ignition with no brake applied the tailight comes on, but when I hit the front brake switch with the rear disconnected, the light dims. So I think the whole time I've been looking at the brake light being on but not the running light. Gonna go hit up my local shop and pick up a rear brake switch. Something is still backwards somewhere for my light to do that. Gonna play around with whats the running light and brake light
 
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I am a complete idiot, I pulled off the right side cover, and lo and behold, I found the rear brake light switch.....troubleshooting further.
Don't be too proud to ask what might seem to be a silly question. The switch might not seem to be in an obvious spot, until you see how it's connected to the pedal, then it makes all kinds of sense.

Also, please don't make the mistake that some others have made. We offered suggestions, they shrugged them off with "oh, it can't possibly be that" and continued blundering around. About a week later, they came back with "hey, guess what I found", then we pointed them back to post #6 or 7, where we had asked them to try it. There are quite a few here that know these bikes inside and out, and that's why we are here. :encouragement:

.
 
Ah, so had 3 things going on all at once.

Good that you have figured out the difference between what the brake light looks like and what the running light looks like and what they both look like together. Now we have removed that confusion.

I would say to leave the rear swtich disconnected (either or both wires, but dont let either of them sort out to ground) to remove THAT confusion while working on getting the front switch sorted out.

Now for the front switch:
Do look into turning the swtich body around. Steve described something about how to tell which way it should be (other than how/when it operates).

.
 
Ah, so had 3 things going on all at once.

Good that you have figured out the difference between what the brake light looks like and what the running light looks like and what they both look like together. Now we have removed that confusion.

I would say to leave the rear swtich disconnected (either or both wires, but dont let either of them sort out to ground) to remove THAT confusion while working on getting the front switch sorted out.

Now for the front switch:
Do look into turning the swtich body around. Steve described something about how to tell which way it should be (other than how/when it operates).







I tried this and got 0v on my meter with the lever pulled or not pulled.

)

With the oragnge wire conected, and orange wire showing power, and the white wire disconnected, and the key on..... you got no voltage on the white wire FROM the switch with lever pulled and not pulled....?
If so, That is inconsistnet with what was said before.
If so, the switch is not a swtich.
You can try adjusting the switch.
Lets verify your present situation, now with rear brake swtich disconnected, and now that you recognize tail light verses brake light.
 
All good now. The wires were crossed on the front brake switch. Steve got it. Thanks so much guys.
 
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