Something odd. I noticed today that my brake light is not working (2013 TR650). Neither the hand nor foot switch activate the brake light. So, I did a check of the fuse and it appears fine. Plus, the manual says this same fuse handles Horn/License Light/H.L./Brake Light/Accessories. The horn, head light, and license light are working fine. I might expect one switch (hand or foot) to fail but not both at the same time. Ideas?
Rear brake lights appear to be LEDs and I'm not about to break the unit open to confirm. Time to break out the trusty multi-meter and test the circuits starting from the brake light connection including if you have a good earth. (does the tail light work?). Don't rule out that the front and rear brake switches have separate issues. My prime suspect would be the connection (Remove the seat and it is at the back) at the tail of the bike being dirty or corroded. Good hunting John.
There is a little tab kinda underneath where the rear brake lever connects to the bike. Mine was bent and that caused it not to work. Please let me know if you need a picture and i will get one tonight after work. Now i have to check to see if my brake comes on when i press my front lever! lol
My brake light was on all the time, thought it wasn't working. Per Newfoundlander found the tab on foot brake lever bent and not actuating the switch.
[Sorry for late reply, been out for a bit. Appreciate all the thoughts.] The unit is an LED. When the power is on, the tail light lights up along with the headlight. I never saw any increase in intensity (no brake light) when I activated either the hand or foot lever. The bike was not running, only powered on. I'll check it when running when I get it back (it is in the shop for the ECU recall.)
Brake light is LED, not a lamp. It is powered with ignition and does not rely on engine running. Lamp shares fuse etc with the horn etc, if that works then the brake light should also work. Rear brake light switch has a design defect whereby the tab does not contact properly with the micro switch resulting in the light staying on. Front Brake light switch has little or no history of defect. This common brake light switch issue does not apply in your case as the light is not on. There are 3 wires in the connector to the brake light. The brown is the ground -ve shared by both tail light and brake light. If your tail light works then the ground is good. The Green/Blue wire is the +ve feed to the tail light and the Grey/Red/Yellow is the +ve feed to the Brake light. The brake light +ve feed comes from Fuse 2 via either the front brake light switch or the rear Test by 2 different ways. Disconnect the light unit and using a battery for 12v supply connect the -ve to the brown wire. Then apply the +ve to the other 2 wires and see which works. If the brake light in the unit does not illuminate then it is faulty and requires repair/replacement. If the brake light does illuminate then you have a wiring or connector fault. Test the connector/supply by using a test lamp across the Brown and the other 2 wires individually. Tail light supply (Green/Blue) will be live with ignition, the other one requires the brake light switch to be depressed/activated. If the brake light unit LED is faulty it is possible to repair it or refit it with a normal lamp.
I suspect your rear foot brake is bent. Look at the wing that is supposed to be straight conectimg the relay. Once it’s bent the brake light stays in.
