No brake light - K75

[offroadcruiser]

HELP !!

Current Situation:

My 1986 K75C is now parked as the brake light is not functioning. (The bulb is not burnt out.)

History:

I purchased some run-n-lites and a brake light enhancement kit in Vermont at the rally this year and have been enjoying them for the last month. First thing I noticed was one of my turn signals (which had been converted to the running light) was not working, further investigation revealed that it was a poor crimp on the connection which I fixed and all was right with the world yet again. Then while parking the bike in my garage one evening I noticed the speed at which the brake lights came on was slower than I remembered. I sat in the dark for a while and also noticed at that point my rear brake pedal was no longer activating the brake light at all. All this stuff was working well for a while. I assumed another connection problem so I tore it all apart this evening again. Before I did however I noticed that the brake light did not work at all with either the front lever or rear pedal.

Hmm.. Yes there were a couple of loose connections but I fixed those (different ones this time, it was not a faulty repair from the first time). Still nothing. Then I decided to start from scratch. I removed the new parts that I added in Vermont and returned the lighting system on the back of the bike to be completely stock. THE PROBLEM REMAINS.

Weirdness:

With my eager assistant (13 year old son) lending me a hand I noticed a very strange behaviour. If I shut off the bike for a minute or two and then turn on the power I can get a short blink of the brake light (using the front lever), but only one. If I turn the power off on the bike and wait another minute I can get it to repeat that behaviour.

Solution Ideas:

I did change the front brake switch on the bike about 4 years ago so it is not an original component. I would think it was the problem but the fact that the rear pedal will not light the lights either sort of puts doubt on that idea. I don't know what the brake light indicator on the dash is doing as it has been dead for over a year. I am at a loss. Any help you can provide would be most appreciated. I have been reduced to driving the cage to work and that sucks beacause

Thanks in advance.

 

[st3ryder]

Don't know what's going on, but for starters you may want to exchange the frt brake switch for a BMW replacement switch and see if that helps. The switch's pin gets bent by the lever over time if the lever hasn't been *slightly* filed down where it initiates the pin on earlier models, and if bent will not work even when the rear pedal switch works. The dash/pod can be removed and disassembled easily enough and the brake bulb exchanged so no reason to leave it like that. Good luck

 

[burnszilla]

Do a continuity test on both the switches. Then you will know for sure if the switches are at fault. The front brake switch connection is under the tank and the rear brake switch is on the right side (follow it up).

Note: The front switch was redesigned from the original. They changed the plastic post on it to metal.

 

[offroadcruiser]

Thanks for the tips. Rear switch was dirty and now works after a good cleaning. Front switch is dead, off to the dealer now for a new one.