Tail light on but hand and foot brake does not turn on brake light

Hope someone here can help me with this issue. I will try to make this as short as possible.

All the tail lights come on when I turn on my motorcycle, signal lights work fine as well. However, when I pull the hand brake or use the foot brake, the tail light does not brighten, it stays low, as if neither brake was engaged. At first, I thought the brake filament in the bulb was burned out, I changed the bulb, no result. I checked the fuses, they all are good (not to mention the tail light is on, it just will not become bright when the brakes are used).

This is not the "brake light is always on issue". It is a "brake light does not illuminate brighter when the brakes are engaged."

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

I have replaced a number of brake light switches over the years (never on an FZ) so they do fail. It is possible that they both have failed. A continuity tester is your friend here.

Gary in NJ said:

I have replaced a number of brake light switches over the years (never on an FZ) so they do fail. It is possible that they both have failed. A continuity tester is your friend here.

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Thanks for the info. I think I got a lot of diagnosing ahead of me.

Not a lot. Disconnect the connector at the brake switch. Attach your tester to the two prongs, apply the brake and listen for the magic continuity beep. No beep…then you have found the problem. If it beeps, you’ll have to start digging further.

Thanks. I found the issue. Color me stupid. Fuses were the first thing I checked back in September when I realized I had the problem. I checked the fuse id'ed as TAIL and one labeled as BACKUP. Both were fine. So I moved on to checking wires, switches, etc. No joy there. After researching the forum, I found a few different approaches. One was to check/test the horn. It was not working. I went back to the fuses and this time checked EVERY LAST ONE of them. Found the one marked SIGNAL was blown. Mind you I did not check this originally cause the signal lights were working with no issues, so I didn't bother looking at the fuse marked SIGNAL.

Well, once that fuse was replaced, both hand and foot brake made the brake light come to life. Man, oh man, talk about a happy camper. Now I have to take it and get it inspected (Virginia safety inspection). It was due last year (Aug/Sep), now, once that's done, I'm back on the road.

Thanks for the responses and help, it's really appreciated.

A complete newbie here. I have the same problem with my 2007 FZ06. Break light and horns not working. Checked the fuse and found that the fuse named "SIGNAL" was blown. Ok fine. Replaced it and started the bike, the taillight blinked for a fraction of second and blew the same fuse. Repeated it two more times and now I have the same problem and 3 blown fuses. Obviously, the blown fuse is a symptom for another issue. The only thing I can think of is a wash I gave to the bike.

Can someone be kind enough to give pointers on what I should be checking and in what order?

Thanks in advance!!!

Make sure you have a new OEM lamp You can use any outmotive 1157 lamp in an emergency but the OEM lamp has a physical bridge to make it stronger because of vibration.
The lamp could be internally short so you might start there. Replace the lamp and then replace the fuse.
Let us know how you're doing with this.

Motogiro said:

Make sure you have a new OEM lamp You can use any outmotive 1157 lamp in an emergency but the OEM lamp has a physical bridge to make it stronger because of vibration.
The lamp could be internally short so you might start there. Replace the lamp and then replace the fuse.
Let us know how you're doing with this.

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Thanks for the quick reply. Did you mean to replace the complete taillight?

kingxirol said:

Thanks for the quick reply. Did you mean to replace the complete taillight?

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There is a bulb in the tail light. It has 2 filaments in it one filament for the running light and one filament for the brake light.

Just the bulb. And pay attention as it only goes in one way as the 2 retaining pins are OFF SET.

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First of all, a huge thanks to everyone chiming in to help me while I am trying to fix it. So, changed the bulb and turned the key to ON. Same issue, as soon as I pressed the brake pedal, a tiny click sound came from the same "SIGNAL" fuse, and it blew again. What should I be checking next?

Gary in NJ said:

Not a lot. Disconnect the connector at the brake switch. Attach your tester to the two prongs, apply the brake and listen for the magic continuity beep. No beep…then you have found the problem. If it beeps, you’ll have to start digging further.

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I also wanted to try this ^^^ but since the moment I hit the brake pedal, the SIGNAL fuse blows, I have no way to test it out. The taillight itself comes on properly so I am thinking the brake switch hasn't gone bad. Shall I still think about replacing the brake switch?

kingxirol said:

I also wanted to try this ^^^ but since the moment I hit the brake pedal, the SIGNAL fuse blows, I have no way to test it out. The taillight itself comes on properly so I am thinking the brake switch hasn't gone bad. Shall I still think about replacing the brake switch?

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The fact that the brake light switch blows the fuse means it is closing the circuit. Either there is a wire short to ground or the dual filament lamp is faulty. The wire for the brake circuit is a yellow color for the rear of the bike and Green with a yellow tracer from the handle bar lever switch. Pop open the seat as well as lift the tank to see if the harness is chafed. There are 2 separate switches for the brake light.