brake light not workin...

[FalloutMan]

So on my way home I noticed my brake light didn't work at all, even with both brakes applied (so no . I did lay the bike down on the right side a week and a half ago, ended up bending the rear brake lever inward a bit, Monday was my first time out since then. TBH I dont remember if it worked then but it did work before my crash. Unfortunately I dont have a whole lotta tools (whats under the seat plus a little bit) and I can only find the supplementary service manual which is useless. Since its dark out (work nights) I haven't had the chance to look at it too much but I plan on trying to troubleshoot as much as I have the ability to. Right now Im just trying to find a place to start so I'm hopin one of you guys has had the same issue and a fix for it! :thumbup:

 

[dturpen]

I had my brake light go out, and it just turned out to be the bulb. It was very easy to replace, and doesn't even require tools. Just take the seat off, and unscrew the bulb housing from the brake light cover. In my case, just one of the filaments in the bulb burned out. The sylvania 2 pack of 1157 bulbs from walmart was like 3 dollars. Cheapest/easiest place to start is the bulb.

 

[reiobard]

Does the light light up as a running light and just not get brighter when the brakes are applied? If so it could also be that the switch for the rear brake is jammed in the on position and you are always displaying braking... take a look at the brake switch at the rear brake and try tp pull up on the lever to see if that disengages it. if so then that switch is very easily adjusted.

an easy way to see what is going on is to take the bulb out (while leaving it plugged into the socket) and seeing if one, two, or none of the filaments are lit up.

 

[Adirondack Jack]

I'd start with the bulb and try to rule it good or bad. Remove the bulb from its twist socket. Hold it up to the light and give it a flick with your finger tip. If you see either filament vibrating when you flick it, the bulb is bad. If both filaments look solid the bulb is good. Good luck!

 

[wrightme43]

In my experince looks dont matter on how the inside of a bulb is. It can fail where you cant see it.
Change the bulb. If you still have a problem tell us. Otherwise in the future just change the bulb

 

[04fizzer]

First check is the bulb itself by replacing it (only a couple bucks). If that doesn't work, check the fuse (signal fuse, I believe) by replacing it (only a couple of bucks).

 

[Motogiro]

Keep in mind, the OEM bulb is not a standard 1157 bulb. The actually physical build of the tail lamp filament is different and probably because of the vibration it deals with. Some one also told me they compared the OEM and a standard 1157 and the OEM was brighter. The main issue is reliability so put a good lamp behind you. I changed to a LED type that is designed to work with our reflector. There are a lot of LED replacements that are very poor so search out one that will fit through the hole and has LEDs that additionally shine toward the reflector. If you can CYA and use the OEM over the 1157.:thumbup:

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

My FJR rear bulbs have a center support post (I gather for vibration) and is definitly brighter than a stock 1157. I had one next to the other with the brake lights activated). Its not terribly expensive either.

I am assuming the bulb is the same, haven't had to get to the bulb yet on the FZ6.....

Scott

 

[FalloutMan]

good news, i shot the bulb with a multimeter and both filaments gave me O.L. I ordered a led bulb and tomorrow ill go buy a 1157 bulb to use until it gets here.

 

[sjryser]

Mine's out too...is there a good place to buy this kind of stuff online?