Help - Brake Light

[Crackerjacker]

Hi all

My bike has been sat for 5 weeks as not been riding it due to the heavy snow and ice. I cleaned it yesterday and checked everything was working correctly but the brake light does not come on when either brake is applied.

I have checked the bulb and the filament is still intact and doesn;t appear to have anything wrong with it. I have also sprayed WD-40 onto the brake switches to see if they had seized up during the cold weather but this hasn;t changed anything either.

The rear light is on, it is just the brake light. Before I booked it into the garage I wondered if anyone hear has any ideas of what this could be.

It is a baby vara.

Can any one help?

Thanks

[jarl]

Are you sure the brake light isn't on all the time?

Does the front brake lever 'click' when you pull it in? That's a promising start and probably means you need to adjust the rear brake light sensor.

[Crackerjacker]

I have been to get a new bulb to check and after comparing the new one to the existing one it appears that one of the arms holding the filament is bent upwards instead of down which is causing a loose connection on the filament.

The new bulb works fine. Goes to show to check the arms of the bulbs instead of just seeing if the filament is broke.

[largewayround]

Glad you sorted the issue..

I was going to suggest using a multimeter to check the voltage leading to the bulb holder .. then brake switches

Always the simple things first ..

[StumpyFingers]

I would have suggested trying a new bulb first.

[davsato]

carrying a spare of every bulb and fuse your vehicle uses is a legal requirement in most european countries, im surprised it not here, we are usually the lemmings who follow every hare brained euro law that every other country ignores. although thats not such a dum one i guess?
there are variations in some countries between cars and bikes, and some variations of first aid kit, puncture rep kit, warning triangle, hi-viz vest, kitchen sink etc

[StumpyFingers]

I always carry spare fuses, I just forget where on the bike they are stored when I need one, same goes for bulbs, but as the taillight is LED I only need indicator bulbs, the head light is HID and if it goes I would visit a petrol station and purchase a bulb to get me home.

[davsato]

there should be spare fuses already in the fusebox, once youve used them the trick is to remember to replace them!
we conform to the laws when we go abroad because all the cops seem to have machineguns, but weve never been asked about anything like that.
sods law, the 1st time i dont have it i'll get stopped.

the 1000 vara has twin bulbs in the back so if one goes there is always a backup.

[jasonbc]

there should be spare fuses already in the fusebox, once youve used them the trick is to remember to replace them!
we conform to the laws when we go abroad because all the cops seem to have machineguns, but weve never been asked about anything like that.
sods law, the 1st time i dont have it i'll get stopped.

the 1000 vara has twin bulbs in the back so if one goes there is always a backup.

The problem with fuses and carrying loads of spares is that if they keep blowing then there is obviously a fault which needs looking at, and to just keep replacing a blown fuse can damage other things more seriously

[davsato]

yeah i agree, ive never had a fuse go on any bike without there being an obvious prob so the spares are a bit redundant. spare indicator bulbs would be an idea, had a few of them go, especially on aftermarket indicators