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Brake/tail light issue

412 Views 10 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Hans&Feet
My boyfriend and i have been trying
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to hook up this light that someone else previously had installed but it didn't work correctly. We can get the lights to come on but when he squeezes the brake the running light goes completely off, nothing gets brighter. When he applies pressure to the foot brake it does nothing at all. pictures attached
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Either you have a defective light or you connected the light's wires to the bike incorrectly.
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Either you have a defective light or you connected the light's wires to the bike incorrectly.
~bike wires to the fender light wires~

Green yellow- brake/red
Green- ground/black
Brown- running/yellow
Orange- left turn/left turn
Light blue- right turn/right turn

When we brought the bike home only the running light was working, no turn signals or brake
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Ah, that changes things. If the original wiring has an issue then you needed to fix that first. I don't remember where the fuses are for the lights (under the ride side cover, I think) but others should be along to provide specifics. If the fuses are good you need to look at the wires' connections for corrosion and to make sure they are actually connected. If all are connected, you need to check the wires themselves for shorts or breaks. Easier said than done, but start with the easiest first and work towards the most difficult.
Get a Manual…just bailed me out….good luck
Green yellow- brake/red
Green- ground/black
Brown- running/yellow
Orange- left turn/left turn
Light blue- right turn/right turn

When we brought the bike home only the running light was working, no turn signals or brake
I recommend changing out ALL your fuses with the EZ-ID or Smart-Glo kind that light up when they blow. That way, if you can't see on the fuseholder which fuse circuit it controls, when it blows, you've isolated the circuit. Have plenty of spares. You can get a nice little kit for around $30 with various amp ratings. Good luck solving your issue.
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Get a Manual…just bailed me out….good luck
We have a picture of the wiring schematics for his vtx1300, what exactly did you find in the manual that helped?
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Ah, that changes things. If the original wiring has an issue then you needed to fix that first. I don't remember where the fuses are for the lights (under the ride side cover, I think) but others should be along to provide specifics. If the fuses are good you need to look at the wires' connections for corrosion and to make sure they are actually connected. If all are connected, you need to check the wires themselves for shorts or breaks. Easier said than done, but start with the easiest first and work towards the most difficult.
If we need to remove the tank to check all the wires front to back, do we need to do anything to protect the tank or bike from air getting in? (not sure how this is wired since we are not the original owners and things have been altered) hope that question makes sense as I'm not good with explaining lol 😀
My boyfriend and i have been trying View attachment 219196 to hook up this light that someone else previously had installed but it didn't work correctly. We can get the lights to come on but when he squeezes the brake the running light goes completely off, nothing gets brighter. When he applies pressure to the foot brake it does nothing at all. pictures attached
I had a similar issue with tail lights and realized two issues. One, I needed a led flasher relay and two, I had the brake and running wires crossed. You can rake the wires and troubleshoot the fixture by touching them to a battery. That can help you sort out the wires. Some lights can have their wires incorrect also and be misleading. Take rhe black wire and connect to ground. Then touch each wire to red terminal and figure out what it does. Hope it helps.
My boyfriend and i have been trying View attachment 219196 to hook up this light that someone else previously had installed but it didn't work correctly. We can get the lights to come on but when he squeezes the brake the running light goes completely off, nothing gets brighter. When he applies pressure to the foot brake it does nothing at all. pictures attached
Double check the switches that activate the brake light. You'll need to use a multimeter for the front brake switch. The rear switch has an adjustment knob that sets the distance of the switch.
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You can touch a paper clip to the front brake switch wires to activate the brake light.
I just pushed the rubber away some and touched the switch terminals for the light test.
You can also pull both wires off and touch each female terminal together.
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