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Author Topic: LED auxiliary brake light  (Read 884 times)

Melena

  • Guest
LED auxiliary brake light
« on: July 11, 2007, 11:30:38 PM »
I put on one of those auxiliary LED brake lights that fits on the bottom of the license plate.  I used those tap-in squeeze connectors to attach the wires of the new light to the original brake light and ground wires.  It works, almost.  (And it works best when you attach the ground wire to the ground wire and the hot wire to the hot wire - don't ask   ::) )

The rear brake pedal lights up the brake light plus the new LED brake light,  but when I pull in the front brake alone it lights up only the original brake light but doesn't light up the new LED brake light.  (I have a tendancy to not use the foot brake pedal for the rear brake.)

Any ideas on why this is and what I should do to correct it?  

airhead

  • Guest
Re: LED auxiliary brake light
« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2007, 09:21:24 AM »
Hi Mel, sorry, I'm studying the wiring diagram and am a little stumped (except for knowing that vehicle electrics can do strange things). If your positive goes to the green wire with red tracer, and your negative to the solid brown wire, then it should work. Try cleaning all connections to the front brake switch and in the meantime I'll sleep on it (finished night shift this morning and still haven't slept yet, so I'm foggy!!)

BTW, how do you get on not using the rear brake?? It sets you up into a turn better than with just the front as it lets the front suspension have full travel and do what it does best, steer. It also helps with full stopping, it does this in two ways, squatting the rear to lower the seat height, and stopping the dreaded nose dive that can make you rabbit hop stop. I tend to wash off the major part of my speed with the front, than use the rear for the rest, as I said above. Try it.

Bill.......................;-)

Melena

  • Guest
Re: LED auxiliary brake light
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2007, 10:33:45 PM »
Bill,
Well, the wires are attached correctly.  It's got me flumoxed why it won't work.   :-?  There's a question about how the front brake is grounded maybe.  I'll go through the wiring and clean it up and see if that helps.

As far as not using the rear brake?  Hmmmm.  I guess I just haven't understood how all that works, even though I've heard it before.  But you just gave me the the very best explanation and now I think I understand.  Sometimes it takes awhile to get through this thick skull of mine.  I'll go try it out the next time I'm I go out riding.   ;)

Chris_in_BC

  • Guest
Re: LED auxiliary brake light
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2007, 04:11:49 AM »
Hi Melena, No real idea either. Looking at the wiring diagram, the wire for the front brake switch comes back and joins a connector near the rear brake switch and then one wire  (green/ with red) goes to the brake light. If your rear puts on both lights , then so should the front.
With the red lens off, it is only lighting up the main brake light with both levers? The tail light is not getting involved eh? And you are making this connection inside the light module or further back in the circuit?

Chris

Melena

  • Guest
Re: LED auxiliary brake light
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2007, 10:51:35 PM »
Bill & Chris,
Yes.  You've got it right.  I've got the wires attached correctly.  I have no idea why the new brake light doesn't come on with both brake levers.  For now I'll just start using my rear brake all the time.  I should get in the habit anyway.  When I take stuff off the bike to do other things I'll check out the connections.

The other solution is to learn how to solder so I can solder the connection together instead.  I know it's not that hard to do as I did learn that skill many many years ago but never did keep at it.   I know that there are some nuances of the solder bead.  Just have to find someone who can show me.