Brake light always on - what am I looking at?
 

Not particularly technically minded, but I have all the workshop manuals and am willing to pull things apart :)

Had an issue a while back where my brake light was flickering due to a slightly loose front brake lever, so I am thinking something has happened there now.

sooo, what am I troubleshooting? I will check the bulb (unlikely I am thinking), the wiring would seem okay if it is getting light which leads me to believe there is a switch for the front/back levers that is now constantly "on".

The workshop manual gives examples of what to do if the light *isn't* working, but not if it's working all the time, but they should be related, yeah? They also reference a pocket tester. Is this the same as a multimeter (which I have)?

Cheers guys

You're logic sounds OK and these are simple electrical circuits - one for each of the brakes which activate the same, single brake light.

So, either the back brake or the front brake circuit is continuously live; that indicates that one or the other has a fault in the switch that operates the brake light. Suggest you check them - for instance the back brake light is operated via a simple spring which if too tight will keep the brake light on, even if you are not pressing the brake pedal.

If you say what model of bike it is then others may have more detailed information.

Sticky switch, clean/"lube" it with wd40 or simular, and work it back and forth.

D'oh, of course! I posted late at night. 1991 XT600E.

Saw a nice bike lift on sale so I might grab that and work on her this weekend as she has a few bits need replacing.

Thanks for the tips.

Buy a multimeter, pull the plugs of each switch & test continuity.

You can then isolate which switch is the problem & fix it, or just pull the plugs off one or the other to find out which one is the problematic one.

Id say some crap is stuck in your switch, or water maybe?

Mezo.

IMO think can only be a switch..
as these are always in the dirt, with the rear brake being most suspicious..

Muha! Partly solved. Front brake lever was being slightly pushed on by my bark busters (end of brake lever touching the out edge of the hand guard). Removed hand guards, gave everything a quick clean and a dose of WD40 and brake lights work fine . . .

BUT

taillight doesn't work. This, to me, says "bulb" (had the same thing last week with car taillight/brake light) so I will throw a new one in tomorrow and take it from there.

ETA: Def. the bulb as well. Easy fix. Move the lever/brake fluid reservoir kit a bit further in, re-adjust bark busters, new bulb, done.

Got me a lift now, so next thing will be oil filters, front wheel bearings and brake pads, sprockets and chain :D