Brake Light Not Illuminating When Braking

[zstgeorge93]

Hello my fellow riders! I just recently purchased my first real bike (loving the fz-07 so far) and I have roughly 250 miles on it so far. Most of the miles were put on riding alone. However, I was riding in front of my girlfriend yesterday and when we got back she told me that my tail light would not illuminate when I began to press on my brakes. I took the passenger seat off and tried to see if the 3 wires (which i'm assuming 1 for the taillight and 2 for the blinkers) were connected properly. They seemed to be seated just fine so I then re-seated the wires just for piece of mind. Still the brake light does not illuminate when pressing on either of the brakes. Any thoughts on how I go about fixing this issue?

[Kwaipuak]

Bulb might be out. Do you have a test light? Check the bulb first.

[adamb]

Does it not work from the front lever and and rear pedal? If so you should be bring it back to the dealer and use the warranty that is built into the price of the bike.

[V8titanpwr]

Order of things to check:
 
Bulb,
Relay.
 
Those are really your only two options if the brake light isn't working with either lever. As someone said, use the warranty, you have 250 miles on the bike and the bulb blew already (most likely), make it their problem.

[Guru]

Is there anything else not working? Maybe check your fuses too.

[hobbs]

Honestly, you shouldn't check anything. With 250 miles, this is the dealerships/Yamaha's responsibility. After you check the simple stuff, connections/fuses - I'd pay them a visit.

[mjh937]

The 'bulb' would be unlikely as it is an array of LED's. Pretty unlikely they would have all failed. A fuse is my first guess. If it is not that then back to the dealership for a warrantee repair.

[Kwaipuak]

The 'bulb' would be unlikely as it is an array of LED's. Pretty unlikely they would have all failed. A fuse is my first guess. If it is not that then back to the dealership for a warrantee repair.

wow, I wasn't even thinking, you are correct.

[rick]

Well, if I'm reading the wiring diagram correctly, the tail light assembly is on the "signaling" fuse. [HASH]2 (2nd from the front in the little box under the seat.
 
If that fuse is OK and neither the front nor the back brake light switches will light the brake light, it's then a faulty LED unit. That's what that 1 year warranty is fer
 

[zstgeorge93]

Well, if I'm reading the wiring diagram correctly, the tail light assembly is on the "signaling" fuse. [HASH]2 (2nd from the front in the little box under the seat. 
If that fuse is OK and neither the front nor the back brake light switches will light the brake light, it's then a faulty LED unit. That's what that 1 year warranty is fer

I appreciate everyone's help! I wasn't expecting anyone to reply in such short amount of time! I'm definitely going to be taking the seat off tomorrow and looking at the fuse. If it seems okay then it sounds like i'll be taking it to the nearest dealership

[Guest cjwwd2]

Does the tail light come on as a running light?

[zstgeorge93]

Does the tail light come on as a running light?

Indeed it does, it comes on just like a normal tail light should but it won't illuminate any brighter to signal that i'm braking. I checked the wires and the fuse and everything appears to be fine. I had to resort to giving my local dealership a call and i have an appointment this thursday to figure this issue out. Thank you everyone for the help!

[mjh937]

Too bad it is not an easy fix. Let us know what the dealer finds. I am curious what the problem is.

[rick]

have an odd suggestion. Maybe the brake lights are on all the time because one of the switches is stuck in the activated position.
 
The front switch is likely a small micro switch, so that should be easy to just have a look at. The rear brake switch might be integral with the master cylinder so maybe harder to diagnose

[Guest cjwwd2]

Does the tail light come on as a running light?

Indeed it does, it comes on just like a normal tail light should but it won't illuminate any brighter to signal that i'm braking. I checked the wires and the fuse and everything appears to be fine. I had to resort to giving my local dealership a call and i have an appointment this thursday to figure this issue out. Thank you everyone for the help!

That is weird. My guess is a bad relay. Let us know what the dealer finds.

[rick]

There are diodes inside that unit that can fail. It really should not draw enough current to even come close to requiring a relay. Even normal tail light bulbs won't need a relay and these will draw far less power.
 
And there's no fixing these LEDS if it's the unit. It's just gotta be replaced.
 
On the plus side, it would appear to only be a $53 part http://www.yamahapartshouse.com/oemparts/a/yam/53a99b09f8700220a4415853/taillight

[V8titanpwr]

^ That was a huge selling point with this bike for me, it's so cheap to replace parts.

[rick]

^ That was a huge selling point with this bike for me, it's so cheap to replace parts.

next to my Aprilia, parts are dang near free! Won't even get into availability issues

[zstgeorge93]

Well my baby goes in to the shop on the 14th! Hopefully it's a quick fix..I'm still itching to ride!

[measton91]

Did you get an answer? I'm having the same exact problem. Please let me know asap! Riding season is ending and u want to ride as often as possible.
 
Thank you!

[i28]

Did you get an answer? I'm having the same exact problem. Please let me know asap! Riding season is ending and u want to ride as often as possible. 
Thank you!

is the normal light on? does the front brake activate the light?
 
 
if so, have you adjusted the sensitivity?
Found a picture, there's a little nut inside of this:
https://imgur.com/BQ4suX5&9nyEUv3&1HEQfSS
I believe you're supposed to turn it clockwise.
 

[Cruizin]

Hello my fellow riders! I just recently purchased my first real bike (loving the fz-07 so far) and I have roughly 250 miles on it so far. Most of the miles were put on riding alone. However, I was riding in front of my girlfriend yesterday and when we got back she told me that my tail light would not illuminate when I began to press on my brakes. I took the passenger seat off and tried to see if the 3 wires (which i'm assuming 1 for the taillight and 2 for the blinkers) were connected properly. They seemed to be seated just fine so I then re-seated the wires just for piece of mind. Still the brake light does not illuminate when pressing on either of the brakes. Any thoughts on how I go about fixing this issue?[/ 
Is your brake lever adjusted properly? Dealers are famous for not doing this.

[measton91]

It turns out under further observation the brake lights were ON the whole time. So, I tried loosening the nut behind the, heel guard?, I think. That's connected to the spring thing, till the brake light turned off. So happy for an easy fix. Felt dumb for not realizing that they were on not off.?

[CarGuy7a]

Did you do any adjusting on the brake pedal after getting it from the dealer? This is concerning if it came from the dealer that way when you picked it up. When I bought mine the guy completely checked the lights and everything right in front of me before it rolled out the door.

[KamelReds]

It turns out under further observation the brake lights were ON the whole time. So, I tried loosening the nut behind the, heel guard?, I think. That's connected to the spring thing, till the brake light turned off. So happy for an easy fix. Felt dumb for not realizing that they were on not off.?

Might want to put a little dielectric lube on the plunger for the switch as well.  When I swapped out my levers for shorty's my rear brake light switch decided to suddenly start sticking -- which had me waste about 20 minutes figuring out that it wasn't my new levers causing it. 
A little lube on the switch plunger and she was as good as new.