Bluddie 'ell, rear light issues on my bike

[Joseph]

Hey

I'm usually good at this, but, here i'm not getting any understanding of whats going on.

I'm doing a service and check over of my EFE Katana.

I notice that the tail light is not acting properly, any of the functions.

Ignition key switch on : 

Side light position on :

Ride light on :

(The plate light bulb dims a bit)

 

The brake light does not come on.

What i have tested/checked :

- bulbs are both good

- both brake switches do the connection when tested

- i have postive 12V at the orange green light of the brake light system with ignition switched on

- i have tested that there is 12V at the white/black wire that feeds the brake bulb. AT ALL TIMES ???? But the brake doesn't come on ????

- I have tested connections between the tail light plug, and the ligh bulb poles in the Taillight body. All is good by the looks of it.

 

There was an electric box thingy on the EFE that i didn't use. Is it related to the dash functions/lights etc ?

I supposedly rebuilt this loom as a Katana loom so it got slimmed down a bit.

Any ideas as to what else i should check ? 

Thanks

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Joseph

[TonyGee]

you didn't say if you have checked the ground wire to the brake light ?  

[Dezza]

Did the lights function Ok before and have they all of a sudden started to play up? If not, removing the EFE electrical warning box gizmo thingy can cause a whole load of strange rear light behaviour. I have some written instructions on the removal of said gizmo if required but that tells of how to remove the box from a bike with an EFE loom so yours may be a bit different. From memory there are 2 brown wires and if the wrong one is connected the lights play up. Also, it is easy to accidentally wire in the rear light to the headlight circuit. On a bike with an off-park-on light switch, the rear light works on the park circuit not the headlight circuit. Ask me how I know this (all day pulling hair out until the penny dropped..)

[Joseph]

Argh buggery bugger.

I am hoping for a Glitch post rebuild.

But saying the EFE box removal needs attention and i have hardly ridden this thing its been ages so memory could be failing me

However I do believe the rear worked fine, i mean it's a ground up resto and i like electricals normally, i would have been looking for that satisfaction upon testing all the system before wrapping it all up

I will investigate good earth as Tony said now and see

Edited November 16, 2021 by Joseph

[Joseph]

Right.

It seemed that lighting results were inconsistent, so i traced it down to the wiring of the bulber holder was a bit iffy, including the earth wire, as per Tonys advice. 

So i remade and replaced those wires with the nipples that the bulb socket touch in the holder.

But having repaired the earth wire, now the +12 i'm getting permanently off the brake wire feed, is now putting the brake light on as soon as you flick the Ignition key on

Investigation continues

[TonyGee]

disconnect the brake light switches one at a time and see if the light goes out, if it does on one switch then it could be faulty, or in the rear one just needs adjusting. 

[Joseph]

I traced it back to the rear switch, but it wasn't the adjustement, i unraveled the wrapping to discover the feed wires in the loom had been pinched at some point by me (i have been removing fitting the airbox a few times lately) and were making permanent contact

I have improved somewhat in motorcycle wiring since i rebuilt this one 3 years ago