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1994 harley heritage brake light problem

Discussion in 'Motorcycle Tech Talk' started by vicluc59, Jul 22, 2008.

  1. vicluc59

    vicluc59 New Member

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    hello everyone,
    i just replaced the front and rear brake pads on a 1994 harley davidson heritage softail and now the brake lights won't go off. what did i do wrong.
    is there a brake light switch adjustment?
    thanks for any help/advise,
    vic
    vicluc59, Jul 22, 2008
    #1
  3. chucktx

    chucktx Moderator Staff Member

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    have you pumped the rear and front brake levers to be sure the brakes are working????
    chucktx, Jul 22, 2008
    #2
  4. cowboy

    cowboy Moderator Staff Member

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    you should have bleed out some fluid , replace it & pump both like chuck said above
    cowboy, Jul 22, 2008
    #3
  5. SPORSTERBOY

    SPORSTERBOY New Member

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    make sure your front brake lever button isn't stuck
    SPORSTERBOY, Jul 23, 2008
    #4
  6. Panthera

    Panthera New Member

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    The first thing to do would be to determine which brake is causing the light to stay on. The rear brake switch is usually a pressure switch somewhere after master cylinder. The front one is a switch on the hand control.

    Disconnect them one at a time, see which is acting up, and split the problem in half.

    I had a similar problem on my 95 sporty. The switch on the hand control is a NCHO(normally closed held open) switch on the switch cluster, and the activator (which hold the switch open or off when the brake lever is not being pulled) is on the grip assembly. These have to be mounted tight together, a 1/8" gap will cause the brake light to stay on.

    Good luck
    Panthera, Jul 25, 2008
    #5
  7. SPORSTERBOY

    SPORSTERBOY New Member

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    spent about a week figuring out that darn button on the hand brake, with the front brake off:roflmao: simple to take off the rear sensor and test it, took that sucker off about 5 times too, plenty of brake bleeding:roflmao:
    SPORSTERBOY, Jul 25, 2008
    #6
  8. hotroadking

    hotroadking Super Moderator Staff Member

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    I would look to the front first it is a common failure

    You can open the clamshell cover on the switches, inside is a rubber booted switch that was mentioned above

    two things happen

    1) Switch dies, simple to replace, buy a new one, cut wires and splice into harness.

    2) little V shaped metal clip that goes behind it is bent, collapsed or gone. without it the switch recedes into the housing and the lever can't get to it to close. So make sure the clip is behind the switch and holding it in positon.

    With the covers open you can move the switch by hand, if the lights don't go out it's likely it's the problem

    You also have one under the trans for the rear brake check the wires, you can pull them off to see if the light goes out as well.
    hotroadking, Jul 25, 2008
    #7
  9. VYBR8ER

    VYBR8ER New Member

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    One other place to look is the switch housing is butted up tight to the master cylinder. If it backs off a little bit the switch will stay ingaged.
    VYBR8ER, Jul 28, 2008
    #8
  10. intotubes

    intotubes New Member

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    That's what happened to me. I replaced the grips and didn't get the grip up tight against the master cylinder housing. That'll keep the brake light on. It's in the service manual too but it isn't obvious. If you changed handle bars or grips, that's the 1st place to look.
    intotubes, Aug 3, 2008
    #9
  11. Blockhead97

    Blockhead97 New Member

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    ugh this brings back not so good memories about my 94 Heritage I had a while ago... I had running light and brake light issues forever, then actually when I was preppin it to put up for sale... I found it! It was a group of wires that ran along the bottom of the frame, and every other time I would lift the bike with my POS Craftsman bike lift it would crush the wires! This would either crush the wires to a point of not working, semi working, or working all the time, and working only when they should be workin...

    Just my two pennies.
    Blockhead97, Aug 9, 2008
    #10

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