Brake lights stopped working

[okwing]

Hi. i have a '96 1500 SE and all the brake lights (including spoiler brake lights) stopped working. Tail lights and turn signals all still work. I checked the wiring harness on the L-side under the seat and have power for the running lights but not brake lights. I checked the fuse = good and changed the relay = still no brake lights. It doesn't matter if I use the foot brake or hand brake = still no brake lights. Would one of those two brake switches cause that or... other things to check? I appreciate the help from everyone on this forum.

thanks

[Rambozo]

Does the horn work??

[okwing]

Yes, the horn does work. The only other thing that is going on with this bike is that the clock acts weird sometimes and doesn't keep the right time.

[Rambozo]

Time to bust out the wiring diagram and start tracing. The brake light switch and horn are on the same circuit so you have power. Not likely that you would lose both brake light switches at the same time. But stranger things have happened, and you may not have been aware of losing the first one. Check each switch, then move on to the various connectors. Maybe rodent damage to the wiring?

[Charlie1Horse]

Do you have the seat off? I would check the ground wire in the connector under the seat. They have been known to corrode and get bad connection.If you lose ground the tail lights will seek ground through other source so they will still work without stop lights.
Russell

[okwing]

@Rambozo - good point on the switches and not knowing if one had gone out earlier. I will check them.

@charlie 1horse - I do have the seat off. The ground is tight but there is a connector on that ground with no wire attached. Don't know why or where that wire is. I will look more to see if I can find it.

[bellboy40]

Check the #3 fuse in the fuse box. It is the stop light 15 amp fuse. If that is good, swap the #2 stop light relay with another relay and see if that works.

[Swagonmaster]

If you have a test light or multimeter check for power at the front brake switch, that is the easier one to get to, to see if you have anything to start with.
Fuse 3 is the brake light fuse and fuse 11 goes to the switches that will (should) activate the brake relay. As you can see in the diagram, power to the cruise control splits off after the relay so if your cruise works the relay should be good. If needed connector C10 is under the seat on the left side and is blue and the wire color is green/red.