I have a 09 Dyna FXD Super Glide (650 miles) I just realized that my rear brake light stays on all the time (not the tail light but the brighter brake light) I guess its been like that since I got it, I'm ashamed to say. Is there a Brake Switch adjustment on it some where ? Its under warranty but its a long drive to take it to dealer, if its something simple.

 

There is a switch in the front brake lever and a switch on the right side of the frame. Did you do any work on the handlebars or levers? That is usually the culprit, the front brake switch.

 

Yes your right and I had forgotten about replacing the grips so I must have buggered it up. I just recieved my service manual today and found all that out. I messed with that little switch in the switch housing half a day and couldn't get it fixed.

Hope its not a too expensive lesson.

 

Probably pinched a wire..there a a lot of little wires to pinch in there!

 

If you put new grips on and were into the housing that holds the brake light switch (it is a triangular shape with rounded edges with a button on one end with a little nipple on top of the button that fits through the hole in the housing and contacts the brake lever with the nipple). There is also a little metal wedge and a metal arm that is part of the bracket that holds the turn signal button in place ... the wedge and turn signal bracket / arm hold the brake light switch in place. If the nipple is broken off the brake light switch then this causes the light to stay on because the brake lever end does not make contact and slightly depress the nipple into the switch (if you press the area where the nipple was the brake light should turn off). The alignment is very particular so if you are missing the small height associated with the nipple this is enough to make the system not work properly.

I broke the nipple off of the brake light switch when I installed new grips and chrome housings. I had a small self-tapping screw that I inserted and screwed into the hole in the switch where the nipple was to take the place of the nipple. The hole left by the nipple also looked to be threaded so the combination of the self-tapping screw and the threads allowed the screw to stay in place. My brake light now is off when the brake lever is not depressed and lights when the lever is squeezed. It appears to be fixed. Hopefully this fix will be long lasting and hopefully this post will help others repair their switches with similar damage (inexpensively).

 

Yep....the front brake switch is "held in" by a little ear on the lever. Sometimes, as they age this little ear will wear a bit and let the switch button release far enough to keep the light on. Even if things are all lined-up. When you ride behind one going down the road and his brake light is flickering....it's usually a worn lever. The HD folks like to just sell you another lever. All you have to do is put a screw in the little ear on the end of the lever and file it down until you get the light to operate properly. It use to be a real common problem in the mid-to-late 90's models. That little ear almost looks like a casting on the end of the lever they forgot to machine off, but it's there for a purpose.

Another case of a $20,000-plus bike with a designed component that looks like an accident. You can make sure which switch is causing the problem by just un-plugging one of the leads off your rear brake-light switch. That will kill the rear switch and cut your trouble shooting in half.

 

One other possibility is I have seen the front master cylinder become a little sticky not letting the lever fully return, If this is the case take it back to the dealer. Good luck

 

after checking all switches front and back and finding them good, problem still persists. Solution. rear socket tension spring was shorting out terminals, insulated wire leads in spring and problem solved. I guess a new bulb socket would fix the problem as well.

 

Same thing happened to me. Thanks everyone on the input for the fix. I had changed bars and didn't get my brake lever lined up properly with the switch.

 

12 FLD
same problem
new lever was better but still sux
three layers of hard acrylic tape
1.5 mm total
problem has subsided
on the road i stuffed a shim in to make temp fix
this will engage your brakes when it gets too thick
my switch is bad 35 for new switch or fifty deductible to do warranty
clutch switch fd up too
seen the new zero?