brake light

I have a 1977 KZ1000, When I turn the headlight on, the brake light comes on the dash as if the brake is being applied. At this time, i lose the rear brake light and no tail light. If I leave the headlight off, I have brake lights, turn signals. Not sure what to look for. checked brake light, it is good. voltage to rear brake light. I even had a spare assembly for the on off switch. changed that and still had the problem. Just scratching my head. all else works great!

Disconnect the negative battery terminal,remove the headlight, and inspect the wiring in the headlight housing.

There are many conections that might be rubbing together or be damaged some way letting circuits be energized that should not.

Hello, Jeff, and WELCOME to KZR!
We're glad you're here!

Am a little uncertain about and perhaps misinterpreting the reported symptoms, but will throw a guess about the rear light ---

Under the seat above the rear fender, there's usually a bullet connector in wire to tail light and another bullet connector in wire to brake light. If not already done, would assure these bullet connectors are not reversed. Wires should be color-coded (maybe one green and one grey). And assure the connectors are clean and snug fitting.

Would also check operation of the spring loaded rear brake switch that connects when the brake pedal is depressed, and assure it's properly adjusted.

And assure both filaments in rear bulb are good.

While riding along normally with neither brake being applied, the red dash brake light isn't blinking is it? (Blinking is warning that the rear brake light will not shine as it's supposed to when either brake is subsequently applied --- and commonly results from a blown brake light bulb filament).

If desired, there's an on-site down-loadable wiring diagram. Let us know if a link to the diagram would be helpful.

Good Luck!

You have a headlight switch on the control,on that bike?

Not factory.I have the same bike,and I had to install a different control that HAD that option(switch).
A bit of work involved,and some figuring,but I got it hooked up and everything works perfectly.

Maybe a P.O. installed an upgraded control switch,but made a booboo somewhere?
But ya,like MFolks mentioned...take a look in the bucket.

Sandy wrote: "You have a headlight switch on the control,on that bike? Not factory.I have the same bike,and I had to install a different control that HAD that option(switch). A bit of work involved,and some figuring,but I got it hooked up and everything works perfectly."

Actually, I believe the '77 and '78 KZ1000's came with the ON/OFF switch. I say this because their right hand handlebar control is the same part number (46091-1038) as the '77 KZ650C1 which definitely came with the switch.

Maybe someone had changed your handlebar control before you bought the bike. Ed

I believe that's right: '79 was the year the light switch disappeared. My '79 750 has no switch but the housing on the right handlebar that holds the throttle assembly still has the lettering "LIGHTS" and "ON OFF" where the switch should have been.

77 and 78 did not have the switch. I have both bikes and no switch.

The light switch is standard on this bike. It was wired for the on/off switch. When I got the bike, the start button was metled. I got another assemebly on Ebay and installed. the starter switch works and the headlight switch works. I got a short somewhere. I am going to do some ohm readings along the wires and see where it leads me. Thanks for the input!!

Jeff.

My bike has this option. It was wired for this from the factory. My manual has this in the wiring diagram.

This is factory stock. My manual shows the wiring in the schematic. I just have a wired crossed somewhere. It's happy hunting when troubleshooting electrical problems. Thanks for the input.

Jeff.

While troubleshooting, i took the brake light out of the socket while the ignition was on. The brake light started blinking. I checked the brake light. Both light filaments are good. This on/off switch is standard on this bike. My wiring schematic has this circuit.
I will keep plugging away.....thanks for the input!

Jeff.

This was the first place I looked. I had a 1976 KZ900. I had a short in the headlight where a wired had rubbed itself to bare wire. The wire would touch metal and blow a fuse. I figured I had something like this. I took the wires and check all the conections. I will look again. I may have missed something........

Jeff.