1981 Kawasaki KZ 550 LTD Brake light malfunction

Yes I’m having an issue with my Brake light when the bike is on and running the headlight is on but the brake light will be off but when I hit the break pedal the light will illuminate why is that also I tried locating the on and off switch for the lights and there is no switch available on this model please help

Jdavis379 wrote: ... when the bike is on and running the headlight is on but the brake light will be off but when I hit the break pedal the light will illuminate why is that ...

That is how it is supposed to work.

So there is no way to have a running light On when I am riding at night because that is the issue I’m having

Yes there is, but that will take some splicing into the wire harness. Plus, a proper rider seldom needs a brake light......

Proper riding is not my concern Although the legal consequences of a non or improper illuminated tail light after dusk is what concerns me

urankjj wrote: Yes there is, but that will take some splicing into the wire harness. Plus, a proper rider seldom needs a brake light......

Proper riding is not my concern Although the legal consequences of a non or improper illuminated tail light after dusk is what concerns me

The tail light has two filaments. One, the running light, should be lighted when the headlight is on. The other is the brake light and it should light when the rear brake pedal is depressed. If the brake light is working but the running light is not I would make certain that both filaments in the bulb are ok. If they are I would check the wiring. Ed

A functioning brake light & tail light might help prevent you from getting rear ended at a stop sign or stop light or other situations.

In addition to what 650ed said, your bike should have a brake light outage indicator switch. This device will flash the Stop Lamp indicator to warn you if there's a problem with the brake light circuit, which could be as simple as a burned out bulb filament. A simple test for the switch is to remove the bulb & start the motorcycle or turn the ignition switch to ON >> the Stop Lamp should start flashing. see owner's manual or service manual.
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