Front brake lever wont turn off brake light

[harleyrdkg4]

I have an 04 Road King. The lever doesnt come back far enough to turn off brake light. The front brake is kind of spongey but works fine. I have rebuilt the master cylinder and still have the same problem. I also have bled the brakes several times and there are no leaks. Is there anything else i can do???

 

[kemo]

My brake lights were staying on, I took the m/c apart and stretched the spring. You might have to clean around the caliper piston boots. The pistons might not be retracting all the way in and causing the spongy feel.
kemo

 

[Hoople]

If the brake lever pivot does not have any binds in it, the master cylinder piston is binding in it's bore. Before you installed the finished MC, would the piston retract under spring tension when you pushed it in?

When you bleed the brakes, does the lever return to it's rest position when you let go from a squeeze.

 

[rdking]

you may have damaged the front brake light switch in the switch housing. when you worked on the caliper you are supposed to install a shim between the lever and lever housing or damage will occur to the brake light switch. i am speeking for experiance as i damaged this switch approx two weeks ago. cost of a new switch from harley 60.00 or from drag specialist 30.00.

 

[06rdking]

check and make sure the swith box and the brake pirch are tightly up aginst each other. if their to far apart it wont let the brake lever reach the light switch.I KNOW! And/or check and make sure the c-clip is still on the light switch that hols it in place, if its gone the switch works into the switch box and the lever wont reach it. I KNOW THIS TOO!
GOOD LUCK I played with this problem myself for about 2 months!

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

One other thing, did you see that little copper spring wedge that backs up the switch against the control housing. It is very easy to lose that spring wedge and without it, the switch assembly backs into the housing that extra 1/16" giving you the no more brake light symptom. The manual is not very good at showing you how it goes...the other thing is, that switch can be damaged if you disassembled with out shimming the lever.

 

[gizmo 2013]

Hi. Had same problem with my road glide . Thought I may have broken the switch but noticed that the brake lever would not go all the way out, released on its own. If I pushed it out further the light would stay off. Took it apart again and sprayed a good penetrating fluid at plunger that goes into master, working the lever back and forth and the plunger came out further to push brake lever back fully out. reassembled. problem solved. Must have been slight corrosion on shaft to master. recommend spray with silicone spray before assembly.

 

[PA 58]

might be as simple as just a shot of lube on the switch, maybe got some grime in there

 

[Jack Klarich]

Hi. Had same problem with my road glide . Thought I may have broken the switch but noticed that the brake lever would not go all the way out, released on its own. If I pushed it out further the light would stay off. Took it apart again and sprayed a good penetrating fluid at plunger that goes into master, working the lever back and forth and the plunger came out further to push brake lever back fully out. reassembled. problem solved. Must have been slight corrosion on shaft to master. recommend spray with silicone spray before assembly.

IMO this is a band aid on a broken leg, the dealers will try to stretch the return spring on the cylinder plunger, another band aid, the assembly lube used over time gets grimy and causes this kind of problem, IMO a rebuild of the master cylinder and or replace it is the sure cure, again JMO

 

[mc2]

A tang on my brake lever holds an plunger to the off position. It takes only the slightest movement of the lever to open, or close the circuit in this case because it's one of those reverse designs, to activate the light

In failure to follow installation instructions, I chipped the tip of that plunger. Brake light stayed on till it burned out. I was lucky not to burn up wires!

Good luck.