Brake Failure Light stays on

Swanny · 06-14-2011, 03:23 PM

What are all the reasons this lil' red light would stay on?

Rainman · 06-14-2011, 04:03 PM

1. Not posting good enough time at the drags,

2. Brake pads worn out,
3. Brake fluid too low,
4. ABS gone whacky,
5. Dragging your feet behind the bike ( I seen ya doing this).

I'll bring my GS-911 to RMC on Saturday.

Oh,... 6. Left your ABS switch turned off.

M-Coupe99 · 06-14-2011, 04:13 PM

Does the bike still have the stock signals / plate locator or did you install the Graves tidy tail? Otherwise, I think that Rainman has covered the likely causes. Interested in what the GS-911 indicates (reminder that I need to get one soon).

**viperclaw** · 06-15-2011, 12:55 AM

Make sure both the hand lever and footbrake levers have freeplay. I think it may be the foot lever. Should be a few millimeters or up to a quarter inch of very easy travel. Movement before you are actually causing the brake to engage. There is an adjusting lock nut--10mm I believe--which may have backed off or have you recently replaced rear sets and adjusted this and forgot to tighten it?

If your bike is ABS model then it has internal pressure sensors in the pump itself which act as brake swithces.
If your bike is non ABS then check to make sure the switches are not stuck or out of adjustment. They are similare if not the same as the clutch switch.

Swanny · 06-15-2011, 02:05 PM

From reading about when others are replacing brake pads....it's probably that. I'll pull them soon to get a good look. I just got my 6k service done and they didn't say anything about worn out pads so it wasn't at the top of my list....plus the fluid just got replaced as well. I heard there is a wear-indicator that will trip the light when the pads get too skinny....is that right?

I thought the abs defaulted to "ON" every time you turned the bike off...is that not the case? I can hit the abs/dtc button and the dtc (yellow) will cycle on/off....but the red brake just stays on all the time.

There is a bit more travel on the rear brake than I'd like....it might be time to adjust that as well....maybe I just need to clean the optical sensor thingy's??

The Grave's Tidy Tail uses all the original equipment lighting....and all lights are working.

Thanks for the offer Rainman...I'll take you up on it!

**viperclaw** · 06-16-2011, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swanny

From reading about when others are replacing brake pads....it's probably that. I'll pull them soon to get a good look. I just got my 6k service done and they didn't say anything about worn out pads so it wasn't at the top of my list....plus the fluid just got replaced as well. I heard there is a wear-indicator that will trip the light when the pads get too skinny....is that right?

I thought the abs defaulted to "ON" every time you turned the bike off...is that not the case? I can hit the abs/dtc button and the dtc (yellow) will cycle on/off....but the red brake just stays on all the time.

There is a bit more travel on the rear brake than I'd like....it might be time to adjust that as well....maybe I just need to clean the optical sensor thingy's??

The Grave's Tidy Tail uses all the original equipment lighting....and all lights are working.

Thanks for the offer Rainman...I'll take you up on it!

I thought you were talking about the brake tail light staying on. I would take it to the dealer. Should be under warranty. And yes, it should reset every time you cycle the ignition key. They should both start to flash together and then go out as you pull away--3mph or 5kph.

upshur09 · 06-16-2011, 09:00 PM

Took mine to the dealership today for the same reason! Bad speed sensor!!!

syme71 · 06-18-2011, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swanny

What are all the reasons this lil' red light would stay on?

had same issue. late model 2010. ended up swapping entire ABS unit under warranty.

Swanny · 07-02-2011, 04:09 PM

Problem solved.
Rainman is a friggin' genius.
It doesn't default back to ABS "on" when you cycle the key on/off.....The problem was my dumb ass not turning it back on....guess I just turned into one of "those" guys...oh well, it was the 1st time I'd ever turned it off and cycling through the mode button got me confused....not that it's hard to confuse me.

And if anyone is thinkin' about getting one of those code readers....do it. Those things are kick-ass.

Rainman · 07-03-2011, 12:22 AM

Thanks for dinner last night. Awesome "k-bobs".

Rode the Mountain Loop today. Waited for some PNWR dudes at HighBridge for over 30 minutes. No shows. Turns up some noob went down out of Marymoore Park. I give up on those guys. Always down,... never make it home.