Brake and Tail Lights

[jbrew1]

Hello All,
I have a 1998 Valk, When Ignition key is on the tail light is on, when I hit the brake either front or rear the brake light comes on, the two rear blinker lights come on and the license plate light gets brighter.

Is this normal?  I'm asking this because I just got this bad boy and took it to the shop to get  new tires, I would of sworn it didn't work like this but didn't really pay much attention to it.

The rear blinker lights stay off until I either hit the blinkers or the brake light, the tail light is the only light that should stay on all the time is this correct, I know the front blinker lights stay on all the time.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thank You

Jack

[wiggydotcom]

Hello All,
I have a 1998 Valk, When Ignition key is on the tail light is on, when I hit the brake either front or rear the brake light comes on, the two rear blinker lights come on and the license plate light gets brighter.

Is this normal?  I'm asking this because I just got this bad boy and took it to the shop to get  new tires, I would of sworn it didn't work like this but didn't really pay much attention to it.

The rear blinker lights stay off until I either hit the blinkers or the brake light, the tail light is the only light that should stay on all the time is this correct, I know the front blinker lights stay on all the time.


Any info would be appreciated.

Thank You

Jack

You just had a new rear tire put on by a dealer? It sounds like the ground wire came partially out of the plug that gets tucked in to the recess in your fender. If you have a floating ground, it has those or similar symptoms. What happens when you hit either turn signal? Do both come on and act like emergency flashers to some extent? If so, you or the dealership need to look at that plug and push the ground pin back in if it's sticking out some.

[jbrew1]

Hi there,
when I hit the left turn signal the front left blinks, the rear left blinks, brake light blinks and the license plate light blinks, it's the same if I hit the right blinker

when I hit the brake light everything in the rear lights up, when I am just driving it the rear tail light is on and the license plate is on

[lordofchaos]

You say you just got it. is it possible that the previous owner made some mods to the lighting set up? If you assume that it's working the way it's supposed to, then effectively, what you have is, standard brake light on during normal running, brake light and turn signals (both) lit when braking which would increase visibility, and turn signals that act normally when selected. The license plate light is a little bit of a wildcard, but I could see someone wiring that into the whole setup to increase visibility when braking.

That all being said, that's not the way the Valk came stock, but it doesn't sound to me like it's a fault, just a different lighting setup from the previous owner.

[jbrew1]

Ok so basically having it this way isn't hurting anything, I will leave it as is, Like I said it all seems to work ok I just haven't seen this set up before.

[Ricky-D]

It may not be hurting anything riding it like that, but it sure does seem like there is a problem.

So, if in the future more abnormal lighting occurs, or fails, the real problem can be exaggerated

to a point where fixing it could be overwhelming.

I'd suggest to get it back to spec, avoiding any complications later on.

***

[Gryphon Rider]

Ok so basically having it this way isn't hurting anything, I will leave it as is, Like I said it all seems to work ok I just haven't seen this set up before.

You want to leave it as is with the brake light blinking when you have a turn signal on?  And yellow turn signal lights go on with your brake light?  Decisions about how to react in traffic are made in a fraction of a second; why confuse the drivers that are following you?  Get it fixed.

[Willow]

Symptoms indicate a compromised ground.  It is likely to get worse.  Go ahead and fix it.

[R J]

1st  place I'd look is the coupler under the rear fender at the seperation.

Where the lower rear fender can be disconnected.

It sounds like a GROUND is looking for a place to land and execute as it should.

Or in layman's words, bad GROUND.

[blackvalkyrie]

I'm pretty sure the previous owner did a modification so that your bike is much more visable..don't worry too much about it...

Hi there,
when I hit the left turn signal the front left blinks, the rear left blinks, brake light blinks and the license plate light blinks, it's the same if I hit the right blinker

when I hit the brake light everything in the rear lights up, when I am just driving it the rear tail light is on and the license plate is on

[blackvalkyrie]

dude the previous owner just made it so  that you entire back  end lights up when you use your turns....when you apply the brake.. your brake light is steady right? when you turn  on your turns everything including the  brake light flashes..i bet you got led lights on your bike... I modified my bike exactly like yours sounds......

Hi there,
when I hit the left turn signal the front left blinks, the rear left blinks, brake light blinks and the license plate light blinks, it's the same if I hit the right blinker

when I hit the brake light everything in the rear lights up, when I am just driving it the rear tail light is on and the license plate is on

[Willow]

Please ignore the previous two posts.  They would make sense if you only reported the turn signals being illuminated or even flashing when you apply the brake.  There are mods to do that.

However, when you report the involvement of the tag light and inconsistencies when using the turn signals very strongly suggested is a grounding issue that should be addressed. 

[Chrisj CMA]

Sounds like yet another case of learning how to wrench on your bike due to "professional" care by a Honda dealer.   

[Gryphon Rider]

We can keep talking, but the caller has already hung up. ???

[Chrisj CMA]

We can keep talking, but the caller has already hung up. ???

Well, he should be easy t spot at any Valkyrie gathering anyway........He's going to just leave it that way because it wont hurt anything..........maybe he could get speakers and play the icecream truck music along with them flashing lights