brake light switch

[coolingfin]

On my 96 FLHT, I now must push the front brake lever forward to get the brake light to go off.  Some say it's the spring in the master cylinder and I need to install a rebuild kit.  Other say its the switch itself, but it doesn't look damaged and works fine if I move the lever forward.  I'm thinking I'll start with master cylinder rebuild kit.  Does that make sense?

[RK101]

Try either bending or using a spacer of some sort at the end of the lever where it hits the button. A friend of mine bought a chrome set and he had to do this because as he went down the road the light would blink on and off. If I remember he just bent the end a little.  Hope this helps.

[Ed Y]

Make sure the the 2 pieces on the handlbar, lever perch and switch housing, are fitted tightly together. Then, as mentioned above, you can slightly bend the metal lever that hits the brake light button. I'd try this before spending $$ on the rebuild kit. Most times it's because the perch and switch housing arent' installed properly.

[Gas Can]

My Heritage did the same thing, rebuilt master cylinder took care of problem. While going down the road my light would go off and on cause lever was to loose against switch.

[calgary56]

My Wide Glide did the same thing, Front Brake lever was replaced under warranty. Issue solved.

[coolingfin]

The lever perch and housing are as close together as they can be... so no luck there.  I removed the lever and saw that the part that contacts the switch is a prong cast as part of the lever... I'm hesitant to try and bend that cast aluminum prong.  It only needs to push the switch another millimeter or so to function consistently.  I put a dab of marine sealant / adhesive on the part of the prong that contacts the switch.  After it cures overnight, I'll put it back in and see if that does it.

[s-glide76]

 I had the same problem. I took the lever off, scuffed up the contact area and put a thin layer of JB weld on it to fix the problem.    Later, Mike

[Justpassingas]

careful if you bend that little prong on the lever....ask me how I know....I had to get the welder at work to build it back up and I had to bench the weld to make it work again....or buy a new lever

[calif phil]

I have used JB weld with good results on worn levers.  I think if you try to bend it you will break it.

[coolingfin]

 Well the dab of Marine sealant proved the concept... it worked.. similar I guess to the JB Weld solution mentioned here... but as you might expect, it didn't look like it was going to last as long.

Anyway, I decided to drill and tap the prong and put a small button head screw there to create an adjustable contact point.  In my case it works with the button head screw screwed all the way in... now that i know the correct depth, I'll use a little Loctite to keep in in place.. and maybe even a nut on the back side as a back up, if there's enough clearance in the perch.   I used a very short 4-40 button head from a Team Associated RC-10 parts kit.

Disclaimer: I'm just a hobbyist and I have zero miles testing this... so don't take this as a claim that it is safe and effective, unless you see me 100 years from now and I say it's still working.   

Thanks everyone for the help... this is "The" site!

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