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I have a mechanical brake switch installed that is activated by the foot brake. It works but seems fluttery, like a bad ground or something. Tail light is on and works fine. When you press the brake petal the brake light kind of flutters, seems like it works better at certain points when the brake is pressed. Is this just the nature of the beast with a mechanical switch or should it be a steady on when the brake is pressed?

After messing with it a bit I think its just the nature of the mechanical Brake switch.

Sounds like a bad connection in the switch.

OK. I'll pull it apart and see if I can do somrthing. Switch is brand new.

Is this on a KDX with a stock stator?

SS109 wrote:Is this on a KDX with a stock stator?

I know where your going with this but wouldn't the lights just dim and not flicker? I would lean toward a bad switch as well. Or a loose connection in the circuit.

rbates9 wrote:

SS109 wrote:Is this on a KDX with a stock stator?

I know where your going with this but wouldn't the lights just dim and not flicker? I would lean toward a bad switch as well. Or a loose connection in the circuit.

Yes, you do. However, mine flickered (actually, it was more like it pulsed!) when using a standard 1157 bulb when I applied the brake. The draw was just too much with the headlight, tail light, and brake light all on at once.

OP, what wattage bulbs are you running and what stator do you have?

Not sure, previous owner set it up. It does have an 1157 led light bulb though. Should I not use the led? Should I try a different bulb?

The LED bulb will be fine. They don't use neer as much wattage as an incandecent bulb.

LED should be way better than a standard 1157. I would go through and make sure all your ground connections are clean and tight to see if that helps. Many weird problems I have seen over the years were attributed to bad grounds.

Anyways, you said fluttery, are you talking it flutters randomly or is it very consistent?

IMHO a bad ground would also cause the tail light to flicker because the bulb socket uses a common ground for the tail light and the brake light. I suppose it could be a weak ground not being able to support both elements at once but the best thing would be to trace the entire power and ground circuit for the tail light and make sure both sides are clean and tight.

Took the switch apart and the copper tabs were pretty straight. Bent them in a bit and put it back together and it seems to be all good. Thanks for the help guys.

Mine did the same thing, until I rewound the lighting coil with 18 ga wire. Now everything works *great*, except the horn is a bit weak at low RPM. I had installed an 1157 LED bulb, but even that was not very bright. I am now back to a standard 1157.