2007 Monster 695 Brake Lights Not Working

[6Speedman]

Just bought a '07 695 with around 10k miles. It is stock except it has a tail kit and handlebars.

The brake lights do not come on with input from either the front of rear brake. This has a simple taillight with a two filament bulb. One for the always on taillight and the other (more brighter filament) for the brake light. I'm getting 12V for the taillight which does come on but not getting any power at the tail for the brake. Both switches seem to be ok. The fuse marked "Lights" is fine and all other electronics (as far as I can tell) work properly. However, the fuse marked "Loads" blows instantly, without even having to turn the ignition to "on." According to the wiring diagram, the "Loads" fuse controls the front and rear brake switches and the LH switch.

I've tried replacing the fuse, a new bulb, and traced the switch wires to the wiring harness. As far as I can tell, I have a short somewhere in the "Loads" circuit.

The bike is currently in pieces in my garage so any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

[Slide Panda]

If you're constantly blowing a fuse like that I'd suspect a short as you do.

Have you disconnected the brake switches and LH switch cluster to eliminate them from the circuit and fault points?

And just part of general electrical fault finding, are your grounds clean and secure?

[6Speedman]

Please bear in mind I'm pretty new to working on motorcycles and my electrical know-how is limited.

I disconnected both switches but I wasn't sure exactly what was part of the LH switch. Where would I disconnect the LH switch cluster?

As far as I can see, my grounds are clean and secure.

[6Speedman]

For anyone interested, I located the problem. Turns out the ignition is shorting out. Looks like I need a new one. Anyone know if it is ok to replace just the ignition switch and mate the new ignition to the ECU? I'd rather not replace all three components of the ignition if possible.

[Howie]

How did you come to that conclusion?

[6Speedman]

I traced the wire coming out of the fuse in question. It splits into 4 smaller gauge wires. By doing this is discovered that two of the wires go to the ignition switch while the other two wires go to the front and rear brake switches. I didn't see any signs of excessive heat or burn marks on any of the wires. When I unplugged the connector from the ignition switch, the brake lights functioned properly. As far as I can tell, the ignition switch must be bad.

[6Speedman]

For further clarification, the previous owner had the opposite problem where the brake lights were always on. In that case it was simply a matter of missing the piece that connects the front brake lever with the front brake microswitch. As a result of the light always being on, I believe the ignition was overheated and compromised.

Does this make sense?

[Howie]

If you have power going into the fuse the ignition switch is good.  If not, check for power at terminal #6 at the connector from the switch.  Though the switch might be the problem I doubt it is, more likely there is a break in a wire or a poor connection between the switch and the fuse box.

[6Speedman]

Thanks for the response. I double checked everything as a result and eventually found the issue. As you suspected, it was not an ignition problem. There was a wire near the taillight that was pinched against the frame from when the previous owner did a tail chop. Brake lights working and bike back on the road.