Polaris Sled Help

I have a 1997 Polaris Indy Trail 500. The Brake Indicator Lamp is always on (in the gagues) but the brake lights themselves do not light up ever. I replaced the bulbs to no avail. If I remove the brake light bulb then the indicator lamp will go out. This started when I first ran it this season and has been on all year. The brakes themselves work fine. (I will add that a squirrel or mouse may have been living under the hood over the summer….)Any ideas? Thanks.

A shorted(bad) bulb socket or a short in the wiring that feeds the dash light from the brake light its self is my first 2 guesses.

Follow the wires from the brake light sensor switch to the tail light. Look for chews, cuts or worn spots. it is also a possibility that the break light switch is faulty too of the wires look good.

Not try’n to tell what to do but i would replace the Stater which is above your right foot rest or below your pull start under the hood! easy fix if you need some salvage numbers shoot me PM! be glad to help you out! I had the same prob with my 96 XCR Polaris 600 fixed me up!

Quote:

---

Not try’n to tell what to do but i would replace the Stater which is above your right foot rest or below your pull start under the hood! easy fix if you need some salvage numbers shoot me PM! be glad to help you out! I had the same prob with my 96 XCR Polaris 600 fixed me up!

---

Stator is inside the motor, behind flywheel and generates all lighting. Voltage regulator is on the body. My only question is if the VR controls just the Voltage to the brake light?

Good call & my bad? I was having probs with both the headlight dimming & tail-light/brake lights going out or only 1 side of the light (tail-light) working ! Because POLARIS have wrap around style lighting so (other riders can see coming or going from all directions! I think i paid 20 bucks for my voltage regulator! fixed it! good luck!

Quote:

---

Good call & my bad? I was having probs with both the headlight dimming & tail-light/brake lights going out or only 1 side of the light (tail-light) working ! Because POLARIS have wrap around style lighting so (other riders can see coming or going from all directions! I think i paid 20 bucks for my voltage regulator! fixed it! good luck!

---

Yes, with your symptoms described VR would be the first guess. But since the poster only mentioned Brake light it keeps my brain focused on that only. If there were other lights then VR would be a good bet. It is a high/low filiment one light bulb system along this circuit so there will be 3 wires going to the light assy. Ground, running and bake current. Switching assy or wires cut issue would be first thing to check for symptoms given in initial post.

PS- not trying to sound like an but this is just my explained thought process.

Dave,
Just ride faster than all your buddies and you won’t need your brake lights. I have a 97 XC 600 and haven’t had that problem yet. I need a new foam intake and baffle for mine because of mice.

Thanks for all the advice. I will examine the wiring as described and report back. It’s one of those things that is an inconvenience but not a major issue so I am inclined to ride it as is til spring.