Brake light switch normally closed or normally open?

Brake light not working!  Broken light or defective brake light switch? Normally closed or normally open contact?

Rarely are you the first to notice... Most of the time it happens like this: The mechanic in the workshop, your buddies on a joyride together, attentive road users or, in the worst case, the police draw your attention to the fact that the brake light is not working. No wonder - this area is the least visible from the driver's position. However, as a functioning brake light is an important safety-relevant component of your motorcycle, the cause must be found quickly. The first assumption? Of course, the light is defective. So quickly remove the old one and replace it with a new brake light. But if it still remains dark, the problem could have another cause. There are many indications that the brake light switch is defective. Replacing this is not a great effort. However, it is more difficult to find the right switch for your motorcycle or scooter. The key question with the brake light switch, which always causes confusion: brake light switch normally closed or normally open? But because it all depends on the perspective, we first want to clarify why one variant of the brake light switch is called "normally closed" and the other "normally open". Normally closed or normally open brake light switches owe their name to the state they are in when they are pressed or actuated.

Brake light switch normally closed or normally open?

Let's first look at the "normally closed" brake light switch type. In the initial state (Fig. 1), the circuit is closed because the metal plates in the middle and on the side are touching (see red arrows). The brake light illuminates in this state.

Fig. 1: Brake light switch "NC contact" in initial state
Only when the brake light switch is pressed (on the vehicle by the pedal, here by hand) is the circuit interrupted because the two plates are no longer in contact (Fig. 2). Consequence: The brake light goes out.

Fig. 2: Brake light switch "NC contact" pressed
The exact opposite is true for the "NO contact" brake light switch type. In the initial state (Fig. 3), the circuit is not closed because the metal plates are not touching - the brake light does not light up.

Fig. 3: Brake light switch "normally open contact" in the initial stateOnly
when the brake lever is pressed
does
the circuit close and the brake light come on
.

Fig. 4: Brake light switch "normally open" pressed

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