my brake light works, but not my running light?

[newyorkbouncer]

New here, and don't know how this works. I'm trying to figure out why my running light does not work. New bulb. Traced the wires under the tank to a big cannon plug. Everything looks ok. The black covering(to hide all of the wires) on the wiring was in rough shape, but the insulation and the wiring itself in still very flexable and in good shape. Any help would be great.
Adam
p.s. Sorry...1979 GS550L

[Johnj]

Are you talking about a running light in your rear turn signal stalk? I don't think you have one, unless you installed it yourself, because they (yellow running lights on the rear) are illegal in most states.

[newyorkbouncer]

i have a single bulb for for both signal and brake, and they are in the same housing.

[newyorkbouncer]

I dont think that answered your question. I have done nothing to the signal housings and the brake housing is seperate from the signal housing. The only thing I've done is replace with OEM bulb last night

[ofblong]

the rear side markers are ONLY used for blinking. the front ones are the only ones that should ever stay on. I think that is just stupid because at night you might get rear ended cause some idiot thought you were the vehicle in front of you.

[fireguzzi]

Some older bikes didn't have a running light in the tail light. Not sure if your 79 falls in that category or not.

[Funderbird]

I have rewired two cars and fixed all kinds of wiring problems in on my T-Bird...But the first choice is to get a volt meter to see if you have conductivity...In my experiance older light soccets on any thing have a tendancy to corrode, so with this in mind get a hold of a small wire brush and clean that thing out. Oh disconnet the battery...Then if the brush doesn't work try some water and baking soda...Corrosion is a killer for lights. If all this doesn't work, half split the system...Find the wire and check it at the mid way point...If it is good at mid way it between that point and the light...If not it is most likely between there and the switch...