| Author | Message | ||
     Syonyk |
Which made for a fun ride in this morning. Anyway, my bike dies when the bars are most of the way right or further. Just cuts out, starter doesn't crank, etc. I'm assuming this is the wiring up running into the key, or something in that general area. Is this a known issue/easy fix, or am I looking at weeks of troubleshooting and thousands of dollars and months for parts? I'm moving in 3 weeks, so leaving a bike at a dealership for months is out of the question. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
usually dealer fix is replace the ign switch. some here have had great luck taking it apart and re-soldiering the connections. | ||
| Syonyk |
Resoldering connections to the switch, or inside the switch? My main concern is that I'm moving in about 3 weeks, so if it's going to take a while for parts to come in, I stand a good chance of moving before the bike is fixed. If it's something I can do myself, I'm decent enough with a soldering iron, though it looks like I need to order a security torx driver to get the switch out. I don't think I can really get to it on the motorcycle very well. *sigh* Blast is out of commission waiting for new parts from Jardine. I guess I'll reset the XB9 to my weight and hope it doesn't crap out. | ||
| Syonyk |
Ah, I'm finding appropriate threads now - I was not using quite the right search terms. "Ignition solder cutout" seems to find me reasonable threads. And, similar to some other people, I have right around 35k miles. It looks like the fix (most likely) is to resolder wires onto the switch where they're broken/cracked, and hog out the opening for the wires in the fairing stay to reduce stress at full lock or it will just happen again. Hopefully the local Harbor Freight will have the security torx bits I need (and the bike will continue running long enough for me to get there and back home). Is this something that could be reasonably done in an evening (assuming I can get the security bits)? Or is this a longer, weekend-type project? | ||
| Froggy |
You don't need security torx bits, I used channel locks to grip and twist the bolts off, and replaced them with normal bolts. | ||
| Syonyk |
Just to verify what I'm finding: The key barrel has a pigtail connector coming off it that plugs into the main harness. I can separate that, pull the barrel off, and take it inside to resolder it, correct? And the issue is most likely at the junction between the wiring and the barrel connections, on the underside? | ||
| Hildreth |
i had the same issue with mine, found the orange wire in the harness was chafing on my fairing stay... literally soldered in a new wire on the bike... harbor freight does have the correct socket in their security lock set, although i found both of my bolts were almost falling off, and i believe thats why the wire was chafing... good luck,im sure worst case youll have it figured out in a afternoon.. | ||
| Rsh |
The dongle portion of the key switch is held in place with 2 phillips head screws. The wire issue is caused when turning the handle bars lock to lock it pulls on the switch wiring as it comes up through the center of the fairing/instrumemt cluster mount. The wire used is very low grade, and does not take much mechanical stress to cause a problem. This issue also happens on the XB9R and XB12R. If you are not mechanically inclined, you can buy the dongle portion separately for about $35.00 | ||
| Syonyk |
The wire used is very low grade, and does not take much mechanical stress to cause a problem I'd say! I just got it apart, and not only did one wire separate while I was pulling it apart (it was barely together), another one is close to coming apart. I'm rather underwhelmed with the quality of wire and stress relief used here on such a critical part. Is the actual switch part with the wires available separately? And is it a common Harley part (vs a Buell specific part with a 3 month backorder)? I can certainly rebuild this one if I need to - that's not an issue (although the build quality is poor, at best). It's just that it would be nice to have the bike running again, and I'm short on time the next few days. Swapping a new one on could save me some time. Also, how much slack is there in the stock wiring (other than obviously not enough)? If I'm rebuilding it, should I add a few inches of wire while I'm in there, or can I remove half an inch or so and still have enough play to reinstall it? | ||
| Syonyk |
Ok, issue fixed. I resoldered the wires in the switch bit, wrapped them in electrical tape, filed down the sides of the fairing mount a bit, and put it back together. It seems to be fine now. I still stand by that being a garbage switch. The wires were totally underspec'd for the physical stresses, and had no significant strain relief on them - a wrap at the exit would have spread the load nicely, and prevented the issue. A small zip-tie is not sufficient. *glares at the bean counters* | ||
| Rsh |
Glad you were able to fix it. As I had posted above, you can buy the electrical portion of the switch, though it will eventually fail just as your original had. Now that you know how to repair the dongle, you can upgrade the wiring when and if needed. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Wiring is wiring. The REAL PROBLEM, like I've said several hundred times, is that manufacturer's don't put any slack in the wiring harness. Big no-no on anything that moves, vibrates. | ||
| Zac4mac |
You cannot buy the switch's parts separately. Last year, H-D obsoleted them, only the assembly is available.IIRC... Z | ||
| Rsh |
Thanks Zac, It has been awhile since I had bought one, leave it to HD to screw something else up. BTW, For now they are still available, You just have to shop around. (Message edited by rsh on February 29, 2012) (Message edited by rsh on February 29, 2012) |
