Died in the arse - arggg

[Little Scotty]

Fred,If business is slow its probably because word has got around that you are putting your arm up the wrong part of the beast

[melbxs]

BIG BUMP and a Shove
did you ever sort this out melb?

Sorry for the late reply.

Found that a quick off/on of the ignition would fix the problem so pulled apart the ignition and replaced. Kept happening. Isolated the kill switch, kept happening.
Swapped out the TCI with Dahcar's help (did I ever get the TCI back to you Dennis???) and that fixed it.
Really frustrating intermittent problem that I was very pleased to get fixed.

[SCARFEY]

Mine stopped dead like that and it was the wire to the vac advance that jiggles a lot. Replaced with a cable of a computer mouse. Seems to work.

[Jonesy]

BIG BUMP and a Shove
did you ever sort this out melb?

[melbxs]

the mechanism for the lock is smooth as silk. The key simply wont turn. Barrel is fubared for sure.

I had it all apart and it was really clean.

Those new locks have a $35 postage charge against them Pete.  There's a big swap meet in Ballarat tomorrow. I'll see if there's one there.

[Eveready1100]

Brian, if you've never used the steering lock since you've had the bike, chances are that it's just gummed up through lack of use & ingress of road grime etc. You'd be surprised how quickly these things can be brought back from the dead with a bit of a clean & lube. The bars have to be turned to full lock to engage the lock and you have to depress the key slightly while turning it past the off position.It might also take some wiggling to get it to lock & undo so don't put much force on the key.
 Be careful once you've got it working as once the ignition is turned past the lock position, it activates the park position of the switch as Pete mentioned before, which if you're not aware of the fact the taillight is on will flatten the battery in short order.

[petejw1966]

brian, the ignition switch can be bought new on ebay
i think around $30 or so,
as well as having the steering lock, u can push down and turn the switch
for the parking lights to cum on with the steering lock locked.

[melbxs]

Well, took the ignition switch off last night and pulled it apart at the kitchen table.

I had no idea that these things had a steering lock on them. My ignition has only ever had 2 positions - on and off. Seems like the lock barrel is junk.

All the wires and contacts looked like new. I tested continuity of each wire - no problems.

It is possible that the lock barrel sticks just at the point of contact and the contacts are only just in touch with the contact points on the base plate. When I turn a corner and the wires pull it may be just enough to pull the contact points 1/2mm sideways and break contact with the contacts.

I have sourced a 2nd hand ignition switch, so will give it a go.

[melbxs]

Spot on Fred. At times I have felt like dumping the bloody thing at the side of the road. Especially when you are togged up in leather jacket, helmet etc. and it's nearly 30 degrees. The old Scottish blood has a very low boiling point. 

I haven't even looked at the ignition yet and it'll be Friday before I get a chance.

[Fred]

Mate,

this is precisely why it is illegal to carry a firearm on a bike and that there is a 28 day cooling off period from time of getting a firearms licience to date of purchase.

mmmmm??? how many days ago did this gremlin manifest it's self?

Take up Jeff on his offer to come over with a fresh mind and look things over.
Sorry I can't come down at the moment but I've got to shove my arm up a heap of cows' arses.
No I'm not kinky, when I'm not riding I moonlight as a cattle artificial inseminator.

[melbxs]

Well, made it home.

Bike went pretty well. Died 3 or 4 times on me, but with a good speed up I found I could cycle the ignition a couple of times and it would fire back up again. Looks like a problem with the ignition switch I would guess - might just be the 3rd or 4th great theory to be disproved down the line.

Many thanks for all the advice and ideas.

Will let you know what I find when I strip the ignition.

[petejw1966]

if ur starter is working then that it is weired,
thought it could be a broken wire in the wireing loom,
but if ur getting spark it could be shorting out somewhere,
when u blew the fuse even if the ignition was on, it
shouldnt have really blown, which fuse was it?
u might have to take the tape of the loom from the switch
and check individual wires.

as jeff said it couold be the tci, tho when mine went,
it only killed 2 cylinders and it was permanent.

[excess.11]

At a rough guess brian.........you may have a faulty black box or ignition trigger.As the fault keeps rectifying itself , its not an easy one to fix or find.The list of occurences and most importantly tests that are carried out when the fault is present is your only key to find the fault at present.Unfortunately , as i have experienced , sometimes the best way to find the culprit is when the bike poops itself altogether then a solid test and elimination can begin.Sorry to say  i had a sneaking suspicion your problems were nt fixed and when you mentioned you were going on a trip this weekend i half expected this failure would show again.If you can get your bike home i d be more than happy to come over and give you a hand to sort this out.A lot gets lost in translation and interpretation sometimes .

[melbxs]

My starter works all the time Pete, that's why it suggests it's not the killswitch - which has been bypassed last week anyway.


This constant spark is weird. 

[petejw1966]

hi brian
this happened to me today when i swapped back handle bars,
i had ignition, but the starter button wouldnt turn over the engine,
tried jumping it along the solenoid, the engine turned over but
wouldnt start, a wiggle of the wires from the rh switch and the
bike fired rite up, another wiggle and the bike died again, removed the seat
and lifted the tank, gave those wires a wiggle and made sure they were
secure and the bikes been sweet since, not sure if it was the connectors
or some other wires near it, but id say ur problem is around there.

 "If I have the ignition on and a plug hanging from an HT lead I get a spark jumping to the block about once every minute or two - IS THIS NORMAL?"

thats not normal, the only time it should be sparking is when the engine is cranking or running,
tho a single spark can occur immediately when the ignition is turned on or off.