Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech ignition switch

ok folks i think i know the amswer but you just never know.....
turn the key on and nothing happen's ie: motor wont turn over and the head light dont come on....
turn the key just a little to the off position and its all good starts and runs great
my question can i take the switch apart clean it up and hope it'll be fine....
or junk it and get a new ignition switch?
Benny

Benny, Pull it apart and try and fix it.

If that fails buy a new one or live with it.

yeah well its not that much of a issue while the sun shines Frank
afterdark hitting 1 of our pot holes in the road,and the light blacks out till i jiggle the key to turn the light back on was a bit of a worry last night since it happened half way round a corner

had same problem 2 years ago.....bought new switch ...expencive little thing

I had the same thing happen , it would only start if the key was half way between on and off , very weird
I pulled the switch apart and showed it to an Auto election and he said it looks OK
So i put it back together and it worked fine for another 2 1/2 years , still was when i traded it

I wonder if when having it apart, a little dielectric grease in there might work as a preventative measure.

Hi Benny,
Do not know if it applies to the modern ignition switch but in the past many problems were caused by owners attaching items such as other keys and ornaments to the ign key and the switch was exposed to the weight of these while in use. Over a period of time they showed the results of this. Have had the odd one apart-make sure you have a white cloth etc to work on as very easy to misplace some of the small components-being 2000 vintage they probably are not designed to be repaired very easily. Good luck.

You should be able to take the switch apart and check the contacts. Check/clean them and use a contact enhancer when assembling. I use Stabilant 22 which works wonders on any electrical contact (expensive stuff).

Never been a switch I haven't been able to repair unless it was physically broken in two.

hey guys thanks for the rplies
looks like i'll be takin it apart on the weekend
Kent what you up to on the weekendbuddy? if i remember right you were a auto electrican in a past life

maybe true about the Diesel Fitter Frank.....
i do remember Kent talking about bein a Auto Lecky when i first met him......
hey Kent where are ya Buddy

bypass it and put a toggle switch up outa sight.

took me 1/2 a hour sounday arvo to get the bike started
50k from home and in the middle of nowhere .....
ordered recieved and fitted this arvo the new ignition works great
and i must give a big thumb's up to Teammotto
ordered tuesday from Melbourne about 1800k's away from here
and the guy from the spare parts delieved it to me this arvo at work so i'd have it in and goin befor tomorrow
am off for a Roll the Dice Rally over the weekend
Thanks Teammotto for a welcome change you've out done your selves

Not uncommon unfortunately - see this post





If you end up replacing the switch, one thing you can do to retain common key, is to swap the mechanical key-lock assembly from the old one, to the new electrical switch assembly from the new one:
you need to separate the key-lock from the switch which involves drilling off the screw-heads; then simply swap the electrical assembly onto the mechanical assembly and fit new screws.