10-14-2017, 09:14 AM
Well, I finished the last 350 miles home today without a problem.
While riding along I started thinking about solutions to this issue. My first instinct was to just replace the switch, but as Rotor points out, the switch serves no real purpose on a modern motorcycle. I think I'm going to just bypass it internally, as a permanent solution. The failure mode (sudden engine shutdown with no warning) could be very serious if it happened at the wrong time. Balanced against the negligible benefit of the the switch itself, this seems like a no-brainer.
For the benefit of someone who might have this issue in the future, there is an easy way to tell if the kill circuit is closed. Might save you some time troubleshooting on the side of the road.
Kill switch circuit open (i.e. not activated) :
1. Turn on ignition.
2. Fuel pump makes noise.
3. Oil pressure,Check Engine and Oil Temp lights come on.
4. Check Engine and Oil Temp lights turn off.
Kill switch circuit closed :
1. Turn on ignition.
2. No fuel pump noise.
3. Oil Temp and Oil Pressure lights come on (note: no Check Engine light).
4 Both the Oil Temp and Oil Pressure lights remain on.
In my case, simply cycling the switch didn't help. When it got to the shop, you could make the engine run momentarily by tapping and pushing both sides of the switch down, but it took some disassembly and cleaning before it would run consistently.
While riding along I started thinking about solutions to this issue. My first instinct was to just replace the switch, but as Rotor points out, the switch serves no real purpose on a modern motorcycle. I think I'm going to just bypass it internally, as a permanent solution. The failure mode (sudden engine shutdown with no warning) could be very serious if it happened at the wrong time. Balanced against the negligible benefit of the the switch itself, this seems like a no-brainer.
For the benefit of someone who might have this issue in the future, there is an easy way to tell if the kill circuit is closed. Might save you some time troubleshooting on the side of the road.
Kill switch circuit open (i.e. not activated) :
1. Turn on ignition.
2. Fuel pump makes noise.
3. Oil pressure,Check Engine and Oil Temp lights come on.
4. Check Engine and Oil Temp lights turn off.
Kill switch circuit closed :
1. Turn on ignition.
2. No fuel pump noise.
3. Oil Temp and Oil Pressure lights come on (note: no Check Engine light).
4 Both the Oil Temp and Oil Pressure lights remain on.
In my case, simply cycling the switch didn't help. When it got to the shop, you could make the engine run momentarily by tapping and pushing both sides of the switch down, but it took some disassembly and cleaning before it would run consistently.