ignition trouble !

[uglydave]

hello everyone,..i have a 2006 rstd that has been customized,by me and by prior owner.the ignition is moved to the back behind seat,it's an after market one.the last week is has been getting harder and harder to turn key,today I turn bike on and do a walk around with turn signals on and bike stalled,started bike had it running ,same thing happens,start it up and go for a quick ride to see what happens ,I get about a 1/2 mile and bike loses power.i go to turn ignition off and its HOT !! I wait a minute and she starts back up...just need new ignition ??? and can I pull ignition off and direct wire (like hot wiring) so I can ride to shop without it shutting down in traffic ,and how do I do that ? thanks for any help guys,u always come thru !!!!

[csdexter]

If it's getting hot, it points at a poor contact or undersized ignition switch for the power consumption of the bike.

 

If your bike pulls, say, 10A with the engine and headlight running but your ignition switch is rated for 7.5A, you'll cook it really fast.

 

I would carefully check all connections to the switch and the switch itself for thermal damage. I would also consider having a replacement on hand, just in case it dies on me while on the road.

[uglydave]

If it's getting hot, it points at a poor contact or undersized ignition switch for the power consumption of the bike.

 

If your bike pulls, say, 10A with the engine and headlight running but your ignition switch is rated for 7.5A, you'll cook it really fast.

 

I would carefully check all connections to the switch and the switch itself for thermal damage. I would also consider having a replacement on hand, just in case it dies on me while on the road.

 

 

thanks for your input!..having a new one installed..i personally didm't know there was a rating on them,thanks again!!

[csdexter]

i personally didm't know there was a rating on them,thanks again!!

That's because most bikes ship with pretty much the same assortment of electric loads: a headlight, a fuel pump, a TCI/CDI box, a tail/brake light etc. so the rating may not be obviously stated in sales materials because everybody assumes "a bike ignition switch will, well, work on any bike".

 

Problems appear when you design a switch for a small, single cylinder bike with not much else beyond what the law demands of it to have in terms of lights etc. and try to use it on a full blown touring machine with extras (radio etc.) added.

 

If the new switch is expensive, you may want to check whether you can just replace the electrical contact part at the bottom of it (i.e. not including the key lock part). That's what's getting hot and that's where your problems would arise from, were it to fail.

[darthandy]

Another idea would be to install relays for the ignition and any lights. That would reduce the load on the ignition switch. Our RSV's also have that problem and many of us have solved it by going the relay route. Search this forum and look through the tech section. You'll find plenty of info on making the modifications. In my case, I removed the ignition switch, repaired it and replaced it. I also installed several relays and have had no problems since.

 

Andy