FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

So, tonight was the first time I really got a chance to ride my FZR...up until now Ive mostly been riding it around the neighborhood (<30 mi/hr). So...I get to where I'm going when I shut off the bike (and turn the key off), I notice my fan is running and my headlamps are still on . The fan eventually went off, but the headlamps didn't and I had somewhere to be so I yanked the headlamp fuse and left.

Fast forward an hour or so, I ride home (after putting the fuse back in)...get into my parking area and get ready to lock the bike up when I notice that with the key off and the bike in neutral, the neutral light is on...so I started testing things. The turn signals were coming on with the key off, the aforementioned neutral light, and also when I turn on the engine start switch I can hear...whatever the bike does to get ready to start the bike. The horn doesnt sound, and Im pretty sure the brake light didn't light up when I squeezed the front brake (although I could be wrong on that).

My gut feeling is that this all sounds like a bad ignition switch...that its not actually turning off (btw: when I say "off" above I mean off or lock). Is there anything else it can be? For the time being I just pulled the positive lead off the battery so I don't run it down.

On the bright side though, the ride was awesome

I'm going to go with a faulty ignition switch as well.

They're not too expensive to replace, but you'll have to carry separate keys for the ignition and everything else now. I did it and it wasn't an issue....

ragedigital wrote:I'm going to go with a faulty ignition switch as well.

They're not too expensive to replace, but you'll have to carry separate keys for the ignition and everything else now. I did it and it wasn't an issue....

Right on, thanks rage. Is an ignition switch something worth buying new, or is it ok to buy used? And if it is ok to buy used....anyone have a spare ignition switch they want to sell?

TheRose wrote:

ragedigital wrote:I'm going to go with a faulty ignition switch as well.

They're not too expensive to replace, but you'll have to carry separate keys for the ignition and everything else now. I did it and it wasn't an issue....

Right on, thanks rage. Is an ignition switch something worth buying new, or is it ok to buy used? And if it is ok to buy used....anyone have a spare ignition switch they want to sell?

ive seen some recently on ebay for like under 30 bucks ..
i have one for yzf600 with keys but i dont think itll bolt up , i would go with new one

I finally got my new ignition switch, and I'm looking at how the existing one is bolted on/connected. Looks pretty straight forward but is there anything I should watch for when trying to remove the old one or install the new one? Does anyone know the desired torque for the bolts holding the switch in? The shop manual is pretty worthless on this one.

Clymer manual doesn't have anything about it either. From the picture it looks like a small screw with bolt head. I wouldn't give it too much, maybe a quarter turn past finger-tight. Probably cheap soft Yamaha metal that's easy to strip.

The plot thickens...

So I got my new ignition switch...went to install it. I decided to check the old one out with a multimeter and it actually acted as it was supposed to...no continuity between the wires in the off position, good continuity in the on position...so that likely wasn't the problem (not a huge deal...I wanted to replace that switch anyway). After I removed the ignition switch connector, I tested current running from the disconnected positive battery lead to the positive battery terminal...its >0...kinda reminiscent of when my VR was bad (after I replaced my VR, key-off current tested in this manner was exactly 0 according to my multimeter). I also tested continuity from the white ignition switch connector to parts of the frame...my multimeter registered connectivity between it and the triple trees. Wtf?

So...I guess this sounds like a short somewhere? Where would I start looking for something like that? I did notice that the white connector coming from the bike (not the switch) looked mangled...the 2 parallel blade interconnects looked pushed together, and the left one was pushed up to the point where it broke the plastic. I went ahead and installed the new switch (like I said, I wanted to do it anyway) and I cannot get the white connectors together. Is it possible there's a problem with that connector that's causing the the bike to always be "on"? I'm tempted to just cut the thing off and use butt connectors and electrical tape to wire in the new switch...would that cause any problems?

check all the fuses.

I had one burn out part way that was causing all sorts of funky issues

haunter wrote:check all the fuses.

I had one burn out part way that was causing all sorts of funky issues

Thanks for the tip...I checked the fuses when I first noticed the problem and they all seemed fine.

I did end up figuring out what the problem was...the connector on the wiring harness for the ignition switch (the one I said looked mangled) was apparently bad...I cut it off of the wiring harness and measured no material current draw on the electrical system. When I get home tonight I'm going to wire in individual insulated blade connectors and hook up the new switch. We'll see what happens, heh.

to everyone for the help and advice.

sounds like you should have it taken of pretty quick and be back on the road !

Really hope that fixes your issue once you get that switch rewired. Let us know how it turns out.