[crimsonwing]

problem solved. the poorboy alternator was "hot" and was touching the metal fairing mounting bracket. i disconnected the alternator and connected the battery and i have power now!! the battery ground just want tight enough was all. thanks everyone for your awesome replies!!

 

[Ken Bergen]

i see. well im just not sure why it is sparking so much. should i still attempt to connect it anyway?

You turned the ignition switch off first?

 

[rayworx]

Sorry I didn’t read the problems this 1200 is causing. I used to do this recall and never took the fairing off. It took a long 3/8” extension with a 10mm swivel socket and a long ratchet for added torque. Getting those retaining screws to break loose was a pain. Then I switched to a shorter ratchet to speed things up. I used a magnet so I wouldn’t drop the bolts. The bracket you saw in the picture was the key to this repair. Without it even the new switch base could/would fail repeatedly. Use the swivel socket-extension to reinstall the bolts. Add a drop of blue locktite to secure the bolts. Good luck. Feel free to ask if you have questions

 

[CWN]

Ray. The recall fix was the new switch base/retainer but both my 84 standards have the non 3 screw base but only one falls under their vin range to be fixed which confuses me as to their thinking ?


I also found a 3 screw S ign switch on ebay which I snapped up, so at some point and time, they made a running change being a one year only model.

Do you know when they came out with the 3 screw switch ?

I found a base retainer on ebay last month for the non recall vin switch, a rare find.

 

[crimsonwing]

hey everyone. my ignition switch went bad again. when i turn it off, the accessory lights are still on and it killed my battery. i decided to use the ignition switch from an 85 i got a while back but the bike wont start. i still have the old ignition switch connected (the red plug for the tail lights). could this be why it doesnt want to start? is the old ignition switch still eating up the power? if so, what do I do from here? would i be able to disassemble the old switch so that it draws no power, but I can still use the red plug for the tail lights? or do y'all think it is a completely different issue? sorry ifthe answer has been posted already, i havent visited this thread in a while, i will read right now so see what i can do. although if there are any aftermarket switches ill just do that. does anyone know?

 

[redwing52]

I don't want to read all the posts either. Too many. Wouldn't it be better to start with a more systematic approach to find the issue. Do you own a voltmeter? Test light?

If you want a place to start why not test the red wire on the ignition switch. It must have power at all times. Key on or off you should have 11 or 12 volts. Does it? This red wire brings power from the battery to the ignition switch.

If the red tests good next turn on the ignition switch and find the 2 black wires. These are the main wires that carry power from the ignition switch all over the place. They must have 11 or 12 volts when the key is on. Even give the key a wiggle but the blacks MUST have power with the key on otherwise it is like trying to start the bike with the key off. Are BOTH blacks hot (11 volts or so) with the key on?

If the black checks out leave the key on and go to the fuse box. There needs to be at least 3 fuses with power of 11 volts or so. Does this pass?

I think this is a good place to stop. I think it is likely one of the tests have failed by now. If that is true check back and some one will help steer you along toward your issue.

 

[crimsonwing]

thank you redwing! my voltmeter should be arriving in the mail tomorrow.i will conduct these tests soon and get back to you guys

 

[redwing52]

thank you redwing! my voltmeter should be arriving in the mail tomorrow.i will conduct these tests soon and get back to you guys

Harbor Freight has a workable one for $7. If you watch coupons get one free with purchase.

7 Function Digital Multimeter

7 Function Digital Multimeter

www.harborfreight.com

.

 

[crimsonwing]

mine came in already, but thank you!! i took the battery to autozone to get charged as it turns out it was low on juice. i put it back up and the wing fired right up. im just going to keep an eye on it now to see if my voltage starts dropping.

 

[redwing52]

Crimson,
If the bike stalled going down the road I can tell you the low battery was not the root cause. Extremely unlikely. So be careful and if you see the voltage dropping at a steady RPM and power load head for home.

 

[crimsonwing]

here we are again with power loss issues. This time around, whenever I turn the ignition key to the "on" position, the power starts draining rapidly. where should I start troubleshooting, the ignition switch? should I use the procedure mentioned in post #66? I hope its not an issue that I keep posting here instead of making a new thread. However, the next few posts i do will be my last as I will be selling my wing after I do this repair. I kept telling myself I would get a car eventually and that time has finally arrived.

 

[DaveO430]

here we are again with power loss issues. This time around, whenever I turn the ignition key to the "on" position, the power starts draining rapidly. where should I start troubleshooting, the ignition switch? should I use the procedure mentioned in post #66? I hope its not an issue that I keep posting here instead of making a new thread. However, the next few posts i do will be my last as I will be selling my wing after I do this repair. I kept telling myself I would get a car eventually and that time has finally arrived.

If you mean the battery voltage starts dropping rapidly the battery is probably the problem. Any short that would cause that should blow the main fuse. It is not going to be the switch.

 

[redwing52]

here we are again with power loss issues. This time around, whenever I turn the ignition key to the "on" position, the power starts draining rapidly. where should I start troubleshooting, the ignition switch? should I use the procedure mentioned in post #66? I hope its not an issue that I keep posting here instead of making a new thread. However, the next few posts i do will be my last as I will be selling my wing after I do this repair. I kept telling myself I would get a car eventually and that time has finally arrived.

) Here is a quick and easy test. Charge the battery first.

) Voltmeter on DC volts put the red test probe right on the battery positive lug. Not the cable end or screw.
Put the black test probe on the battery negative lug.

) Start the bike and hold at a fast idle. Watch the voltage. Does it climb up or stay above 12.6 or so? If yes the bike and charging system is good.
) Now turn off the bike but leave the key on. Does the voltage drop steady and get below 12.2 volts within a minute or so. If it does the battery has failed as Dave noted above.

 

[crimsonwing]

ok, well my local autoshop does free testing, i can just take it down to them. thank you guys, ill report back with the results.

 

[crimsonwing]

hello everyone i'm back. I had to go out of town for a while before I had the chance to pick up my battery, so sorry for the late reply. Anyhow, I put my freshly charged battery in and turned on my ignition switch, and as I feared, the voltage started plummeting down. However, I decided to turn the bike on just to see if it would still charge, and it did. The weird part is that after I turned off the bike, the battery kept its charge, and was no longer plummeting? im confused now. Any guesses?

 

[redwing52]

hello everyone i'm back. I had to go out of town for a while before I had the chance to pick up my battery, so sorry for the late reply. Anyhow, I put my freshly charged battery in and turned on my ignition switch, and as I feared, the voltage started plummeting down. However, I decided to turn the bike on just to see if it would still charge, and it did. The weird part is that after I turned off the bike, the battery kept its charge, and was no longer plummeting? im confused now. Any guesses?

If the battery was just charged there is a phenomenon called surface charge. It will drive battery voltage high. If a load is applied to the battery surface voltage will drop like a rock until it gets down to the 12.1 or 12.2 range where it will settle. Then it will slowly drop after that. You might have been watching surface charge being destroyed. .

 

[crimsonwing]

interesting. my charge never went above 11.8 or so. and when it was dropping it went from the 11's down the the 6's in about 3 minutes.

Could this still be the same thing? If so, am I ok now?

 

[RambozoClown]

6 volt measured right at the battery terminals?

 

[DaveO430]

hello everyone i'm back. I had to go out of town for a while before I had the chance to pick up my battery, so sorry for the late reply. Anyhow, I put my freshly charged battery in and turned on my ignition switch, and as I feared, the voltage started plummeting down. However, I decided to turn the bike on just to see if it would still charge, and it did. The weird part is that after I turned off the bike, the battery kept its charge, and was no longer plummeting? im confused now. Any guesses?

OK, lets change the words 'turn the bike on' for start the engine. So it charged. Now we turn the bike off which I assume means killed the engine? When you did this did you kill it with the key or with the kill switch? Was the key on after you killed the engine when the voltage no longer plummeted?

 

[crimsonwing]

Hey guys, i'm back. Dave, yes, I only used the kill switch to turn the bike off, the voltage was only plummeting when the engine was running. HOWEVER, I noticed that whenever I changed from hi beams to low beams on my headlight, the battery would charge some and jump up a couple volts. I replaced the light switch with a new one and it was good for a while. but today the voltage dropped to 10.9 at one point. I think the switch was a big culprit, but do yall think this is the only factor at play?