Convince Me...?

The ignition switch stories are gospel ... you can set your watch to one failing should you add an extra light or two on that circuit. The bypass is a must on any dual headlight model or a touring with any kind of extra load on the switch.
When I was a newbie to the bike and knew no better, I added just a pair of cheap driving lights and a week later fried the ignition switch. So this is no bull, the switch is weak! Listen to these guys.

HellFire said:

The ignition switch stories are gospel ... you can set your watch to one failing should you add an extra light or two on that circuit. The bypass is a must on any dual headlight model or a touring with any kind of extra load on the switch.
When I was a newbie to the bike and knew no better, I added just a pair of cheap driving lights and a week later fried the ignition switch. So this is no bull, the switch is weak! Listen to these guys.

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Or carry a toggle switch and a print out of this...[/IMG]

Kudos to the person that made that drawing. That and a toggle switch will become a permanent addition to my tool kit. When I went to the triple K&N's I left the airbox in place and use it to carry stuff just like this ! Great idea.

Rocket Scientist said:

Kudos to the person that made that drawing. That and a toggle switch will become a permanent addition to my tool kit. When I went to the triple K&N's I left the airbox in place and use it to carry stuff just like this ! Great idea.

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Yeah, it got me out of a jam and kept me running for the couple of weeks it took for the new switch set to come in.

Things to check

Tdragger
Just bought a 2007 Classic w/ 10K miles. I read your advice about the primary throttle position sensor and ignition switch issues. Do these issues pertain to an '07 and are they easily remedied or is this a shop visit?

Sparty

Spartacus said:

Tdragger
Just bought a 2007 Classic w/ 10K miles. I read your advice about the primary throttle position sensor and ignition switch issues. Do these issues pertain to an '07 and are they easily remedied or is this a shop visit?

Sparty

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mmm...07 was when some of the new parts started showing up. If yours was the blue and silver Classic Tourer that was at Morton's, I would suspect that it has the older model parts since you have the silver engine.

The primary tps will fail over time, most likely in the next 10k miles. It's not like it is working one day and completely gone the next. You'll begin to notice some surging when at highway speed along with some unexplained high idle situations. When those start to happen, you'll know the tps is on its way out. The replacement process is quite simple and with TuneECU or Tuneboy it can be accomplished in about 30 min. I can help you with that when the time comes.

The ignition switch, however, will fail suddenly. Most likely you will go out to start your bike and it won't work. The replacement process takes a couple of hours when you try it on your own the first time. Those of us that have been through the experience can probably switch one out in half that time. It's not hard, just some tight squeezes. Now I've read where there is a different plug on the end of the harness that may not fit your 07 bike harness. That will have to be taken into consideration. I don't know how Triumph has addressed that issue. Regardless, when the time comes to replace the switch, don't hesitate to contact me.

Of course, to avoid the ignition switch issue altogether you should fit a headlight relay kit. That, too, is not very difficult. If you choose to go that route (which is also a lot less expensive than a new switch), get in contact with me and I can guide you through it.

TDragger...with regards to the ignition switch and relay installation...
My 06 ignition failed at about 12,500 miles, and I had a local tech re-solder the loose/broken connection inside the housing. Should I still be concerned with the ignition issue? And...if I decide to install the Beaver relay, does that alleviate the need to replace the ignition switch?

Gkiller said:

TDragger...with regards to the ignition switch and relay installation...
My 06 ignition failed at about 12,500 miles, and I had a local tech re-solder the loose/broken connection inside the housing. Should I still be concerned with the ignition issue? And...if I decide to install the Beaver relay, does that alleviate the need to replace the ignition switch?

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I think that I may have addressed this earlier but, if not, here's my humble opinion. It's great that the tech was able to re-solder the connection, however, without the relay you are already on borrowed time until it fails again. It will fail again with 99%+ confidence. If you think about it, you haven't changed any of the conditions that caused it to fail in the first place.

If you install a headlight relay kit (either the Eastern Beaver or home-made), you have greatly reduced the load on the switch and it should not fail based on carrying too much amperage across it. I can't speak to the quality of the previous repair but assuming that it was done properly, I would see no reason why you shouldn't see a reasonable life out of the switch. my 2c.

Good luck with either way you go.

Spartacus said:

Tdragger
Just bought a 2007 Classic w/ 10K miles. I read your advice about the primary throttle position sensor and ignition switch issues. Do these issues pertain to an '07 and are they easily remedied or is this a shop visit?Sparty

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I've got an '07 model.
My TPS went out last year.
Without tuneboy or an understanding of TuneECU, it's a shop visit,
when it finally does go out.
you'll know when it does, you'll have high rpms around 3000-32000
and the ONLY time it'll idle down,
is when you use the brake to slow her down to a crawl.
Not good on brakes,
not good on your motor,
not good on your nerves.
bike is pretty much unrideable at that point until you get the new TPS,
and do a 12 minute tune after installing it.
and Tdragger is right in it's not just a sudden thing,
it starts and goes on for about a month, getting progressively worse.
I'd get a switch too, or at least the eastern beaver relay.
JM2CW,
skip

When guys here talk about the ignition switch failing on these things, we are all dead serious. Any dual headlight model and the single headlights with lots of accessories are susceptible.
What is actually happening is that all that amperage running through it and the wire hits a point that is slightly higher in resistance than wires, printed boards and contact points themselves. That spot is the solder joints where the wires are connected inside the switch, and they begin to get warm like a toaster. It just so happens that those spots are also the lowest melting point in the circuit since it's just solder. The solder gets soft from the heat and the vibration/pulling makes the soft spots either pull apart or the solder turns into a "cold solder" point. Cold solder joints look dull and porous rather that shiny and smooth, they may still hold the wire firmly, but either don't conduct or have even higher resistance.
Those cold solder points can cause all kinds of intermittent problems since the varying resistance tells lies to the ECU. You can get intermittent high or low idle, starting trouble, dying trouble, charging trouble, lighting trouble..... a whole lot of TROUBLE!
The relay kit takes most of the amperage load off the ignition switch.