Ignition switch failure

[BadTriumph]

So I'm cruising down the highway yesterday.... I'm getting ready to get off an exit... Grab the throttle for one last little burst of speed before peeling off... And EVERYTHING goes dead! I thought somehow I bumped the kill switch. Nope. Somehow the key moved? Nope. I pull over on the shoulder and start troubleshooting. I've got no gages, no headlights, no starter, no fuel pump. I didn't think to check the signals and the horn, but later I found out they were working. I checked all the fuses. Nothing. I started wiggling wires with the key on. I moved the wire under the ignition switch and I hear that familiar fuel pump wine. Then it goes out again not to be heard again. So I call my neighbor and we get a ride on the trailer. After tearing everything apart, I found a wire inside the ignition switch that came off its terminal. You could see it clearly by prying the lower cap off the switch. Poor soldering job I guess. I'm no electrician, but the wire is reattached. I guess I'll order a new part or maybe take this one to have it professionally soldered. I think a couple people have had trouble with their ignition switches here. If someone has a similar experience, you might save yourself some time and check the ignition switch first.

 

[Silver Surfer 06]

Well made it home after another series of NDE's (near death experiences) .

Left Key Weird at 0600 21 Aug 07 and by 0900 had a dumptruck go sliding through an intersection in Miami right in front of me. Thank God for good brakes/breaks! 0901 Rosie coughs and sputters, I thought she was just a little shaken by the experience. Bad news, she's developed the dreaded choke and stall disease! Well I have a birthday party I have to make in Ole` MISS by the 23rd, I push on.

Through out the day on the highway she's fine, at gas stops and intersections, a nightmare! She never puked and died the same way twice.. it was like playing Russian Roulette with traffic! I called my mechanic in Hattiesburg MS and told him to have an operating table open for her this morning, he "roger'd" up and in thirty minutes she's going in for exploratory surgery. We shall see...

On the brighter side other than a bike with tuberculosis, and NDE's I made 1150 miles in 17 hours and both patient and I are sitting safe at home at the moment. After I get her back from the good doctors care I'll make sure and give you all a prognosis and the treatment report.
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I wrote that back in August 07. Turned out to be the ignition switch. The ****ed thing had a short. They replaced it and all the keyed parts and everything has worked like a charm since. Good luck, I hope this helps.
Mike

 

[RiderRocketman]

Yeah, that ignition switch is a bugger. Mine went out during my tour to Tahoe just as I was rushing down a mountain in Colorado. All systems went dead. Pulled over and troubleshot for a few minutes before we figured out it was the switch. One wire was disconnected from its solder point but when we reconnected it the bike still would not work. The switch probably got fried inside so we ended up hot wiring her so it would work, except my headlights stayed on all the time so I had to unhook those. Was able to keep going though.

 

[BadTriumph]

At least mine went out when I was only 20 miles from home. It would definitely suck to be going cross country. I was actually on my way out to ride the route that we were riding the next day for our RAT ride. I ended up leading that effectively blind. I wrote all the turns down on making tape on my tach. It worked. On a good note, Triumph is replacing the whole lock set for free. My bike has been out of warranty for six months so that's pretty cool of them. Maybe they'll do yours too. Can't hurt to ask.

 

[Bishop]

Mine is now on its way out. Not dying in the middle of running but turn the key, instruments come on, everything looks good, hit the starter, nothing.

Took me a little while to figure it out, got off, turned the key, everything on, no headlights.

Pull the key, jiggle it around, back in, turn, headlights on, start.

It has done this to me a few times before but it has been so long I forgot about it, been doing great for a year then all of the sudden it acts up.

 

[busajack]

Kool just reach down and jiggle it at 130 MPH. These blokes have gotten away with murder. They won't even give HD this much room for killin people. I know you wouldn't understand OWL but It ain't rocket science to make a reliable ign. switch. How many of your cars have trouble with ign. switches. Cheap bastards. That deserve every law sute that they get.

 

[BadTriumph]

Kind of what I was thinking about Harleys... I wonder how reliable their ignitions are. I have replaced a couple car ignition switches before. Nice thing there is the electrical side is independant of the key side and it costs about $12 at Autozone instead of $430 for a new lock set. I can't complain too much if Triumph is replacing for free though, ya know?

 

[Bishop]

Mine doesn't die once it's running, just a jiggle in initial startup.

I'm almost thinking I'll toss a marine ignition switch in there and call it a day.