06 Ignition Failure

OK, so I bought my 06 AE new from Town and Country (Ride Now), Chandler, AZ back in July 07. It is still under 1 year warrentee plus I purchased "YES" as well. Well today pulling into work I had the treaded ignition failure. I have been aware of the possibility of this happening thanks to all of you on this forum. I took the precaution of loosening the super tight zipties back in July 07 and hoped that I would avoid this bullet. Anyway, I pulled into the drive at work and the bike just died, I was in 1st gear and moving about 15mph so luckily no big deal there. I tried to recycle the key with no luck but jiggleing the wire harness comming out of the ignition got me power to at least get the bike back into neutral so I could push it. It did start again as well but the slightest movement of the wires and she cuts out. Heres where the fun begins. I called my dealer and explained that I was stranded at work and need to have the bike picked up. He told me that there are no drivers available today and that it would have to wait till Monday. He continued to tell me that if it was indeed the ignition switch that it would be 5 - 7 days to get a new one at the dealers location. He will not order a part till he sees the bike. I told him that I would use the tecnich I learned from this forum to Hot wire the bike, (Pull the red and brown wires from the ingnition and connect them together) to get the bike running and bring it to him. Mind you I'm literally 2 blocks from the dealer. His response to that was that I may void the warrentee if I do this and that the part is $145.00 not including labor. I find it hard to believe that they can void a warrentee over this. Any recourse if they try this crap? I really dont want to leave the bike at work all weekend.

Do like I did and use bailing wire to load the key to where the ignition will stay on, or get a buddy and push the thing over there.

Tampering with, or altering the broken part will most definitely void the warranty of said part without them at least seeing it first. Otherwise, how could they know your alterations aren't the reason for the failure?

If it is in fact literally two blocks away, why not just grin and bear it and either ride it there if you get it started again, or pick a buddy and push it there?

Or, you could get really colorful and use a tow rope and have a friend pull you over there. Be sure to get video if you choose to do this.

No tow rope necessary. I called them back and threw what I would call a bonified hissy fit. Well they came up with a driver and tow truck, even had a set of canyon dancers with them. So for now, the bike is safe at the dealer. I'll add my experiance to the pinned posts for this when I have an out come.

Boy, you can just feel the love, can't you? I seem to recall some similar "praise" for your dealer a couple of weeks ago. You might have to move just to get good work done!

Sorry to hear about ignition (and dealer) troubles. I'm just looking into cutting the tiewraps. Let us know how the warranty work goes.

After reading about the fun so many people have had with these, as of today I'm the proud owner of a spare ignition switch. It will not take up much room in my top box..



-Uwe-

Cutting the wires to 'hot wire' them together should in no way invalidate the warranty. Then again, you were very close to the dealer. Good for you on throwing a hissy, e.g. standing up for yourself and getting transported. BTW, good luck with the dealer. From what I've heard...

UweRoss said:

After reading about the fun so many people have had with these, as of today I'm the proud owner of a spare ignition switch. It will not take up much room in my top box..

-Uwe-

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Be sure you drill out the anti-theft screws or your still stuck.

-Uwe-

Be sure you drill out the anti-theft screws or your still stuck.

beat me to it,,,, suppose your enroute to nafo. Try to change the switch on side of road. Did they give you new keys with the switch?

cota95 said:

Be sure you drill out the anti-theft screws or your still stuck.

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Nope, won't do any pre-drilling. The switch doesn't have to mounted in its usual spot to make the bike run. Lift tank. Unplug old, plug in new, zip-tie or duct-tape it somewhere semi accessible, ride on, possibly to a shop of some sort to have the drilling done.

huk finn said:

Did they give you new keys with the switch?

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Yup. Debating taking it to a locksmith and having him tweak it so it will work with my existing keys.

-Uwe-

dcarver said:

Cutting the wires to 'hot wire' them together should in no way invalidate the warranty. Then again, you were very close to the dealer. Good for you on throwing a hissy, e.g. standing up for yourself and getting transported. BTW, good luck with the dealer. From what I've heard...

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I'm not sure how Yamaha handles warranty claims, but in the car business, when a dealer replaces a part under warranty, he's required to keep the failed part available for the manufacturer to inspect -- at least for a certain period of time. In some cases, the manufacturer will want the old part back. If the part shows signs of abuse, such as having captive wires cut, it will not be eligible for a warranty claim.

Is this reasonable in such a case, where somebody cut the wires in order not to be stuck? Nope. But it's reality anyway.

-Uwe-

777 mine is going right now,,i turn the switch on,,it clicks on then off,,then i turn it till it works,,i have a second gear problem,,i guess its snowballs,,i dont tell them idiots anything extra,,,i put a full system exhaust i thought they were going give me hell about that,but they said nothing,,what i have learned is the relationship i have with my dealer is the difference between getting it fixed under warranty or not,,777 good luck

POS dealer update. I had left this with the dealer finding a driver and they picked up the bike. I got a call from him 5 mins later to say the bke was unloaded and at the shop. Then I waited till 4pm, 7 hours later, I still hadnt heard back and I was wanting to use my bike. I had explained to him before that I knew how to get it going and I carry a 50 amp toggle switch with me just in case that thing ever crapped out. I wanted him to diagnose and order the part so that I could at that point hack the wires and have my bike back. When I spoke to him at 4, he copped a little attitude and explained to me that his shop was backed up with work for a week and asked If I expected him to just drop everything for me. Shit yes was my response, I told him to take his ass over to my bike and just turn on the F'n key and touch the wire harness comming out of the back of the switch. He came back in less them 1 minute and anounced that I needed a new Ignition switch and that he would order it. What a shit head! He told me the part will take 7 days to get from CA to AZ. I asked if they were sending via turtle and told him I'd be there by 505 to pick up my bike. He then started in about Yamaha possibly wanting the old ignition switch back and If I hacked the wires they still might not cover the part. I made him call them back and they didnt care what I did as far as cutting the wires. I ended up getting exactly what I wanted, Bike is with me, the toggle switch is installed (Took less then 10 mins in the dealers parking lot) and I didnt have to leave my bike with them. Just a bunch of dealer caused aggrivation over nothing. I still need to bring the bike back for the ignition install this friday. I cant wait to see what they jack up this visit. :angrysmiley:

And you're not switching to a different dealer because.....?

It seems to me that if you're that disenchanted with them...this is a perfect time to find some other dealer you think will be better. There are a number of others in Arizona IIRC.

Ignacio said:

And you're not switching to a different dealer because.....?
It seems to me that if you're that disenchanted with them...this is a perfect time to find some other dealer you think will be better. There are a number of others in Arizona IIRC.

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Well.....since he was 2 blocks away from the selling dealer when he had the problem, I can see why he went there. Plus, they are in the process of dealing with it, so a dealer change might not be all that simple. And......even though there are a number of dealers in Arizona, I have yet to find one worth a shit. (Except for Casa Grande, and he only does warranty work on stuff he sells. Yeah, I know. He's not allowed to do that, but whatcha gonna do?)

Now, all that being said, Town & Country Motorsports is the worst dealer I have had the displeasure of dealing with in Arizona. It's run like a high pressure Car dealership. They're sales and service departments will NEVER see one single dime of my money. Still, I believe there have been a couple of satisfied folks from the forum who have bought there. A freakin miracle!

Still, this brings us back to the original quandry of where the hell in Arizona do you take your FJR for good service, especially warranty? I sure as hell don't know. And with my current electrical woes, I may have to resort to a dealer and I have no idea which one of the many around here I'll take it too. It's a crap shoot with shitty odds.

:angry2:

As an aside, this ignition switch issue seems to be getting bigger and bigger. I am really glad I have a Gen I FJR right now. Looks like newer isn't always better - though there is absolutely no resaon that shouldn't be the case.

SkooterG said:

Still, this brings us back to the original quandry [sic] of where the hell in Arizona do you take your FJR for good service, especially warranty? I sure as hell don't know. And with my current electrical woes, I may have to resort to a dealer and I have no idea which one of the many around here I'll take it too. It's a crap shoot with shitty odds.

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If I might suggest something for you to consider in your next life: Skooter's Yamaha of (name of town here) AZ

twowheelnut said:

If I might suggest something for you to consider in your next life: Skooter's Yamaha of (name of town here) AZ

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Don't I wish. But then, I probably wouldn't have any time to actually ride my FJR.

Dealer has attitude, gives Rondo attitude.

attitude begets attitude

Sounds like Rondo's having fun. :lol: