Ignition Failures

I'm in the planning stages of a cross crountry trip & I'm curious if anybody knows

if Yamaha has responded to the rash of ignition failures ?

I'm thinking of having my dealer look at the connections on the ignition so as to

prevent this from occuring while on the road.

somehow I suspect that the dealer would just says its fine, blah blah, unless

its been recognized as a real problem by Yamaha.

Anybody have some advice ?

1hellofaride said:

I'm in the planning stages of a cross crountry trip & I'm curious if anybody knowsif Yamaha has responded to the rash of ignition failures ?

I'm thinking of having my dealer look at the connections on the ignition so as to

prevent this from occuring while on the road.

somehow I suspect that the dealer would just says its fine, blah blah, unless

its been recognized as a real problem by Yamaha.

Anybody have some advice ?

Click to expand...

To my knowledge there has not been a recall for the ignition switches. While there have been a few reported cases I didn't think it was a very large percentage of bikes affected. I understand your concern. I just disassembled mine and checked it to make sure it was OK. It was. But the task to do that is quite big. You have to remove the triple clamp and drill out the switch mounting bolts and then drill the switch apart. Pretty labor intensive to have the dealer do it.

Well, if it were me, I would address it myself.

I haven't been following this issue that closely, but I seem to recall that a major contributing factor - if not the culprit itself - is simply that the germane wire harness is so tightly zip-tied to adjacent sub-frame members, that it eventually causes a critical dis-connect. At least, I recall reading that here on the forum some time ago. There may be other factors involved, and if so, I'm sure those more intimate with the issue can speak to this.

Regardless, I believe I would loosen this offending zip-tie immediately, simply as a precautionary measure.

Warchild said:

Regardless, I believe I would loosen this offending zip-tie immediately, simply as a precautionary measure.

Click to expand...

Yep, what he said! That was the conclusion of those who had the failure (I believe dcarver, followed by others). FJRay had his '03 ignition switch have internal problems that he was able to repair and clean.

I had an internal failure of the ignition switch on my 06 AE at about 10k miles. I was lucky enough to be able to jam a toothpick into the key slot while turning on the ignition and got the bike to start. I rode it about 50 miles to the dealer for inspection without the engine stopping. When I had the technician at the bike, I pulled the toothpick out of the ignition while the engine was still running and it immediately stopped. The dealer replaced the ignition switch and it has not failed in another 20k miles.

With the AE, it is not possible to push start the bike rather you have to follow the owners manual for trouble shooting. My advice, is get the switch checked out.

Consensus as to the the root cause has not been reached. IMHO the failures are not attributed to just one issue. My failure was obviously a banjo string tight wire, as WarChild mentioned above. Others have had internal failures. Some say just don't spray any kind of cleaner in it.

At the very least, do a search on this forum to learn how to hotwire your fjr if needed. It's not all that hard to do and might save your bacon. I now always carry the appropriate tools and stuff to hotwire if needed.

I would not have the dealer look at it. He won't have a clue. Simply check and loosed the bundle if needed, arm yourself with knowledge and a few simple supplies then ride like the wind.

The earlier FJRs ('03s and some '04s) had problems with the contacts of the switch failing. Some of the early FJRs had drain holes in the bottom of the switch and others did not.

The Gen IIs have problems with the wires being tie-wrapped too tight causing:

1. the wires to pull out of the switch or break at the PCB;

2. or, causing the insulation to chafe resulting in shorts.

Check out this thread: >>CLICK<<

Thanks guy's.

I'll be giving the ignition switch & wiring a look to see if things are too tight.

I'll also be prepared to hot wire while on the road.

I had the ignition failure on my 06. I had previously checked the zip tie, removed it and put on another one looser. When if failed, I took it apart and a experianced electronics guy said he was sure the problem was that the wire was never properly soldered in the first place. Yamaha is aware of the problem. If you really want to be sure, I would remove the tie wraps and grab the wire harness and pull it really hard out from the ignition. If you have one with a problem it will probably fail right then. If not, just replace the tie wraps and don't worry about it.

Sounds like it might be prudent to do a little preemptive wiring (id est installing M-F connectors) to make on the road hot wiring less of a hassle if needed. I know that FJRay made that modification when he had his switch problems.

M-F connectors ??

1hellofaride said:

M-F connectors ??

Click to expand...

If you put male and female connectors in line. When and if the switch fails it is a matter of bypassing the switch using the connectors.

When I purchased my 06 AE (March 2007) I had the dealer remove the zip-tie in question. I sent him a link to a post here on the forum and they were happy to remove. My ignition still failed.

turbodave_98 - You had a AE failure also? Did you file a complaint with the NHTSA? I go look at the complaints form time to time and thought I was the only AE with the ignition failure.

John T said:

When I purchased my 06 AE (March 2007) I had the dealer remove the zip-tie in question. I sent him a link to a post here on the forum and they were happy to remove. My ignition still failed.
turbodave_98 - You had a AE failure also? Did you file a complaint with the NHTSA? I go look at the complaints form time to time and thought I was the only AE with the ignition failure.

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Did not file complaint. It was immmediately replaced by dealer without complaint.The dealers have to return failed parts to Yamaha if replaced under warranty, if I understand correctly.

turbodave_98 said:

<snip>The dealers have to return failed parts to Yamaha if replaced under warranty, if I understand correctly.

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Only, if asked for by Yamaha -- I think? I'm pretty sure they (dealers) must keep the old parts (replaced under warranty) for a certain length of time -- in case Yamaha calls for them......

Sometimes, dealers will give you back the old parts if you ask for them. Technically, I guess, the old parts belong to Yamaha -- but, if the dealer has a sense the company won't want them (commonly replaced part or lots of time passed) they'll have to dispose of the parts somehow.

charismaticmegafauna said:

turbodave_98 said:

<snip>The dealers have to return failed parts to Yamaha if replaced under warranty, if I understand correctly.

Click to expand...

Only, if asked for by Yamaha -- I think? I'm pretty sure they (dealers) must keep the old parts (replaced under warranty) for a certain length of time -- in case Yamaha calls for them......

Sometimes, dealers will give you back the old parts if you ask for them. Technically, I guess, the old parts belong to Yamaha -- but, if the dealer has a sense the company won't want them (commonly replaced part or lots of time passed) they'll have to dispose of the parts somehow.

Click to expand...

My dealer kept the part for 60 days incase Yamaha asked for it. After that they will trash it, unless you ask for it. I have my old ignition switch.