2006 Ignition switch failure

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Mine is out front. I will be right back, I gotta go look now

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock

OK I am back, They were pretty tight, I had a hard time telling until I cut the ties. I will let it run loose until I get home where I have some pretty black little ties to do a pretty repair/retie

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Good on you guyz for looking and posting. My bet is that they *all* are too tight. :angry:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Good on you guyz for looking and posting. My bet is that they *all* are too tight. :angry:
:clapping: :clapping:

Thanks for the heads up! :clapping: :clapping:

Went out and checked my '06 and it was amazing how tight that wire bundle was pulled around that sharp metal edge. <_<

Cut the zips and wrote a note to re-zip it tonite. Gotta get back to work :dribble:

 
What a royal PITA swapping out the failed ignition switch has been.

Sigh. Deep Breath.

1. Yamaha doesn't sell a 'kit' with the igntion key and matching bag keys.

2. Therefore, the dealer has to remove the old switch, take the new and old to a locksmith to have the tumblers swapped.

3. The locksmith, never having seen an FJR tumbler before, takes forever to *attempt* the job.

4. I am now on day freaking 3 without my bike, the lock is still at the locksmith, the dealer has been, uhh, less than good in keeping tabs on the entire job process. Example? On day 1 I call at 2pm and ask how it's going? Response - the lock is out and sitting on my desk. Hey, how about calling the locksmith? :angry: . I got the impression if I hadn't called, that lock would have sat on the desk until 6pm. On day two I call at 3pm, the response to 'how is the job going' is 'I haven't heard back from the locksmith'. Mind you it's one hour to my house, another 15 to hitch the trailer, another hour to the dealer. I ask 'hey, why didn't you call? Silence.

Sooo, tomorrow, at 3pm, I'm picking up my FJR, ready or not. If I have to install the triple tree myself in the parking lot and load it into the trailer, so be it. I am so fucking pissed I could spit nails. And this from a normally very mellow person. I hate bad service and incompetence.

Back to topic. If you have a switch problem I'd recommend you talk to your dealer about my bad experience and even consider just having two sets of keys; one for the ignition, the other for the bags.

Rant over, thanks for listening.

...and - everyone who has checked has found the wires to be tight. You may want to check too.

 
What a royal PITA swapping out the failed ignition switch has been.Sigh. Deep Breath.

1. Yamaha doesn't sell a 'kit' with the igntion key and matching bag keys.

2. Therefore, the dealer has to remove the old switch, take the new and old to a locksmith to have the tumblers swapped.

3. The locksmith, never having seen an FJR tumbler before, takes forever to *attempt* the job.

4. I am now on day freaking 3 without my bike, the lock is still at the locksmith, the dealer has been, uhh, less than good in keeping tabs on the entire job process. Example? On day 1 I call at 2pm and ask how it's going? Response - the lock is out and sitting on my desk. Hey, how about calling the locksmith? :angry: . I got the impression if I hadn't called, that lock would have sat on the desk until 6pm. On day two I call at 3pm, the response to 'how is the job going' is 'I haven't heard back from the locksmith'. Mind you it's one hour to my house, another 15 to hitch the trailer, another hour to the dealer. I ask 'hey, why didn't you call? Silence.

Sooo, tomorrow, at 3pm, I'm picking up my FJR, ready or not. If I have to install the triple tree myself in the parking lot and load it into the trailer, so be it. I am so fucking pissed I could spit nails. And this from a normally very mellow person. I hate bad service and incompetence.

Back to topic. If you have a switch problem I'd recommend you talk to your dealer about my bad experience and even consider just having two sets of keys; one for the ignition, the other for the bags.

Rant over, thanks for listening.

...and - everyone who has checked has found the wires to be tight. You may want to check too.
Don

I took another key for the new ignition switch and retained the old ignition key to open the gastank, bags and seats. Was a no sweat experience and I merely have an extra key, simple!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I looked at an 07 A on the local dealers floor last weekend, and it had enough slack to stay loose turning stop to stop. Mine will be in tomorrow, and I'll go down to check that too.

 
Yup, mine's tight as well:

1_DSCF5643.JPG


No slack at all. Thanks for the posting (and well done on the roadside fix).

I'm altering mine soonest ...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
WC, any news from your contacts at Cypress? My local dealer wouldn't let me keep the failed part..

 
Just got my '06 this past Saturday and took a look at what you guys posted here. No suprise from what's been reported, both my ties were tight as well. I snipped them off. QUESTION for you though... It seems with both ties snipped, that the wire harnesses seemed to hang in place fine and only move slightly as you move the handle bars from one side to the other. Do you really think they even need to be tied? Are they really doing anything? More harm then good? The only one that "seems" like it might be functional is the one that holds the harness going into the bottom of the ignition switch more in place so it can't pull out? I was considering just letting the two harnesses hang loose. Any thoughts or risks on that? Thanks for any insight...

 
Just got my '06 this past Saturday and took a look at what you guys posted here. No suprise from what's been reported, both my ties were tight as well. I snipped them off. QUESTION for you though... It seems with both ties snipped, that the wire harnesses seemed to hang in place fine and only move slightly as you move the handle bars from one side to the other. Do you really think they even need to be tied? Are they really doing anything? More harm then good? The only one that "seems" like it might be functional is the one that holds the harness going into the bottom of the ignition switch more in place so it can't pull out? I was considering just letting the two harnesses hang loose. Any thoughts or risks on that? Thanks for any insight...
I gave mine about 1/4 inch more slack and retied them. I'd rather the wire not flex at the connection on the switch every time the handle bar moves. I think the ties keep the flex back down the wire, and not at the connection point where movement could cause it to fail eventually. Hopefully there is enough length at the other end too. :unsure:

B)

 
I would suggest that 2006 owners take a quick peek at the loom exiting the switch bottom and ensure it's not really tight. Sorry I don't have good pix, but it's really easy to see, you don't have to remove any plastic for this inspection.
The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY.

GOOD: dcarver's post.

BAD: I checked mine, it was also extremely tight.

UGLY: Didn't want to wait to check... so I got out of bed, put on some house shoes and went to the garage to check. (Oh, forgot to mention... I didn't put on any pants! So, I’m standing in my garage in my underwear when the garage door unexpectedly starts to open. Next thing I know I'm staring at my neighbor's wife. She was returning some tools he borrowed earlier in the day!)

 
...so I got out of bed, put on some house shoes and went to the garage to check. (Oh, forgot to mention... I didn't put on any pants! So, I'm standing in my garage in my underwear when the garage door unexpectedly starts to open. Next thing I know I'm staring at my neighbor's wife. She was returning some tools he borrowed earlier in the day!)
Dear Penthouse Forum,

I never thought I would be writing a letter like this one, but...

 
I would suggest that 2006 owners take a quick peek at the loom exiting the switch bottom and ensure it's not really tight. Sorry I don't have good pix, but it's really easy to see, you don't have to remove any plastic for this inspection.
The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY.

GOOD: dcarver's post.

BAD: I checked mine, it was also extremely tight.

UGLY: Didn't want to wait to check... so I got out of bed, put on some house shoes and went to the garage to check. (Oh, forgot to mention... I didn't put on any pants! So, I'm standing in my garage in my underwear when the garage door unexpectedly starts to open. Next thing I know I'm staring at my neighbor's wife. She was returning some tools he borrowed earlier in the day!)
..and as she walked in, did you try to explain how our 'wire' was tight? :unsure:
Back to topic, I'm very surprised that this thread hasn't generated more interest/activity.. My new switch had the same problem as the original one.. too tight. I did as described above, loosened it up, provided some slack.. and all shoudl be good.

 
I took your info and passed it on to my buddy who is stranded in Flagstaff, AZ. He broke down last Friday and the dealer has not been able to get a replacement Main Switch. I just got a call and the bike is running. He followed your suggestions and bike is running.

Thanks very much for help.

On a Death Valley group ride last weekend, my 2006 'A' suddenly experienced a total loss of electrical power. The failure was instant and total. No early warning signs. Had I been passing a series of cars or... it would have been nasty. Just instant and total failure.Two hours of troubleshooting alongside the road revealed that the 'hot' wire (red) had pulled out from, separated from, the ignition switch module assembly.

This red wire still had the solder joint / switch contact intact. I haven't torn the ignition switch apart yet, but I can imagine a phenolic board held this contact point captive. On the bottom side, the wire approaches from the loom and is soldered onto, or into, a landing pad that's mechanically secured to the phenolic circuit board. The topside of this pad is in fact a contact point for the ignition switch wiper.

Long of short, the whole assembly was *easily* pulled from the switch assembly, with minimal force. It was very apparent the failure was an open, not a short. Simply hot wiring the red to the brown got power back. The two remaining wires, an interlock, required the ignition switch be placed to the run position for the bike to fire.

The cause and what you should look for? The wire loom exiting the switch was ty-wrapped in two places. The wire was 'banjo' string tight. I postulate the harness was ty-wrapped to tight from the factory, causing the red B+ wire to be under constant tension. After so much time and vibration, tension won and the circuit opened.

I would suggest that 2006 owners take a quick peek at the loom exiting the switch bottom and ensure it's not really tight. Sorry I don't have good pix, but it's really easy to see, you don't have to remove any plastic for this inspection.

Here is the best pix I have..

DeathValleyFeb2007018.jpg


Edited to correct typo.
 
A year ago or so I read a post on one of the FJR forums that showed how to rekey locks. Check on search. Ian, Iowa

 
Are you talking here? I pick up my 07 late tomorrow and would like to check this. Whoops, can't upload.

hh

 
[SIZE=24pt][/size]Third failure recorded...[/SIZE]

 


I was on a trip from Rhode Island to the Dragon last week when I came out of a diner in Ashville NC and the bike had no power. Checked all the fuses etc and no joy. Went to the phone book and looked up the local Yamaha dealer , called a wrecker, and got my bike over to them (MR Motors). The guys there were super helpful when I explained my problem and the fact that I had three other guys broiling in the sun outside and that I had to get back to RI (about 1300 miles from Ashville). This problem must be more widespread than we thought because after a search it was determined that they're wasn't a SINGLE IGNITION SWITCH available from Yamaha anywhere in the system!!!!
:angry2: Fortunantely, because of a crack mechanic at the dealer, he was able to adapt a Honda ATV ignition switch in next to stock switch and it worked flawlessly until I got home today.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
This is no good.
Going to try to fire up my Cypress contacts and give them a heads up. This has the potential to be bad.

Good job trouble-shooting by the roadside... anything beats having your bike towed. :angry2:
Any word on this problem from Cypress...I did have to tow my bike and I was not happy :angry2:

On top of that, the dealer said that there wasn't an ignition switch available in the Yamaha food chain.

100_1282.jpg


100_1281.jpg


 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have had the same experience with sudden lack of power. I was taking a turn and everything just died. At least I have a sense of what happened now and a direction to go in trying to get this fixed. I have made a copy of this thread and sent it to my dealer. Thanks for the information!

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top