Indicator Short - smoke

[volvik]

It's been so long since I posted here I forgot my login so I had to reregister and here I am.....with a problem of course

'76 R90/6 with 92K miles. I recently noticed that the indicator ramp switch had a problem when I had to fiddle with it to get the left turn signal to activate it. The right is fine...

I removed the phillips screw to take control switch cover off, blew some air in and then tried it again. Right works fine however when I try the left, and wiggle it a bit, I saw a bit of smoke drifting up. The smoke is only present when the turn signal is turned on.

In the Clymer manual it says that you can't repair anything within that white plastic cover of the control switch which houses the wiring/connections for the signals, kill switch and starter switch. The whole component has to be replaced.

Is this correct? If so, does that include the whole wiring loom that goes back to the headlight etc? I'm hoping for an easier solution.

In the meantime I guess I'll leave the turn signal switch alone and resort to hand signals.

Thanks in advance guys...

Ron
Vancouver Island BC

[bbelk]

A) '76 R90/6 with 92K miles.

B) I saw a bit of smoke drifting up.

C) In the Clymer manual it says that you can't repair anything within that white plastic cover of the control switch which houses the wiring/connections for the signals, kill switch and starter switch. The whole component has to be replaced.

Ron
Vancouver Island BC

A) didn't know airhead odometers worked that long

B) smoke is not good

C) my only experience with the handle bar switch is the left side on my 75 R90/6. Mine was definitely not serviceable and there was not much in there that could be repaired in any circumstance. I suspect the right side is similar. They are not hard to find, but they are pricey.

[volvik]

Agreed...not cheap. A new OEM is about $190 but if that's what it takes I guess that's what I'll spend. Ya, 92K miles on my '76 whereas on my '02 1150GS Adventure I have 99.7K miles. Yikes!

[Ken in Oklahoma]

. . . In the Clymer manual it says that you can't repair anything within that white plastic cover of the control switch which houses the wiring/connections for the signals, kill switch and starter switch. The whole component has to be replaced.

Is this correct? . . .

No it's not correct. It's not that I know otherwise and that your switch fault is repairable. Rather, airhead lovers are not "normal" people. I have fixed many things on an airhead that might be regarded as non repairable, such as a bad etch circuit in the instrument cluster or replacing a high current diode in the diode board. Part of the satisfaction of owning an airhead can include "cheating the system" or perhaps exercising ones inginuity in dealing with a problem. I have also popped the cover off the turn signal flasher (which looks like a transistor radio inside) to no avail. But there might have been a fixable (by me) problem that could be fixed and save me some significant bucks.

So I say pop open that piece and have a look around. You might even be able to come up with a unique fix involving non standard parts (such as a strip of brass from a cartridge casing, annealed, and filed to shape to make an electrical contact, or some similar such innovation.) You have nothing to loose and may win a bit of gratification.

Ken

[volvik]

Thanks Ken, agreed. When I pop that interior white plastic cover off the red kill switch will come off somehow and hopefully go back on. Not too sure what I'll find underneath as the three spade terminals leading to the indicator ramp switch are on the outside of that cover.