Gear Position Switch short

[sebring38]

It appears I have a short in my gear position switch or the circuitry for the gear position indicator lights. Serious enough to to nuke my 6 month old battery last night. Is there any way to safely disconnect those circuits and still have lights & turnsignals to keep me on the road until I can get new parts?
sebring38@juno.com

[earlfor]

Re: Gear Position Switch short

The gear position switch is under the countershaft/sprocket cover and the leads for it are in the same bundle of wires as are the stator wires. The bundle exits at the top of the countershaft cover and is routed reaward towards the battery/fusebox/R/R on the left rear of the bike. If the short is in the switch, I suspect you could chase down the pair of switch leads and unplug them from the harness and that would break the circuit to stop the problem. That would have no effect on your lights, turn signals, etc.

Earl

It appears I have a short in my gear position switch or the circuitry for the gear position indicator lights. Serious enough to to nuke my 6 month old battery last night. Is there any way to safely disconnect those circuits and still have lights & turnsignals to keep me on the road until I can get new parts?
sebring38@juno.com

[Billy Ricks]

I may be wrong but I believe the postion switch sends a ground signal to the instruments, not a hot signal. At least that's how it looks on the wiring diagram for my bike.

[sebring38]

I had been blowing fuses for a while but couldnt figure out why. If I started the bike and let it just sit there and run, everything would work great. It was only when I got on the bike and started down the street that it would blow. I think now that it is happening when I shift into 2nd gear. After discovering this I replaced fuses, started it up and then started shifting while sitting in my garage: Bingo. It blew the fuse.
I will pull the cover tomorrow and see if I can isolate those particular wires in the harness. thanks sebring38

[focus frenzy]

I may be wrong but I believe the postion switch sends a ground signal to the instruments, not a hot signal. At least that's how it looks on the wiring diagram for my bike.

your right Billy, the switch just switches what bulb gets grounded so it lights up.

a short in one of the power wires in the cluster to the wire from say, the ground for the second gear light, (by passing the bulb) could cause this problem.

current suzuki's have six wire gear position switches but they use it to tell the ecm what gear you are in. (the SV retards the engine in 1st and 2nd)

[sebring38]

Fire + Gas = No Start

Unplugged gear position switch, with exception of neutral indicator. All electrics appear to work OK. I have spark at each cylindar and it's getting gas, but won't start. Acts as if kill switch is off. What other parts in the ignition could have been fried when the original short nuked the battery, which would prevent starting now?
sebring38

[NotSoFast]

I'd check the wires inside the instrument cluster and the headlight bucket, paying close attention to the connectors. That's where the frying usually occurs.

[DaveDanger]

Unplugged gear position switch, with exception of neutral indicator. All electrics appear to work OK. I have spark at each cylindar and it's getting gas, but won't start. Acts as if kill switch is off.

When you say that it won't start.. do you mean that it will crank the motor over with the starter, but won't fire??? or that the starter will not turn over?

When my kill switch has been thumbed, the starter does not respond to the starter button.

[sebring38]

Unplugged gear position switch, with exception of neutral indicator. All electrics appear to work OK. I have spark at each cylindar and it's getting gas, but won't start. Acts as if kill switch is off.

When you say that it won't start.. do you mean that it will crank the motor over with the starter, but won't fire??? or that the starter will not turn over?

When my kill switch has been thumbed, the starter does not respond to the starter button.

Dave: The starter does turn and there is spark at the plugs, but acts as if kill switch is on, which is is not. On my bike, the starter will crank but not fire if the kill switch is off. Also, all air intakes a good and tight and gas is flowing.
thanks, Keith

[DaveDanger]

It doesn't make sense that the ignition has been affected if you have spark at the plug wires. Sounds like fuel or timing. I know that doesn't follow to have disconnected wires at the gear indicator, but...

I think to eliminate possibilities, I'd re-connect all the wires that you've disconnected, and see if it cranks and runs. Then disconnect them one at a time, and see what makes it not crank.