Hey fellas- When I bought my bike [84 1100] I needed to replace my front brake switch.
Then that stopped working and had to be replaced. Now I have to replace it again. This is in a 12,000 mi span I have had the bike. 48,000 mi. now
Am i just getting unlucky in the parts dept. or is this common?
And I did NOT see an option from Randy? How can THAT be?????
Un-lucky, yes. Most micro switches are rated for a million plus cycles before failure. My '86 has over 70K miles on it with zero switch failures.
How much for the one off your 86? Lol.
I will just replace and hope for the best. Its just that I use mainly the front brake but now I am paranoid and always jab on the rear brake to cover myself. And then the question of having to constantly check for a working light. Oh well.
Quote from: bigbore2 on April 24, 2016, 09:23:56 PM
How much for the one off your 86? Lol.
I will just replace and hope for the best. Its just that I use mainly the front brake but now I am paranoid and always jab on the rear brake to cover myself. And then the question of having to constantly check for a working light. Oh well.
You should be fine with a new one, unless you are getting some odd voltage/AMP issues causing the early failure. If you really want my old one we can talk. But it won't be cheap, that switch is now 30 years old and classic. :sarcastic:
I took mine (1984) apart two years ago and polished up the metal contacts. They need to be removed from the switch to get at the contact surfaces on the bottom of the metal strips. So far, so good.
But you can find what you're looking for here: =electrical&filters[fitting]=custom]http://www.partsnmore.com/parts/yamaha/fj1100/?filters[category]=electrical&filters[fitting]=custom (http://www.partsnmore.com/parts/yamaha/fj1100/?filters%5Bcategory)
That's from southern Ontario, Canada. A good experience anytime I've ordered stuff for two wheel relics.
Charlie
PM sent
Fred
Quote from: Charlie-brm on April 26, 2016, 12:32:58 PM
I took mine (1984) apart two years ago and polished up the metal contacts. They need to be removed from the switch to get at the contact surfaces on the bottom of the metal strips. So far, so good.
Charlie
Good job. One of the beauties of our FJ's is that you can do just that, pull the switch apart. They are a mechanical switch and 99% of the time cleaning the contacts will do the trick.
Noel
I will I can try the contact polish but I am in the high desert. Corrosion would be less likely here, I would assume? No?
thanx
Went out to my "mancave" garage and took off the switch. The pin was fully compressed and stuck in. I dropped it on my garage floor and when I picked it up, it was now fully extended. installed it and it works perfect. I guess I will watch it for a while and see how it does.
with the garage door closed [daytime] I was checking how it worked and compared it to my rear brake light. The front light has a noticeably less bright light than the rear brake light. is that normal, dont they light the same bulb filament? the difference would be rear at 100% and front at 80%
Quote from: bigbore2 on April 27, 2016, 04:42:23 PM
Went out to my "mancave" garage and took off the switch. The pin was fully compressed and stuck in. I dropped it on my garage floor and when I picked it up, it was now fully extended. installed it and it works perfect. I guess I will watch it for a while and see how it does.
with the garage door closed [daytime] I was checking how it worked and compared it to my rear brake light. The front light has a noticeably less bright light than the rear brake light. is that normal, dont they light the same bulb filament? the difference would be rear at 100% and front at 80%
I am guessing you mean the rear brake light is brighter when activated by the brake peddle and about 80% less bright when activated by the lever. Both brake switches activate the same filaments in the brake lights. You might be seeing a voltage drop caused by corroded connections between the front brake switch and where it connects to the rest of the electrical system.
Yes FJ, what you said.
and then one of the spade female connectors broke off one of the wires. I will take that as a good thing, huh? guess I will upgrade to a soldered connection there.
we have an electrical specialty store here in ABQ. want to buy new female spade connectors to solder with. they are pretty small in size. I guess i will check with them on parts.
or maybe Radio Shack?
Solder is great for electrical conductivity, but a 'quality' mechanical crimp is superior for environments with vibration, like motorcycles.
Quote from: Pat Conlon on April 27, 2016, 06:57:10 PM
Solder is great for electrical conductivity, but a 'quality' mechanical crimp is superior for environments with vibration, like motorcycles.
Through a few painful lessons I've developed a technique that works very well and has been fully reliable for me -- I use the heat shrink crimp connectors whenever possible. I also coat each wire end with a product called OxGuard -- it's basically dielectric grease for corrosion resistance with finely ground metal added to enhance conductivity. Crimp with a quality crimp tool, do a "pull test" on the connection, then shrink the heat shrink part of the connector. I've built two harnesses from scratch for the race bike and three versions of the fuel injection harness -- 100% success with all connections I've done this way. Other connecfions I haven't done this with have given me various issues and caused a lot of grief.
NOTE - DO NOT use OxGuard on a multi-pin connector - it can cause shorting between pins since it conducts electricity!
Thank you Chris, what a good tip!
2 birds with one stone, corrosion protection and better conductivity.....
You rock.
heat shrink crimp connectors-never heard of them. Will sort out locally here, I hope.
that site in Canada looks tasty-thanx
No problem. It's good to share knowledge. Like next time I have a voltage drop, I'll try your method of dropping the part on the floor and see if that helps. Why didn't I see the connection before now. :good2:
I still would have taken it apart while I had it out but maybe that's just me. I love getting into the guts of things electric, going on 50 years with a soldering iron. The corrosion is not from humid air, it's the microscopic breakdown that goes on anytime surfaces are passing electricity. The contact area is darkened and rough and needs a wipe. I even spin AA batteries in place in their receptacles as my first resort if things go dim or wonky, like my computer mouse acting up.
Here is an example of a heat shrink butt splice. As mentioned above. You crimp the metal feral to your wires the same as a regular butt spice, then use a heat gun to shrink the plastic.
Fred
Quote from: bigbore2 on April 27, 2016, 09:32:47 PM
heat shrink crimp connectors-never heard of them. Will sort out locally here, I hope.
that site in Canada looks tasty-thanx
All the normal car parts places carry her shrink style as- Autozone, NAPA, O'Reillys, etc
OxGuard I've found at RadioShack and Home Depot.
Oh..... Something to remember. Use the lowest heat setting on heat gun that will shrink the heat shrink. The material that is used for insulation for Motorcycle/Automotive wiring has a relatively low melting point.
Fred
Hate replying to a necro-thread but it seems I will have to replace the front brake switch for a second time in two years. I replaced with an OEM one about two years ago and it's already failed.
Is this common?
Quote from: indyblue on June 24, 2023, 01:19:04 PM
Hate replying to a necro-thread but it seems I will have to replace the front brake switch for a second time in two years. I replaced with an OEM one about two years ago and it's already failed.
Is this common?
Not normal. The usual culprit is moisture corroding the contacts inside..
There is the occasional broken contact as it is a pivot, those are pretty rare.
Pop the cover off and have a look, you might identify the problem. If you find it corroded and replace it again, pop the cover off the new one and put a.little dielectric grease on the contacts to prevent future issues.
We don't not stock the front switch because they don't usually gove trouble, but I can supply both Yamaha or aftermarket. The only front brake light switch we stock os the conversion switch for those who are changing over to thr FJR master cylinder.
http://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=M%2FC%3ABrakeLightSwitch (http://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=M%2FC%3ABrakeLightSwitch)
Let us know what you find.
Randy - RPM
My genuine OEM Yamaha replacement switch indeed went bad. Still don't know what failed, wiggling one of the connector tabs produced intermittent brake lighting. I think the plastic housing either failed or was marginally defective, it only lasted one season. Bike is always garaged and has not seen rain in over a decade so I can't imagine it's due to corrosion. I replaced with a new OEM part and all is well.
If this one fails, I may need to try to add a capacitor for arc prevention along with dielectric grease.