FJRF003.0: Ignition Failures on FJRs

[TheAxeman]

So how many temporary dirty switches get replaced unnecessarily due to the 'ignition switch paranoia' from here on the forum?

"Internet hysteria theory".....Geez Skooter, you should apply for a job with my dealer. :glare:

Hopefully nobody ends up with a Peterbilt shoved up their *** because of a "dirty switch".

 

[SkooterG]

So how many temporary dirty switches get replaced unnecessarily due to the 'ignition switch paranoia' from here on the forum?

"Internet hysteria theory".....Geez Skooter, you should apply for a job with my dealer. :glare:

Hopefully nobody ends up with a Peterbilt shoved up their *** because of a "dirty switch".

I guess I wasn not clear enough.

A switch failing while the bike is running is an entirely different event and a huge issue. That should NEVER happen, and if it happened to me, I would be extremely pissed off, as well as gravely concerned.

 

[dcarver]

quote]
I had the same thing happen to me with my ignition switch on my 04 - once around 60,000 miles, and once around 80,000 miles. Both times - Nothing when the switch was turned on, but after cycling the switch 30-70 times, everything would magically light up and be ok. Well, I still have that same switch, now with 125,000 miles and have had no other 'issues' in over a year. So obviously there was nothing wrong with the switch, other than perhaps some dirty contacts.

Skoot, it ain't the miles my friend, it's the number of switch operations. Your 125,000 miles probably equates to 125 switch operations, since you ride 1,000 miles a whack. Other folks, like CBA me, only ride 50 miles one way, 2x daily, 5 days a week, then on weekends, so it's not unlikely I have 800 switch manipulations on my 40k 2006. My switch is more likely to fail than yours, strictly based on use. (OK, maybe you are a closet CBA rider too and have more than 125 switch manipulations, but you get the idea )

A switch failing while the bike is running is an entirely different event and a huge issue. That should NEVER happen, and if it happened to me, I would be extremely pissed off, as well as gravely concerned.

Exactly what happened to me and others. Agreed, more have failed after stopping, or having been stopped, but then again, how can one predict when, or under what circumstance the switch will fail?

On a humorous side note Skooter, when your switch does fail, be sure to post up and take your well deserved doggie pile!

 

[SkooterG]

Skoot, it ain't the miles my friend, it's the number of switch operations. Your 125,000 miles probably equates to 125 switch operations, since you ride 1,000 miles a whack. Other folks, like CBA me, only ride 50 miles one way, 2x daily, 5 days a week, then on weekends, so it's not unlikely I have 800 switch manipulations on my 40k 2006. My switch is more likely to fail than yours, strictly based on use.

********.

While I do a lot of LD riding, my FJR is also my primary mode of transportation my candy-assed friend. It's had plenty of sub-5 mile trips in it's life (life in a small town) and I assure you, the switch has been cycled umpteen million times. Besides, your theory is pretty thin as many of the switch failures are on newer FJRs with not that many miles. So far, there is no rhyme or reason to switch failures. The relatively extremely small percentage that do fail seem to be random.

Exactly what happened to me and others. Agreed, more have failed after stopping, or having been stopped, but then again, how can one predict when, or under what circumstance the switch will fail?

Not sure what you are trying to get at here. Who's talking about predicting when, or the circumstances of failure? I am not - It's a random thing. All I am saying is that for those who go to start up and nothing happens, don't instantly assume your switch is bad. Cycle it a bazillion times, or spray some cleaner in it. It could just be a dirty switch. Don't jump to possibly wrong conclusions based on certain topics getting a lot of airplay on a forum.

Don't get me wrong, identifying, dealing with, and communicating information on problems is one of the greatest things about forums like this one. But don't be so naive to think there are no disadvantages too.

How many people have either wrongly concluded, or have been unnecessarily concerned, that their FJR is a ticker because they hear the slightest noise and they read so much about the problem on the forums?

 

[Barabus]

My reverse engineering of my ignition switch failure.

LINK

 

[stokerdog]

1) 2004

2) 18,500 miles approx.

3) Failed while leaving a small town @ 35-40 mph

4) Solder joint failed inside switch.

5) I repaired switch my self, though I had to get a ride home on a Harley!

6) About 1 hour to diagnose, about an hour to take apart and repair.

 

[Kasey]

1) What Year FJR.

2003

2) How many miles.

Failed at 95000 Km

3) Failed while running or turning ignition?

While running. The engine quit during a low speed turn into a gas station. The bike would start, the needles did a sweep each time, it would run for a few seconds, then quit again; repeat x 20.

4) Type of Failure?

I was told "broken wires" inside the connector. Shop said perhaps due to 'vibration'. (I will be looking inside the connector to confirm exactly what what was done - I left the old part with a friend due to lack of space to carry it home.)

5) Actual repair performed & by what dealer?

The dealer soldered the broken wires. Done by Playmor Power Products, Crescent Valley, B.C., Canada.

6) How many days was the bike at the dealer for service?

Four hours

7) Paid by Yamaha or not?

No - I didn't even go there. My '03 warranty period is long over.

8) What did you do for the other locks?

Nothing - it's no big deal to carry two keys.

9) How badly were you inconvenienced by this switch failure?

To sum up I waited ~3 hrs. for the tow truck and since it was too late in the day to make the 3 hr. trip to the closest Yamaha dealer I had to spend a night in a motel, then take the 3 hr. trip to the shop and hang around several hours as they investigated the problem and fixed it. Inconvenient, yes, and the whole event cost an unexpected $80 motel, $125 for labor then $290 for the new part which the dealer recommended as the soldering was a temp fix. The new part was installed 3 wks. later by myself and a friend who had the tools. I went with the replacement as I was on the road all summer and didn't want to be stranded again if the soldering failed.

PS - I must mention the plus side; the top-notch service by my Emergency Road Service provider meant that the local tow truck driver in the small town of Nakusp, B.C., where the breakdown occurred, picked me up at the gas station with a special home-built mc trailer, loaded up the bike and all my camping gear and took it home to his house so all would be safe overnight. In the morning he returned with his personal van and the trailer and drove me to the mc Shop. You can bet that this level of service wouldn't have happened in a big city.

 

[Duel Sport II]

Due to an apparent rash of ignition failures on FJRs, we would like to use this thread for information gathering purposes on this narrow issue only. The information we need about the ignition failures is: 1) What year FJR?; 2) How many miles?; 3) Failed while running? Or while turning ignition? Or whatever?; 4) Type of failure: Wires pulled out? Switch failure? Unknown? (pictures are useful); 5) Actual repair performed and by what dealer; 6) How many days was the bike at the dealer for service?; 7) Paid for by Yamaha or not? 8) What did you do about the other locks (gas, side bags, seat and top case) on the bike (do you have two keys or one)? 9) Briefly, how badly were you inconvenienced by this ignition failure.
Your information should be a in the form of a reply on this thread. Below is a partial list of persons that have already mentioned some form of Ignition Failure. If your name appears in the below list or you have had an ignition failure on a FJR, then please take a moment to reply to this thread with the requested information. Thank-you.

Axeman

Dcarver

Cota

Rayban

Airboss

FJR Gary

Calabash

Smoke FJR06

Indian Scout

Barabus

Turbo Dave

Fjrrider

Inlaw1

Gadi

Cartfj40

Also, here are the links to other accounts of this problem-

Axeman's Thread re Ignition Failure

DCarver's thread re Ignition Failure

Inlaw's thread re Ignition Failure

Cota's Thread re Ignition Failure

Barabus' Thread re Ignition Failure

Barabus' thread reverse engineering an igntion failure and trouble shooting future failures



EDIT: Please include your GenI ignition failures, too!

 

[FJRandy]

Year...2003

miles....12,000

Where....Americade, Lake George NY.

Dirty switch? Absolutley! I found this out after the fact, but after 100 cycles of the switch at 10pm on a Monday night in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot, I could give a rat's *** if the switch was "still good" and only needed to be cleaned.

Yamaha paid for a new one. End of story.

 

[cometman]

1. 2004 ABS

2. 19500 miles

3. Ignition failed while starting after riding to work. Gauges worked and swept upon turning igintion to ON. Starter button did not work.

4. Dealer did repair (88 dollars). After asking twice what was wrong and how did they fix it, service writer would not answer the question. Finally told me the wiring was messed up and they cleaned some connectors.

5. Worked performed at Motoworld of El Cajon, California.

6. Bike was at dealer for 2 days.

7. No warranty, repair payed for by owner.

8. locks and keys not affected.

9. Inconvenienced a little. More worried about this happening again. I had to keep bump starting to get from place to place. Better break down on a hill, otherwise hard to bump start by yourself I have found.

 

[kulwen]

Okay this sucks!!! Add me to the list. I will fill out the required info after I get the bike back from the shop on the 18th. I am dropping it off today on my way to Oregon.

Tuesday night after pumping gas I turned on me key and watched the gauges fire up for about half a second, then everything went dead. I fiddled with the key a bit and got it started. I messed with the ignition a bit more and could not duplicate the problem. Wednesday morning I had the same problem. Once I got it started I could not duplicate the problem again. I called Yamaha when I got to work and gave them the FJRF003 info and try to get advice. Yamaha suggested I take it to a dealer to see if the problem could be duplicated. I am thinking this sucks since I can't make it happen on command. When I left work Wednesday I had the same problem, but I learned I can make it happen more often with the handle bars in different positions.

So what happens on a AE when the ignition goes when the bike is moving? I feared the bike would release the clutch and lock the rear wheel. Well, on my way home the bike shut off and I coasted to a stop. I was pleasantly surprised the rear wheel did not lock. However, if this happens to you get off the road fast!!! Once the bike comes to a stop the wheel locks preventing the bike from moving off the road quickly. Things could get bad quickly if you are in the middle of the road at night with no lights when the ignition fails. I had to use the rumble strip on the side of the road to identify I was out of the way of traffic since it was night and I did not have a headlight.

I am dropping my bike off at Sierra Yamaha later today while heading to OR and I will picked it up late on the 18th.

John T.

 

[Barabus]

Okay this sucks!!! Add me to the list. I will fill out the required info after I get the bike back from the shop on the 18th. I am dropping it off today on my way to Oregon.
Tuesday night after pumping gas I turned on me key and watched the gauges fire up for about half a second, then everything went dead. I fiddled with the key a bit and got it started. I messed with the ignition a bit more and could not duplicate the problem. Wednesday morning I had the same problem. Once I got it started I could not duplicate the problem again. I called Yamaha when I got to work and gave them the FJRF003 info and try to get advice. Yamaha suggested I take it to a dealer to see if the problem could be duplicated. I am thinking this sucks since I can't make it happen on command. When I left work Wednesday I had the same problem, but I learned I can make it happen more often with the handle bars in different positions.

So what happens on a AE when the ignition goes when the bike is moving? I feared the bike would release the clutch and lock the rear wheel. Well, on my way home the bike shut off and I coasted to a stop. I was pleasantly surprised the rear wheel did not lock. However, if this happens to you get off the road fast!!! Once the bike comes to a stop the wheel locks preventing the bike from moving off the road quickly. Things could get bad quickly if you are in the middle of the road at night with no lights when the ignition fails. I had to use the rumble strip on the side of the road to identify I was out of the way of traffic since it was night and I did not have a headlight.

I am dropping my bike off at Sierra Yamaha later today while heading to OR and I will picked it up late on the 18th.

John T.

JT,

Sorry this happened to you, but thanks for the great information. Keep us abreast!!

 

[kulwen]

Here is my info.

I will have my FJR back from the dealer on Wednesday 11/20/07.

1) What year FJR?

2006, purchased new 3/2007

2) How many miles?

At the time of failure, approximately 16,500

3) Failed while running? Or while turning ignition? Or whatever?

Tuesday night (11/06/07) after pumping gas I turned on my key and watched the gauges fire up for about half a second, then everything went dead. I fiddled with the key a bit and got it started. I messed with the ignition a bit more and could not duplicate the problem. Wednesday morning I had the same problem. Once I got it started, I could not duplicate the problem again. I called Yamaha when I got to work and gave them the FJRF003 info, and tried to get advice. Yamaha suggested I take it to a dealer to see if the problem could be duplicated. I am thinking this sucks since I cannot make it happen on command. When I left work Wednesday I had the same problem, but I learned I could make it happen more often with the handlebars in different positions. On my ride home at about 75mph the FJR powered down as the ignition failed.

4) Type of failure: Wires pulled out? Switch failure? Unknown? (pictures are useful)

Wires were pulling out.

5) Actual repair performed and by what dealer

Sierra Yamaha

6) How many days was the bike at the dealer for service?

13 days. Sierra Yamaha is located out in the middle of the desert and had to wait three days for a locksmith to re-key the ignition before. If the ignition was not re-keyed I would have had the bike in 10 days.

7) Paid for by Yamaha or not?

Yes, it was covered under warranty.

8) What did you do about the other locks (gas, side bags, seat and top case) on the bike (do you have two keys or one)?

I will have one key for everything.

9) Briefly, how badly were you inconvenienced by this ignition failure?

The cost to me for the failure is about $130. The cost is related to fuel to drive my truck instead of my FJR. There was some worry on my part what would happen on an AE model if the ignition failed while in motion. I am please to announce the AE does not lock the rear wheel until the bike stops moving.

 

[tphfjr]

Year: 2003

Miles: 58,824 (August ’05)

Running or starting failure: Cut out briefly while running but restarted with bikes momentum, I was 30 miles from home but a couple of minutes from work. Stopped at work and bike would not restart. Can’t remember if the fuel pump or anything else electric worked but the starter motor did not respond.

Type of failure: Red wire on bottom of ignition switch desoldered itself.

Nature of repair/by whom: I bypassed the switch with a couple short pieces of wire and wire nuts. Once at home, I removed the switch, found the nature of the problem and resoldered the wire.

Time lost: A day or so.

Paid by: Only cost was to replace the tamper resistant screws that I destroyed getting the switch apart. Replaced with a couple stainless hex screws from the hardware store.

Keys: Kept the original switch. No change in the keys.

Degree of inconvenience: By shear luck, it happened where I had the tools and supplies to get it going again. Could have been much worse.

 

[DJB]

Admin Note: After building this thread with great diligence from the thread starter and forum contribution, this issue has been assigned for forum use FJRF003: Ignition Failures on FJRs. Although the issue does not have any known formal Yamaha Technical Bulletin, feel free to use this term and reference this thread when working with Yamaha dealers or Yamaha Corporate. Perhaps they will too acknowledge the issue formally and assign a technical bulletin.
Due to an apparent rash of ignition failures on FJRs, we would like to use this thread for information gathering purposes on this narrow issue only. The information we need about the ignition failures is: 1) What year FJR?; 2) How many miles?; 3) Failed while running? Or while turning ignition? Or whatever?; 4) Type of failure: Wires pulled out? Switch failure? Unknown? (pictures are useful); 5) Actual repair performed and by what dealer; 6) How many days was the bike at the dealer for service?; 7) Paid for by Yamaha or not? 8) What did you do about the other locks (gas, side bags, seat and top case) on the bike (do you have two keys or one)? 9) Briefly, how badly were you inconvenienced by this ignition failure.

Your information should be a in the form of a reply on this thread. Below is a partial list of persons that have already mentioned some form of Ignition Failure. If your name appears in the below list or you have had an ignition failure on a FJR, then please take a moment to reply to this thread with the requested information. Thank-you.

Axeman

Dcarver

Cota

Rayban

Airboss

FJR Gary

Calabash

Smoke FJR06

Indian Scout

Barabus

Turbo Dave

Fjrrider

Inlaw1

Gadi

Cartfj40

Also, here are the links to other accounts of this problem-

Axeman's Thread re Ignition Failure

DCarver's thread re Ignition Failure

Inlaw's thread re Ignition Failure

Cota's Thread re Ignition Failure

Barabus' Thread re Ignition Failure

Barabus' thread reverse engineering an igntion failure and trouble shooting future failures



EDIT: Please include your GenI ignition failures, too!

1) Year 2003

2) Miles around 30K+

3) Failed at gas station would not start. Finally after playing with key in switch lights on and started. It then would do this every couple ofdays that is when I ordered a new ignition switch

4) Switch failure

5) New ignition switch

6) Was fixed in half a day by Libby's in New Haven CT. Never have an isue scheduled an appointment for the service

7) Paid by me

8) 2 keys not the best solution but I was not going to pay some one to rekey the rest of the bike.

9) Not really I figure that as I gotcloser to 50K morething would start to fail.

 

[LSUBOY]

1. Year Bike: 2006

2. # of Miles: 17,000

3. Failed While: Getting ready to get back on highway 95 in front of some BIGTRUCKS going fast

4. Type of Failure: Wires pulled out of the bottom of the ignition switch

5. How Repaired: Repair made at Yamaha of Colonial Heights, Virginia, ie., new Ignition Switch

6. How Long At Dealer: 30 hours, ie., overnighted a switch from Atlanta

7. How Paid For: Repairs paid for by YES/Yamaha

8. Key Situation: I have 2 sets of keys now and WILL get the starter re-keyed to the old keys

9. Down Time: I lost a day and a half during this whole ordeal but did make it to Florida okay

I will be calling the NTSB about this issue as per during my conversation with the Service Manager about this issue, he informed me that to-date there has been 41 of these failures. "I was almost killed because of mine!

 

[PizzaJim]

1) 2006 AE - Bought March, 2007

2) Approx. 8500 miles

3) Failed on startup in the morning. <_< Power came on for a split second then would not come back on. Battery was good and no fuses were blown.

4) Diagnosed by dealer as bad ignition switch.

5) Dealer: Pro Caliber Motor Sports, Vancouver WA - They were nice enough to trailer the bike from my home to their dealership at no charge.

6) Failure happened the week before Christmas. Problem diagnosed in one day but dealer was unable to order part until the 27th of December (Yamaha was closed for the Holiday). Part showed up on the 8th of January and the bike was ready on the 9th. So about a week and a half for the part to be delivered.

7) All costs covered under warranty.

8) One Key!. :yahoo: The Service department figured out how to swap key cylinders from old part to new. The main switch is held together by two torque break away bolts that, once they reach the correct torque, break away leaving a rivet. These can be drilled and tapped, the lock cylinder swapped and then the break away bolts replaced. No locksmith required. A big thanks to the Tech at Pro Caliber for figuring this out and thanks also to Shawn in Service for explaining it to me.

I have asked for the old main switch. But the Dealer needs to keep it at least 90 days in case Yamaha wants it sent to them to justify the warranty coverage. If the dealer still has it after that then it's mine and I will publish photo's of the switch, rivets and all.

9) Not badly inconvenienced. Was out of town over the Holidays and when I came back there were only a couple of days I would have ridden anyway. Biggest problem was trying not to drive my truck like it was a motorcycle.

 

[kulwen]

1) 2006 AE - Bought March, 2007
2) Approx. 8500 miles

3) Failed on startup in the morning. <_< Power came on for a split second then would not come back on. Battery was good and no fuses were blown.

4) Diagnosed by dealer as bad ignition switch.

5) Dealer: Pro Caliber Motor Sports, Vancouver WA - They were nice enough to trailer the bike from my home to their dealership at no charge.

6) Failure happened the week before Christmas. Problem diagnosed in one day but dealer was unable to order part until the 27th of December (Yamaha was closed for the Holiday). Part showed up on the 8th of January and the bike was ready on the 9th. So about a week and a half for the part to be delivered.

7) All costs covered under warranty.

8) One Key!. :yahoo: The Service department figured out how to swap key cylinders from old part to new. The main switch is held together by two torque break away bolts that, once they reach the correct torque, break away leaving a rivet. These can be drilled and tapped, the lock cylinder swapped and then the break away bolts replaced. No locksmith required. A big thanks to the Tech at Pro Caliber for figuring this out and thanks also to Shawn in Service for explaining it to me.

I have asked for the old main switch. But the Dealer needs to keep it at least 90 days in case Yamaha wants it sent to them to justify the warranty coverage. If the dealer still has it after that then it's mine and I will publish photo's of the switch, rivets and all.

9) Not badly inconvenienced. Was out of town over the Holidays and when I came back there were only a couple of days I would have ridden anyway. Biggest problem was trying not to drive my truck like it was a motorcycle.

Thats sucks.

Did you already file a complant with the NHTSA?

My dealler is also going to give me the bad ignition one the 90 days are up.

 

[petey]

Well, another ignition switch is biting the dust, well not completely dead. <_< '06A with 30K miles. Turned the key to on and... nothing zilch, I think a dash light or two just went on for a split second and then absolutely nothing. Checked the battery, it was fully charged. Turned the key on then off again, still nothing, no sound, nothing. Now I remembered the I/switch problem that some of you fellers had, back to playing with the switch...on,off,on,off, now after doing this 4-5 times, wolla, the dash lit up and the bike fired right up.

The bike is at the dealer now, and hopfully it will show up or show some evidence when they pull it apart. :angry:

 

[mkfotos]

1) 2004

2) 38,000 miles

3) Experienced intermittent failures over the course of several days, then total failure moments after pulling into traffic from a stop light

4) Wire pulled loose inside switch.

5) New ignition ordered and installed by Champion Yamaha in Charleston, SC

6) several days at dealer

7) Covered under YES warranty.

8) Same keys as old ignition.

9) several days, but it was at home, so not a huge inconvenience