David Morrow
Well-known member
A couple of weeks ago, my 2003 FJR had an ignition switch failure on a Colorado back road. Fortunately I was stopped at the time, got the bike going, and was able to make it to Grand Junction and wired up a switch to hot wire things until I got back home to Vancouver.
Yestday, I removed the switch and wiring harness to see if it could be fixed. In the process, I took a major detour and took apart the key end (non-electrical end) first and gave it a good cleaning and lubrication. When I finished that, the damn key wouldn't turn. Something was really screwed up. The key had been a bit touchy for several years and I just assumed that after 150,000 miles it was just normal wear & tear. To make a long, frustrating story really short, and with no knowledge of the insides of locks, I came up with the theory that the key was simply worn a bit too far and the little brass plates that fit inside the cylinder were sticking out just a bit too far when the key was inserted and that was stopping the cylinder from turning.
With the key out, the plates stick well out of the cylinder. That's what stops the cylinder from turning without the key.
You can see here that, with the key in the cylinder, the plates retract. But, not all the way in. With even that little bit sticking out, my switch would not turn at all.
The solution was a bit crude by locksmith standards I'm sure and was somewhat akin to touching up the x-rays. With the key inserted in the cylinder, I ran a black Sharpie along the sides of the brass plates so that the portion that was still sticking out, was now well marked with black ink. You can see the black line along the edge on the top right. Push the plates out of the cylinder with a small slot screw driver from the back side.
I put the plates in a vice and filed them down so there was no more black line showing.
To clean up the plate, I put a piece of 1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper on the bench and rubbed the plate along that to remove the brass burrs on the filed edge and generally clean things up.
Next, the plate went back into the cylinder. Just push it in with your finger but watch out for that little spring.
Warning, either do one plate at a time or be very careful to keep them in order as they are all different - the slot in the center is cut to line up with the key. Also, there is a teeny, tiny spring in each slot. Don't loose them.
When I was done, the switch worked better than I can ever remember.
Oh, and the electrical failure ? It just disappeared. I think there was so much crap built up in there over the years that it blocked the electrical contact in the electrical end of the switch. I haven't reassemble the switch on the bike yet but my ohm meter tells me that it's working as designed.
As for the tamper proof screws, they have to be drilled out. I replaced them with screws I can more easily tamper with in case I have to do this again in another 150,000 miles.
Yestday, I removed the switch and wiring harness to see if it could be fixed. In the process, I took a major detour and took apart the key end (non-electrical end) first and gave it a good cleaning and lubrication. When I finished that, the damn key wouldn't turn. Something was really screwed up. The key had been a bit touchy for several years and I just assumed that after 150,000 miles it was just normal wear & tear. To make a long, frustrating story really short, and with no knowledge of the insides of locks, I came up with the theory that the key was simply worn a bit too far and the little brass plates that fit inside the cylinder were sticking out just a bit too far when the key was inserted and that was stopping the cylinder from turning.
With the key out, the plates stick well out of the cylinder. That's what stops the cylinder from turning without the key.
You can see here that, with the key in the cylinder, the plates retract. But, not all the way in. With even that little bit sticking out, my switch would not turn at all.
The solution was a bit crude by locksmith standards I'm sure and was somewhat akin to touching up the x-rays. With the key inserted in the cylinder, I ran a black Sharpie along the sides of the brass plates so that the portion that was still sticking out, was now well marked with black ink. You can see the black line along the edge on the top right. Push the plates out of the cylinder with a small slot screw driver from the back side.
I put the plates in a vice and filed them down so there was no more black line showing.
To clean up the plate, I put a piece of 1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper on the bench and rubbed the plate along that to remove the brass burrs on the filed edge and generally clean things up.
Next, the plate went back into the cylinder. Just push it in with your finger but watch out for that little spring.
Warning, either do one plate at a time or be very careful to keep them in order as they are all different - the slot in the center is cut to line up with the key. Also, there is a teeny, tiny spring in each slot. Don't loose them.
When I was done, the switch worked better than I can ever remember.
Oh, and the electrical failure ? It just disappeared. I think there was so much crap built up in there over the years that it blocked the electrical contact in the electrical end of the switch. I haven't reassemble the switch on the bike yet but my ohm meter tells me that it's working as designed.
As for the tamper proof screws, they have to be drilled out. I replaced them with screws I can more easily tamper with in case I have to do this again in another 150,000 miles.
