neutral switch and hello from new member

[malengi]

Hi all. I have recently scratched an itch that was always there and bought a 2001 V11 sports. It is a beautiful bike and i am trying to bond with it as often as possible. Unfortunately my first bonding session ended up with a loss of half the the points on my license and a visit to the judge next week. (ridiculously low speed limits here in Japan) However I believe no lasting relationship is always smooth, just got to roll with it.

 

I have been scouring these boards for weeks and must say how impressed I am with the knowledge and helpfullness given here. Now to the one answer i cannot find which maybe someone has an answer for.

 

My neutral light stopped working about 50 kms. into my first ride. Checked the wiring and bulb were working by touching the wire to the body and got the neutral light glowing in it''s green glory. Problem solved I think. Just got my new switch and put it in today with a gearbox oil change. Still get nothing and can still short the wire to get the light on. Has anyone worked there way through this one before? And I do not want to ride without the problem fixed as it is a pain to sit on the bike with the stand up to warm it up.

 

Also if anyone knows how to test the switch out of the bike with a multimeter I would be eternally grateful ( electrics are not my strong point. If it can't be hit with a hammer it is voodoo to me )

[gstallons]

Disconnect the connector from the neutral switch . Make sure the bike is in neutral . Put the bike in !st gear then shift up to neutral. Turn the key on. Ground the wire to see if the N light comes on. If it does , turn the key off . Take a good known test light and attach the alligator clip to B+ . Touch the probe to the metal protruding from the switch. If it lights the switch is good. If not , move the shift selector to see if it does ever light up. If these check o.k. , look at the wiring plug that pushes onto the switch . This may be enlarged and needs to be crimped just a little to get a better connection .

[malengi]

Thanks for the reply. Will try it out when I buy a new test light. Can it be done with a multimeter? The crimping part has already been done

[gstallons]

Yes. an analog ( old timey with a needle ) meter is better to do this with. It will put a load on the circuit whereas a DVOM will not .

[docc]

gstallons always has good advice!

 

Also, the neutral switch turns on the center relay. Be certain your relays are of the best 5-pin type. I rely on the OMRON in all 5 positions.

[malengi]

Got the omrons last week. Thanks again for the advice. Hope to report good news when this cold snap ends and I can feel my fingers to work on the bike

[Kiwi_Roy]

It looks as though the Neutral switch is just a spring loaded contact that makes contact with a nipple on the gear selector, it's hard to see why that should stop working (it may be a micro-switch).

Is it possible the circlip has come off the gear selector letting it move too far out on the shaft?

 

Measure the Voltage on the terminal of the Neutral switch it should be 12 Volts in gear and 0 Volts in Neutral, this is the key to finding the fault.

[gstallons]

I had to remove mine & clean w/contact cleaner . Reinstalled & all is well. That was a couple of years ago....

[malengi]

Kiwi Roy that was my way of thinking as well. Hope i don't have to go digging around in the gearbox for a loose part. Anyway i will do the tests tomorrow and hopefully all will be revealed. As i said in my first post it is a brand new switch.

[gstallons]

Tilt the bike and remove the switch. You will see what the switch is actuated by.

[malengi]

Thanks for all the insight everyone. After both multimeter and test light tests with switch both in and out of the bike it is fairly conclusive that the switch and wiring system  is fine. Seems like a dig in the gearbox is on the cards this weekend

[docc]

While I understand that you can get the neutral light to display on, can you confirm that the third (middle) relay is activating?

[malengi]

Would you be able to give me some guidance as to how to do that? at this stage all I have done with the third relay is replace with a new omron

[docc]

At the very simplest, remove the seat, turn the key on and touch the third/middle relay while switching the gear lever in and out of neutral. Can you feel it *click* each time?

[malengi]

Just confirmed relay is working by the following method. Took switch out . Attatched to it's wire touched plunger to exhaust very gently and got green light and fuel pump start with click in the third relay . Depressed switch plunger while still touching exhaust and got second click and loss off green light Repeated several times with same result. At the moment I am leaning towards some mechanical malfunction in the gear box.