rpeterson Posted October 13, 2005 Posted October 13, 2005 2002 V 11 LeMans The bike runs and starts great, except for starting in neutral with the side stand down. The starter will not activate with the clutch in, stand down and in neutral. The neutral indicator light will not come on, most of the time. If it does the bike will start in neutral with the stand down. I now start the bike with the stand up and the clutch in. I also don't have to be in neutral. Any thoughts would greatly appreciated. rpeterson
Ballacraine Posted October 13, 2005 Posted October 13, 2005 When you say clutch 'in' you mean disengaged? Nige.
docc Posted October 14, 2005 Posted October 14, 2005 certainly sounds like the neutral switch is sticking. Do you park the bike in gear typically?
felix42o Posted October 18, 2005 Posted October 18, 2005 2002 V 11 LeMans The bike runs and starts great, except for starting in neutral with the side stand down. The starter will not activate with the clutch in, stand down and in neutral. The neutral indicator light will not come on, most of the time. If it does the bike will start in neutral with the stand down. I now start the bike with the stand up and the clutch in. I also don't have to be in neutral. Any thoughts would greatly appreciated. rpeterson 63082[/snapback] If it's any comfort, I have the opposite problem, where the light stays on. Was very annoying at night, until I discovered a hi-tech fix utilizing electrical tape and an exact-o knife. Just
Guest ratchethack Posted October 19, 2005 Posted October 19, 2005 The neutral indicator light will not come on, most of the time. If I remember correctly, someone posted awhile back that a sticky neutral switch went away when he changed to Redline Shockproof Heavy gear lube in the trans. IMHO, there are better reasons to choose RSH, this could be one more. Just a thought.
tomsp Posted October 19, 2005 Posted October 19, 2005 my lemans - towards the end-- showed similar with the neutral light not coming on with the kickstand down upon keying on. Turned out my kick stand mounted neutral light sensor lead was frayed. I cut the wire, spliced it using waterproof connectors and dripped liquid black-tape/liquid rubber over the area. It looked great afterward and the wire short held.
docc Posted October 20, 2005 Posted October 20, 2005 my lemans - towards the end-- showed similar with the neutral light not coming on with the kickstand down upon keying on. Turned out my kick stand mounted neutral light sensor lead was frayed. I cut the wire, spliced it using waterproof connectors and dripped liquid black-tape/liquid rubber over the area. It looked great afterward and the wire short held. 63844[/snapback] Per Carl's diagram for the 2000 Sport: The neutral switch is on the side of the gearbox. That switch on the side stand is the 'side stand safety switch' which flows current to the run switch when the bike is in gear. Now, to confuse matters completly: The run switch is energized in neutral by the middle relay which is activated by the neutral switch. It is called the sidestand relay but is activated by the neutral switch not the side stand switch. Soooo- No neutral light -look for- sticky neutral switch neutral light won't go out -look for- sticky neutral switch Won't run in gear -look for- stuck or dirty sidestand switch Won't run in neutral -look for- stuck neutral switch OR neutral (middle)relay Neutral light yes but won't run in neutral -look at- middle relay Starter won't turn -look at- clutch switch or starter relay Perhaps , Carl, you can confirm any variations in the system for the later schematics? Rumor has it Marelli learned his electrical craft from Lucas. . .
robbiekb Posted October 20, 2005 Posted October 20, 2005 you mean your neutral light used to work ? Does anyones neutral light work ? I always thought that it was an energy saving thing to just not have it switch on..... hahaha no seriously i have just given up expecting my bike's electrics to work correctly, maybe the new generation of guzzis will be more sanitized in that department
Steve G. Posted October 21, 2005 Posted October 21, 2005 Check the connection of the wire that is on the end of the neutral switch. It gets loose, and water and crap can make the connection no good. Clean it off, carefully squeeze it with pliers, and slide it back on the neutral switch. Ciao, Steve G.
dlaing Posted October 21, 2005 Posted October 21, 2005 snip 63927[/snapback] Dang good analysis. It would be cool if we could write a troubleshooting flow chart. The only likely thing that is missing is that starting failure could also occur from faulty kickstand switch, neutral switch or 'sidestand' relay. Any interesting test in rpetersen's case would be to wait for failure, start with stand retracted, deploy stand and look for failure while still in unlit neutral. rpetersen's situation is most likely either the neutral switch or "sidestand" relay. Trying a new relay or rapping on relays should determine.
docc Posted October 21, 2005 Posted October 21, 2005 Check the connection of the wire that is on the end of the neutral switch. It gets loose, and water and crap can make the connection no good. Clean it off, carefully squeeze it with pliers, and slide it back on the neutral switch. Ciao, Steve G. 63988[/snapback] That's a really good idea. I forgot what a weak connection that is. A good dose of Guzzi Salve (dielectric grease) will be helpful as well. It's true that these systems really benefit from some simple tweaking, especially pulling-cleaning-greasing every connector you can get your hands on. Second, changing the relays is important. The most difficult tweaks are improving the ground paths and adding separate relays for the horns and the lights.
rpeterson Posted October 21, 2005 Author Posted October 21, 2005 my lemans - towards the end-- showed similar with the neutral light not coming on with the kickstand down upon keying on. Turned out my kick stand mounted neutral light sensor lead was frayed. I cut the wire, spliced it using waterproof connectors and dripped liquid black-tape/liquid rubber over the area. It looked great afterward and the wire short held. 63844[/snapback] [ SIZE=1] I appreciate the information, well done! I did take the lead off of the neutral switch and let it go to ground. The relay ativated and the nuetral light came on. Appears to be non working neutral switch.......I also just recieved a copy of the V11 shop manual to help me sort out problems. I will remove the switch tomorrow and see if it can be made to work. I also ordered a spare switch from Harpers MG but it is on back order, makes you wonder. Randy
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