As I mentioned in an earlier post, my SV was the latest to succumb to the dreaded “green plug” failure. Since I know at least a few peeps had their entire ignition switches replaced under warranty, I thought I should test mine before swapping out the crappy green connector for one with more beef. I used a simple continuity test light, and found that it showed no continuity to one of the outgoing wires when the ignition switch was in the ON position. The wire showing no continuity was the thin orange with yellow stripes which goes to the Electronic Control Module.
Assuming I had a bad connection inside the ignition switch, I set about taking it apart. Since this isn’t addressed in the factory service manual, I thought I’d post the experience in case anybody else out there thinks they need to do this. I posted step-by-step photos in my album, for those of you who are bored or morbidly curious.
http://www.socalsvriders.org/module...oto_Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php
In the interest of selling you a replacement ignition switch if yours fails ($92.05 at Ron Ayers http://www.ronayers.com/BrowseParts.cfm?product_id=37100-16G00 ), Suzuki secures the back cover of the ignition switch with tamper-resistant screws. At first I thought they were rivets, but after drilling into the heads and poking around with a screwdriver, I got them to unscrew. Knowing this, you could probably drill two small holes off-center and opposite one another in the heads of the screws and then use a needle-nose to turn them out.
As you can see by the photos, this ignition switch is really super-simple once you get the cover off. The little white thing in the top (I'll refer to it as an "armature" for now) of the assembly that turns with the key can go on two ways, meaning that if the contacts are worn on one terminal you can rotate it a half-turn and have a fresh set of contacts.
Upon disassembling the switch, I discovered why I wasn’t getting continuity to the wire going to the ECM: there is a resistor wired into the circuit panel which connects between the armature and the wire going to the ECM. Had I used an ohm-meter instead of a test-light :doh: I would have discovered that there was continuity to this circuit…albeit at a resistance level of 98 ohms, which was evidently enough to defeat the test-light’s signal.
Why bother telling you all this, you ask? In my desperation to get my bike running again, I was considering bypassing the ignition switch until I got it working “properly” again (in other words, hot-wiring it). If I had done that, I most likely would have fried the ECM, which goes for $942 from Ron Ayers (OUCH!). :shocking: If it prevents one other person from attempting the same mistake, It makes this whole boring post (and the hours I spent working on the whole ordeal) worthwhile.
In any case, I cleaned up and the innards of the ignition switch, coated all the electrical parts with dielectric grease and reassembled it. Then I snipped off the insidious green plug and replaced it with the one shown in the photos, which is made to handle 120V (for those of you who’ve ever opened up your computer, it’s just like the plug that goes from your power supply to the disk drives. Should hold up to 12 volts OK.)
Well, I got it all back together and it’s working great. Feels great to be back on the road, just in time for summer! :supsmiley
Assuming I had a bad connection inside the ignition switch, I set about taking it apart. Since this isn’t addressed in the factory service manual, I thought I’d post the experience in case anybody else out there thinks they need to do this. I posted step-by-step photos in my album, for those of you who are bored or morbidly curious.
http://www.socalsvriders.org/module...oto_Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php
In the interest of selling you a replacement ignition switch if yours fails ($92.05 at Ron Ayers http://www.ronayers.com/BrowseParts.cfm?product_id=37100-16G00 ), Suzuki secures the back cover of the ignition switch with tamper-resistant screws. At first I thought they were rivets, but after drilling into the heads and poking around with a screwdriver, I got them to unscrew. Knowing this, you could probably drill two small holes off-center and opposite one another in the heads of the screws and then use a needle-nose to turn them out.
As you can see by the photos, this ignition switch is really super-simple once you get the cover off. The little white thing in the top (I'll refer to it as an "armature" for now) of the assembly that turns with the key can go on two ways, meaning that if the contacts are worn on one terminal you can rotate it a half-turn and have a fresh set of contacts.
Upon disassembling the switch, I discovered why I wasn’t getting continuity to the wire going to the ECM: there is a resistor wired into the circuit panel which connects between the armature and the wire going to the ECM. Had I used an ohm-meter instead of a test-light :doh: I would have discovered that there was continuity to this circuit…albeit at a resistance level of 98 ohms, which was evidently enough to defeat the test-light’s signal.
Why bother telling you all this, you ask? In my desperation to get my bike running again, I was considering bypassing the ignition switch until I got it working “properly” again (in other words, hot-wiring it). If I had done that, I most likely would have fried the ECM, which goes for $942 from Ron Ayers (OUCH!). :shocking: If it prevents one other person from attempting the same mistake, It makes this whole boring post (and the hours I spent working on the whole ordeal) worthwhile.
In any case, I cleaned up and the innards of the ignition switch, coated all the electrical parts with dielectric grease and reassembled it. Then I snipped off the insidious green plug and replaced it with the one shown in the photos, which is made to handle 120V (for those of you who’ve ever opened up your computer, it’s just like the plug that goes from your power supply to the disk drives. Should hold up to 12 volts OK.)
Well, I got it all back together and it’s working great. Feels great to be back on the road, just in time for summer! :supsmiley
