The ignition switch (do you mean key, starter, or kill switch?) isn't a sealed unit.
If you mean key switch, you can replace the electrical part independently of the key switch. You have to remove the headlight bucket and the cluster to get to it, then it's just three small Torx screws. Another check is grounds. Check your coil grounds, and check the ground strap from engine to frame. Grounding issues are a huge player in vehicular gremlin attacks. Coil relays are a good mod, and incredibly reliable if you buy a sealed, automotive grade relay of the right size. I've run a 40A Panasonic CA series relay for my '93 Nighthawk's coils for three years now, with no issues and a MUCH lower resistance path to the coils. I used another pair for the headlight hi/lo, and a fourth for the horn, all much better performing for it. Kurt On Feb 25, 2016 4:07 PM, "Neil Dantam" <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear Armchair Electricians, > > The problem > =========== > > My '97 CB750 developed a misfire a few weeks ago. The problem > would only happen after the bike was warmed up. Pulling the plugs > didn't reveal a smoking gun (to me at least, photo attached), and > swapping in different ignition coils made little difference. However, > I measured resistance across my ignition switch at 3.6 ohms, and > bypassing the switch (I guess that means hotwiring the bike) fixed the > misfire, though warmup is still a bit sluggish. I take this to mean > that accumulated resistance in the switches and harness are dropping > voltage enough to cause loss of spark. Any other potential causes > that should be considered? > > The other problem > ================= > > The easy answer would be to clean the ignition switch, but AFAICT, > it's a sealed unit. The next easy answer would be to replace the > switch, but Honda has discontinued the part. So, now one must be > creative. > > Solutions > ========= > > Here are the potential solutions I've come up with: > > 1. Find a used switch on ebay/junkyards and hope it's good > 2. Forcibly open the switch (or an ebayed-replacement), clean up it, > and get all the king's men to put it back together again. > 3. Get an aftermarket ignition switch (though I really don't want > another key) > 4. Use the existing switch to drive a relay for main power > > I am inclined to try options 1/2 and 4. 1/2 depends on finding and/or > modifying a Honda switch, which may or may not work out. Driving a > relay using the existing, degraded switch should work OK since relay > coil resistance is ~100 ohms. It does create a central point of > failure, and relays are not the most reliable components. (maybe > redundant relays are the answer?) > > Does anyone have a different interpretation or solution for this > problem? > > Thank you and happy crimping, > -ntd > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
