Ignition Fail

[RockOn]

Stopped for gas at a station near my house before heading out to meet with fellow retirees for our weekly ride. Finished pumping gas, switched the key on and my '08 Touring's ignition was deader than Julius Caesar. Pressed the horn button and my air horn blasted loudly via it's separate circuit, so battery was fine. Fiddled with the clutch, kickstand, kill and key switches with no luck. Then I remembered the exact same thing happened on my '06 Classic a few years ago when turning the handlebars too far one way or the other, causing the burned and/or corroded ignition wire harness connectors to lose contact . I fixed that problem with De'cosse's keyless ignition. When I bought the Touring model 6 or 7 months ago I decided to remove the keyless unit from my '06 Classic and have Ken repair the original ignition switch plus make a wire harness that would allow his keyless unit to connect to the '08 Touring model.

I was under the impression from information I have read on the forum about ignition switch problems, at least on older Rockets, that the Touring models had a better electrical design concerning the ignition and it would probably not fail. So I decided to put the keyless unit on the shelf and hoped I might not need it for a very long time, if ever. Well, "if ever" arrived today, so I will be installing the keyless unit in the near future. I should mention that Ken also advised me how to add a relay to the starter relay on my '06 Classic to fix the faulty Triumph design which causes the ignition switch failure(his design diagram is posted somewhere on the forum). I did that relay grafting surgery on my '06 Classic after reinstalling the ignition switch that Ken repaired. I don't think this additional relay will be necessary after installing his keyless unit on my Touring model but I will double check with him on that.

PS After remembering the same problem on my '06 Classic I turned the Touring's handlebars to the full stops both left and right several times in hopes I would get the ignition harness contacts working......ignition turned on and the bike fired up instantly as always.

 

[idk]

It sounds like you need to resolder a wire in the ignition switch, either that or remember the kill switch.

 

[RockOn]

It sounds like you need to resolder a wire in the ignition switch, either that or remember the kill switch.

Huh? As I said, I checked the kill switch so what are you saying or implying? As for re-soldering, the solder joints on my '06 ignition switch were not the problem. Ken examined them and they were fine. Again, as I said, it was one or more bad contacts in the harness connector that were the problem, not the solder joints. Could the solder joints be the problem on the '08 Touring, yes, of course that's possible, but far less likely seems to me. If they were fine after 30K miles on my '06 classic I would think it very unlikely to be bad solder joints on the Touring model after 32K miles. Regardless, I'm not interested in re-soldering anything, I am interested in installing Ken's very reliable keyless ignition. Thanks for your interest.....

 

[MIG]

It sounds like you need to resolder a wire in the ignition switch, either that or remember the kill switch.

I definately felt the humor at the end of this reply... Heh! I tell my folks at work, only worry if I'm not ribbing or messing with you.... maybe I should tone that down...
-MIG

 

[Tripps]

My 2010 switch got dodgy around 35,000 miles, it never failed completely but it got to the point where you had to fiddle with the key, try a few times and it caught .
Ken said no extra relay needed for Tourings.

 

[RockOn]

I definately felt the humor at the end of this reply... Heh! I tell my folks at work, only worry if I'm not ribbing or messing with you.... maybe I should tone that down...
-MIG

No, no need to tone it down with people who can look you in the eye and know if you are messing with them in jest or not. Me, not easily convinced when I am zinged by a stranger who I know nothing about. I admit, I am sometimes too quick to take offense. I blame it on my nearly 8 decades of life on this planet. I am usually the first to let loose with laughter among friends and their tongue in cheek insults. Being a relative newcomer here I am still trying to mind read some of the members. "Mea culpa" to idk.

 

[Tripps]

8 decades? ****, you're an old fart, ain't ya?

 

[Kevin frazier]

8 decades and still throwing around a rocket. you are a superman and a legend. I think you have to be 70 to be a legend. but i think youre in

 

[RockOn]

8 decades and still throwing around a rocket. you are a superman and a legend. I think you have to be 70 to be a legend. but i think youre in

One of my riding buddies, Robbie, retired Marine, turned 90 in December. He just traded in his Harley Sportster and his Harley Switchback for a 2019 SportGlide. He is a real Superman.