Triumph Quit Ignoring Your Ignition Problems

[OnlyLexus]

I am starting this thread and plan to take the post and pass it on the triumph as one big complaint. this is for Ignition switch failure Only So give me your stories.

I will start by giving you mine and you can join in.

I took off on a Friday afternoon for what appeared to be the perfect holiday weekend for a getaway with my wife. Everything was going great the weather was perfect and the roads were great we were on US 421 in Manchester Ky making good time. We were trying to get across the mountain and to our destination, Johnson City Tn before dark. We pulled into a station for fuel and a Bio break and then ready to hit the road. I went to start my my bike and had no power to anything except the horn. My wife was waiting at the edge of the parking lot on her Harley Sportster ready to ride. I tried wiggling the key, checked the cut off switch, and did the usual things you do to get your bike started and still nothing. At this time I had wore out my welcome at the gas pump and the line was getting longer. So I pushed my bike out of the way and told the wife I was having problems. She parked her Harley and asked me what was wrong ? I told her I am sure it was something simple and assured her we would be back on the road in no time. I had just put a new battery on the bike for this trip so I assumed I did not have the connections tight and one must have worked lose. I removed the seat and the connections were fine. I checked the voltage on the battery with a meter and it was fine. By the way I highly suggest if you have a rocket get a cheap meter that checks voltage and continuity and keep it on the bike, I was lucky there was a guy in the parking lot with one. So i determined the battery was OK so i assumed it was a fuse. I proceeded to check the continuity on all the fuses one by one they checked out OK. I cursed and told the wife that the quick fix just became a little more complex and I was going to have to raise the tank. So off I went, removing the windscreen, removing the chrome around the switch housing, pulled the gauges, and raised the tank. I checked the voltage going into the switch and it was good I turned the key on and checked to see if there was voltage on any of the other wires in the harness there was none. At this time I was pretty sure it was the switch and by this time an hour had passed. I started calling people from the site I knew have had this trouble before and asked for suggestions. While I was waiting for a call back I decided I was sure it was the switch and I should go get the supplies needed to bypass before the stores closed. Now come the worse part I had to ask the wife if I could borrow her Harley to go to the auto parts store and I caught myself using a phrase I never though I would say "Thank God For Harley's". So I climbed aboard my wife's sportster 883 low and began my ride of shame to the parts store. by the way for those of you that have never meet me I am not the smallest person in the world and I am sure me riding this 883 looked like a bear humping a dog. So i get the the parts store and started browsing, by the way if you own a rocket I suggest you take good notes because this shopping list will come in handy some day if triumph continues to ignore the problem. I purchased a roll of electrical tape, Wire nuts, Wirestriper/crimpers, 14 gauge wire, and a toggle switch and mounted the Harley one more time and headed back to the stations. While I was gone I got the call I was looking for from NMrocket and he assured me he could walk be through the bypass and get me back on the road. So I put 12" leads on the switch and ran and ran them from under the bearclaw so I could access the switch and it still be hidden. Then I cut the wiring harness and instructed and completed the wiring and tested. I now had power so I reassembled the bike, did I mention that installing the bear claw is a pain in the arse. By this time it was 9:00 pm and we still had about 3 hours to ride most of it in BFE. So we opted to ride a little closer and get a room for the night in the thriving metropolis of hazard Ky were we had the pleasuring of staying in the worse motel ever.

Thanks Triumph for not doing an official recall on the switch that eventually left me stranded as it has a good percentage of rocket owners.

Sincerely

Your not so loyal Customer
Steve Cowherd

Hi. At last, Just found this thread about R3 ignition switch problems. I live in the Highlands of Scotland, not a place you want your bike to break down.. oh No! So, I'm about 60 miles from home when I stop at some traffic lights, the bike just goes dead on me. No lights on ignition, just nothing. I pull over to the kerb and toggle the ignition key on and off, no lights just NOTHING! Now i'm worried. I tug around under the ignition switch thinking that something has come loose, maybe a wire or something.. I turn on the ignition again... still nothing! Its getting dark and I don't like the idea of being stranded in a town that is 3 thousand feel above sea level. up in the mountains, but it looks like I am going to be. I'm getting cold, I'm getting worried and I'm really getting pissed off, what will I do? I leave the bike and walk back to the town I've just passed through, find a pub have a strong cup of coffee and begin to pray. There are no garages here, there is only one phone and that is in the pub i'm sitting in. There are no breakdown rescue services here, I'm too far out in the sticks for that. I pray again, then again. I walk back to my bike an hour later. I just hope that its going to flicker its ignition lights at me when I try the key again. Yes! its on, and I thank God! I get her fired up and I'm on my way. I get down the mountain and then, then, then... as i'm entering another town I lose power and the lights go out again.. ****! I've had enough, I have done nothing that makes me responsible for this ignition failure. I keep my bike in tip top condition, I clean her and give her all the love she needs, so why me! By the grace of God I eventually get the bike home at 6 am in the morning, this after it stopping 7 times with the same ignition fault. Next day, after along sleep, I take a look at the ignition wiring on the bike, looks good to me, what's the problem, I don't know, but I'm sure its the ignition switch, I'm positive of that! So here I am, talking to you, or the person reading this. Now I find out that I'm not the only one that has experienced this R3 ignition switch failure, in fact it is obviously a problem that Triumph know about and probably knew that their crap ignition was going to fail. Now I have my babe, my Rocket 3, just sitting in my shed and I'm wondering how I'm going to fix it, help me!

 

[OnlyLexus]

Hi. At last, Just found this thread about R3 ignition switch problems. I live in the Highlands of Scotland, not a place you want your bike to break down.. oh No! So, I'm about 60 miles from home when I stop at some traffic lights, the bike just goes dead on me. No lights on ignition, just nothing. I pull over to the kerb and toggle the ignition key on and off, no lights just NOTHING! Now i'm worried. I tug around under the ignition switch thinking that something has come loose, maybe a wire or something.. I turn on the ignition again... still nothing! Its getting dark and I don't like the idea of being stranded in a town that is 3 thousand feel above sea level. up in the mountains, but it looks like I am going to be. I'm getting cold, I'm getting worried and I'm really getting pissed off, what will I do? I leave the bike and walk back to the town I've just passed through, find a pub have a strong cup of coffee and begin to pray. There are no garages here, there is only one phone and that is in the pub i'm sitting in. There are no breakdown rescue services here, I'm too far out in the sticks for that. I pray again, then again. I walk back to my bike an hour later. I just hope that its going to flicker its ignition lights at me when I try the key again. Yes! its on, and I thank God! I get her fired up and I'm on my way. I get down the mountain and then, then, then... as i'm entering another town I lose power and the lights go out again.. ****! I've had enough, I have done nothing that makes me responsible for this ignition failure. I keep my bike in tip top condition, I clean her and give her all the love she needs, so why me! By the grace of God I eventually get the bike home at 6 am in the morning, this after it stopping 7 times with the same ignition fault. Next day, after along sleep, I take a look at the ignition wiring on the bike, looks good to me, what's the problem, I don't know, but I'm sure its the ignition switch, I'm positive of that! So here I am, talking to you, or the person reading this. Now I find out that I'm not the only one that has experienced this R3 ignition switch failure, in fact it is obviously a problem that Triumph know about and probably knew that their crap ignition was going to fail. Now I have my babe, my Rocket 3, just sitting in my shed and I'm wondering how I'm going to fix it, help me!

 

[TURBO200R4]

I just read a thread like yours and it turned out the battery terminal was loose.
clean and check battery terminals.
does not sound like the ign prob to me. although u might look into if it has the eastern beaver kit installed to save the ign switch.
also sounds like u might want to look into how to hot wire to by pass the ign

 

[idk]

The white wire inside the keyswitch has probably come unsoldered. You can take it apart and resolder it, but you will have to remove 2 tamperproof screws, which you will replace with new metric bolts. In my signature you will also find instructions for an inexpensive digital ignition bypass. The best solution is from another Scot @DEcosse , (I am only half Scottish) who has a plugnplay system which is excellent.

 

[OnlyLexus]

The white wire inside the keyswitch has probably come unsoldered. You can take it apart and resolder it, but you will have to remove 2 tamperproof screws, which you will replace with new metric bolts. In my signature you will also find instructions for an inexpensive digital ignition bypass. The best solution is from another Scot @DEcosse , (I am only half Scottish) who has a plugnplay system which is excellent.

On investigation I find that you were exactly correct about the ignition wire having come disconnected. Thank you so much for that information! In fact you got it right down to the actual colour of the loose wire, which indeed is white, as you said. Please can you tell me how on earth I get those 2 tamper proof bolts out? so that I can put new ones in, probably with a new ignition while i'm doing the job? The 2 anti tamper bolts seems well rusted in and they don't seem to have any kind of head on them, and since I have to remove them from below, looking up at them from below, its seems like its quite a job. I have removed the horn and the head lights to give me some room, but still I can't seem to get any kind of tool in the limited space to grab onto the bolts. Can you give me more advice please. I guess you might tell me to remove the whole yoke and turn it upside down so that it can be done that way, I've thought about that too, but I really don't want to do that.. any other ideas my friend?

 

[idk]

You can remove the entire key switch mechanism from the bike without removing the yoke. Manual is in my signature. This makes it easier. I used a Dremel to carve a slot in the head and then used a screwdriver. Others have used other methods. Once you get them started they should come out reasonably easily.

 

[DEcosse]

The 2 anti tamper bolts seems well rusted in and they don't seem to have any kind of head on them,

The thing that makes them 'anti-tamper' is that they are actually 'shear bolts' - when installed and they reach a certain torque, the heads actually shear off - so yes, you need to try to dremel some kind of slot on there, or drill the remaining part of the shoulder off
Also note there are actually TWO sets of shear bolts - there are two (larger) ones holding the whole switch/lock assembly to the yoke and two smaller ones that hold the electrical switch and the mechanical lock assembly together - you want to remove the larger (outer) ones to get the whole switch off.
Once it is out you can use std socket cap screws to re-fasten to the yoke.

 

[OnlyLexus]

You can remove the entire key switch mechanism from the bike without removing the yoke. Manual is in my signature. This makes it easier. I used a Dremel to carve a slot in the head and then used a screwdriver. Others have used other methods. Once you get them started they should come out reasonably easily.

Thanks so much for your help. You say the Manuel is in your "signature" what do you mean by that? I am new around here, sorry.

The thing that makes them 'anti-tamper' is that they are actually 'shear bolts' - when installed and they reach a certain torque, the heads actually shear off - so yes, you need to try to dremel some kind of slot on there, or drill the remaining part of the shoulder off
Also note there are actually TWO sets of shear bolts - there are two (larger) ones holding the whole switch/lock assembly to the yoke and two smaller ones that hold the electrical switch and the mechanical lock assembly together - you want to remove the larger (outer) ones to get the whole switch off.
Once it is out you can use std socket cap screws to re-fasten to the yoke.

Thank you so much for the advice, I'll try on that you suggested, let you know how I get on.

 

[idk]

Thanks so much for your help. You say the Manuel is in your "signature" what do you mean by that? I am new around here, sorry.

At the bottom of every post there is a signature. If you are using a cell phone then you will need to go from portrait to landscape mode, and possibly scroll up or down a bit to see it. In my signature you will find a link. Click on it and you will find some useful stuff.

 

[DMW2lls]

I've been following this thread for a couple of days now, as my 08 R3T experienced the same exact symptoms as others have had, with no advance warning. no ignition, no lights, no indicators, no fuel pump, and oddly enough only the horn worked. Tried the switch on and wiggling wires, Nothing. Tried changing battery, etc, all to no avail. Resolved my self to tearing the ignition switch apart, expecting to find the white wire disconnected or toasted.
Didn't happen.
Essentially everything was as it should have been, no bent or badly scored contacts/connections, no scorched wires, and nothing got hot enough to de-solder itself. Got out the contact cleaner and di-electric grease, and carefully rebuilt it back the way I found it. Checked the connections and relays for snugness, and tried it. And it was if there hadn't been any problems at all, it came alive again.
I'm not sure I feel better about this. It's good that it only cost me an afternoon, 2 drill bits, and $25 for the U-haul trailer to get her home, and operating again. But puzzle some in that other than cleaning and rebuilding it with the original parts, there was no clear cut fault to pin this total failure on. I'm not planning any long distance trips anytime soon, but its still no fun being stranded at work after a long day. Hopefully, this fixed it, if not I'll report back.
Many thanks to all who contributed on this thread. I went into this having never torn an ignition switch apart before, but the advice I found here helped me feel prepared to tackle this issue