Kill switch kookiness

[Dogma]

So, I rode home from dinner after a heavy rain. Really no more moisture than what the other vehicles were throwing up from the road, but the bike did sit through a good rain while I was eating. I rolled into the garage, and as usual, used the kill switch to kill the engine. Except the engine kept running as if nothing happened. So I laughed and killed it with the ignition. Out of curiosity, I started it back up again with the kill switch in the off position. OK. I turned the key off, and it kept running again. So of course I toggled the kill switch to run and it died.

I must say, that's rather puzzling.

Edit: Pos, I tried to PM you to see how moisture might confuse a SSPB, but your inbox is full.

 

[Steve]

Shoot it up with a bunch of WD-40, see if it clears it up.

You might then want to clean it with some proper contact cleaner, then apply some dielectric grease to prevent it happening again.

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[Dogma]

Shoot it up with a bunch of WD-40, see if it clears it up.

You might then want to clean it with some proper contact cleaner, then apply some dielectric grease to prevent it happening again.

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I cleaned and greased both switches about 4 years ago.

 

[posplayr]

I cleaned and greased both switches about 4 years ago.

I PMed you with some comments.

 

[Steve]

I cleaned and greased both switches about 4 years ago.

Well, I guess we now know how long cleaning and greasing will last. :encouragement:

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[Dogma]

Well, I guess we now know how long cleaning and greasing will last. :encouragement:

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For any noobs: They were problem free for 3 decades before that. I'll be surprised if I find a problem there.

I PMed you with some comments.

I'll do the test you suggested, but with everything behaving properly now it's dry, we'll have to wait for it to act up again before we can get meaningful results.

Thinking about it today, I realized that the SSPB's connector to the harness hangs almost alongside the rear fender. I should work up a way to protect that from spray. Maybe try to move it too. What was I thinking, putting it there? Dirty water on that could make confusing signals all over. I find that more plausible than both switches simultaneously getting fouled by mere road spray. What do you think?

 

[posplayr]

For any noobs: They were problem free for 3 decades before that. I'll be surprised if I find a problem there.



I'll do the test you suggested, but with everything behaving properly now it's dry, we'll have to wait for it to act up again before we can get meaningful results.

Thinking about it today, I realized that the SSPB's connector to the harness hangs almost alongside the rear fender. I should work up a way to protect that from spray. Maybe try to move it too. What was I thinking, putting it there? Dirty water on that could make confusing signals all over. I find that more plausible than both switches simultaneously getting fouled by mere road spray. What do you think?

The SSPB inputs are essentially high impedance FET inputs (almost), but in any event they are very high and it takes very little current to put a charge on the input to turn on the FET switch in the SSPB. So it is probably possible to short across two wires (if they were immersed in water) to bridge across a hot and a signal input. It would need to stay immersed however and once the waterbridge went away even if the wires continued to be wet, then it should go off.

We can probably guess this is what happened by having everything return to normal when dry, I'll have to work on improving that in the new design (lower teh input impedance). The SSPB should work fine even immersed in water, but if one wire puts a voltage on another wire through the relatively low impedance of water(certainly compared to the FET inputs) then the SSPB will stay on as designed.

The test will probably be confusing as well because the voltage probe will probably pull the voltage away when you touch probe to the contact meaning the SSPB might hold on when wet, but go off when you use teh probe.

It would probably be best to at least not keep the connector fully immersed

 

[TeamNeal]

Speaking of your SSPB, is it comparable to the motogadget m unit?

 

[Brendan W]

Kill switch has become a conscientious objector ?
Those things are fairly idiot proof and at a guess something is moving around in there because it has corroded and broke.

 

[Guest]

wonder if you could dab some liquid tape around the connectors for good measure?

 

[posplayr]

wonder if you could dab some liquid tape around the connectors for good measure?

If it is the SSPB and it is fully under water, then the contacts under the cover can be bridged. The connector itself like most on a motorcycle is not waterproof.

I have to see if this is even possible as I have never actually tested this.

 

[Dogma]

wonder if you could dab some liquid tape around the connectors for good measure?

Interesting idea. I had been thinking about using a sheet of silicone rubber to make a sock similar to those in the stock harness. I could use liquid tape to close the top of that.

I wouldn't expect the problem to be liquid in the SSPB itself. The way it's built I'd expect it to pass IP64 (splashes) or 65 (jets), and it's not mounted in a position where either of those would be exceeded.

 

[posplayr]

Interesting idea. I had been thinking about using a sheet of silicone rubber to make a sock similar to those in the stock harness. I could use liquid tape to close the top of that.

I wouldn't expect the problem to be liquid in the SSPB itself. The way it's built I'd expect it to pass IP64 (splashes) or 65 (jets), and it's not mounted in a position where either of those would be exceeded.

You either make it waterproof or not at all. If water can intrude and not flow out that is a bigger problem.

The connector is not waterproof so you would basically need to put the whole SSPB/connector and harness into a plastic bag with a rubber band/grommet. I think there are better solutions.

 

[Dogma]

Well, I'm open to suggestions. I don't think the SSPB is being exposed to significant amounts of water in the stock fuse block position, so I'm only considering making sure the connector isn't getting soaked. A sock similar to what protects the stock fuse block's connectors should be adequate, especially with a more prudent position for the connector. But I haven't settled on a course of action yet. So, like I said, open to suggestions.