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Tail light bulb

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rocketman
  • Start date Start date
I found some photos of an ignition switch on Ebay, and am wondering where exactly I'm supposed to clean, as it appears to be a sealed unit. Is inside the green 4-prong connector the place you suspect the corrosion is or inside the barrel where the key goes?

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the contacts are in the round part opposite the key hole. The switches I have from 83 ED / 81 EX are removable and probably would swap if that one doesnt come apart.
 
So I guess I'll pull this thing out soon, see how much of it can be diassembled, and what I can get at in there. If it doesn't come apart at all, I see no harm in spraying some electrical contact cleaner into the key hole, and using the key to mix it aroound a bit. Then maybe lube it with some WD-40 afterwards. Again, this is nothing that critical, just maintenance that should be taken care of before it gets worse, I guess.
 
Spraying anything into the keyhole will not get it down to the contacts that need to be cleaned. As posplayr said, look at the round part where the wires come out. On some models, there are screws that hold that part to the keyswitch assembly, on others there is a clip to be removed. Either way, take off that cap, you will see the contacts inside.

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I would use sometype of etching material; even a little navel jelly that you let sit in there a while and then wash clean and then spray with WD-40

It won't hurt plastic, and brass just gets spiffy clean. It won't hurt the chrome either.
 
I'm on it. Thanks guys for all the advice. Can't get to it right now, as a 3 day ride is planned starting this Friday early. But once its done, I'll update.
 
use your ohm meter to measure resistance before and after cleaning on both ON and PARK contacts.
 
As long as I can open it up and access the contacts, it will be done.
 
As long as I can open it up and access the contacts, it will be done.
Click to expand...

contacts are measured at the connector at each key position; so there is no need to open for that.

if you can get any access through a crack you can get some acid in there to etch the contacts.

Metal prep by Por-15 is mild but is very liquid; you just immerse the entire switch. Ideally the lock will be off. :o
 
Seems like there are two 5mm recessed cap head bolts. Looks easier if I lay the headlight assembly out of the way first. After that everything looks fairly accessible. I'll update more next week.
 
Well, I got the ignition switch out and apart. Pretty easy actually. Just unbolted the headlight assembly and let it dangle out of the way. Then removed the two hex bolts holding the switch in place, and pulled the switch down towards the fender. There's a dust cap that just pops off the bottom to expose the four riveted on wires. From the top side, the "guts" of the switch/connectors just pops out with little pastic "wings" that hold it in recesses in the switch housing; then a tiny little screw holds the wiring harness in place, and once removed exposes all four contacts. There are several miniature springs, and two check balls that popped right out into my hands, so be careful when you separate the two halves, not to lose any of the pieces. There are two copper contacts which rock back and forth, pivoting on a small spring, and they make contact with the four wires to control the parking light, running light, and direct to the battery. The electrical voltage I reported earlier at the bulb socket (in RUN, and PARK positions) are exactly the same at the contact points in the ignition switch. I cleaned the copper contact points up a bit with steel wool, although there appears to be some type of dieelectric grease in there are well. Didn't notice anything unusual as far as oxidation or corrosion, but cleaned it up anyway. I checked the wiring diagram and traced all the wires, and there appear to be no resistors in the circuit. So, I guess it is normal for less voltage to go to the bulb when it is in RUN position, then when it is in PARK position, thus a higher intensity light. Until I run into another '82 850 to check it against, I'll assume its normal and just keep riding.
 
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