'96 Vmax Wont Shutoff!!

[06x6spdGTO]

Hey there, today I rode my Vmax on a very hot (102*F) day for about an hour or so. Once i returned home I adjusted the Idle a little bit in the drive way as the bike kept dying at some stop lights after idling awhile. Once I got the idle set i went to shut the bike off via the key switch and the bike just kept running with the headlights on and neutral light lit up!!!??!! So i pushed it into the garage and let it cool down. I then tried cycling the switch on/off and nothing changed other than the rear tail lamp would shut off when the key was in the off position. The headlight stayed on permanent along with the neutral light. I then took off the ignition lock took it apart and cleaned everything via ninjaneers instruction on this site. I hooked the freshly cleaned ignition switch back up with the same results as before. The headlights stay on permanent, the bike will crank over with the key in the off position, and the neutral light stays on permanent! So now the bike is sitting in the garage with the fuse pulled and the wiring harness for the headlights/start disconnected. Has anyone had this happen before or knows a good place for me to look next?? The bike has a whole 5617miles on it!

 

[sdt354]

I think the ignition swich is the problem. pm'd ya
STEVE-O

 

[06x6spdGTO]

even after being refreshed?? What would you suggest buy a new switch and have two sets of keys!?!?! Even with the ignition switch unplugged from the harness the headlight stay on, the tail light goes off, and the bike will STILL crank over.

 

[sdt354]

pm'd ya again,

 

[sdt354]

Hold off with the ditch the switch idea.

 

[06x6spdGTO]

I'm about 99.8% sure the ignition is fine as the tail lamp WILL shut off when the key is in the off position and turns back on when the key is in the ON position. The bike will crank over no matter what unless you unhook the harness that powers the headlights/start button etc...

 

[[email protected]]

NaughtyG had similar problems. He tried a bunch of things but nothing worked. He ended up buying a used electrical harness and that solved the problem.

 

[alorio1]

I would start chasing wires running along the frame all the way to the battery box and main fuse. Wires close to the battery are easy to pinch and catch a lot of heat in that area.........

 

[06x6spdGTO]

Okay, I guess I will have to start wire hunting along the frame then. How big of a pain is it to change the entire harness and where would be the best place to find one??

 

[alorio1]

I hope you find the problem while chasing the wires, but if you have to get a harness I would check Captainkyle or Sean Morley. I'm no electrician but dingy , a member on here might be able to tell you which wires are touching and possibly back feeding to supply power to run the engine with the ignition switch unplugged. He must be some sort of an electrical engineer or something because he redone the Vmax electrical schematics and simplified the wiring diagram and put into CAD format. I would PM him and ask him to look at your post. I don't know how time consuming it would be to change a wire harness but maybe someone else will chime in and let you know.




http://www.vmaxforum.net/member.php?u=3541

 

[Miles Long]

even after being refreshed?? What would you suggest buy a new switch and have two sets of keys!?!?! Even with the ignition switch unplugged from the harness the headlight stay on, the tail light goes off, and the bike will STILL crank over.

Unplugging the ignition switch was a good first attempt at diagnosing the problem. With the switch disconnected, the blue wire circuitry(tailight, as well as front running lights,speedo and gauge lights) is de-energized- but the fuse block circuits are still "hot" - meaning you have contact between the red wire (coming up from the main fuse), and the brown wire, that feeds the fuse box.As well as the ignition and headlight, the signals, brake lights, horn and fan motor should all be working as well. Check this to make sure.
Did you check the connector on the harness side? Could the red and brown be making contact here? Is there any signs of the wiring being tampered with, by the previous owner? If so, unwrap the D.I.Y. connections, check for any signs of continuity between the red and brown. if all looks well,try replacing the section of brown wire, from the ignition switch to the fuse box inlet.
To see if this will work, and prove proper ignition switch operation, reconnect the switch to the wiring, but don't connect the brown wires. You will have to use jumper wires at the plug in connectors to do this. Then, using a long jumper wire, connect one end to the brown wire spade at the ignition plug connector, and the other end to the brown fuse box feeder wire, as close to the fuse box as possible. I hope I'm right about this, because it appears that you will have to cut the wire to do this.
If this works for you, do a permanant installation. Reconnect the ignition switch plug, snip the brown wire (on the harness side)as close to the plug as possible, and solder in a new wire. BUT don't forget - somewhere along the length of the red wire, there is a problem. This will have to be fixed eventually. Good luck!

 

[06x6spdGTO]

Okay i will take a look. The only thing is when i unplug the ignition switch from the harness the headlight/speedo/gauge lights are still ON while the Tail light shuts OFF. The fan shuts OFF if i flip the RUN/OFF switch on the handle bars to OFF and the fuel pump also quits.

BUT with the harness for the ignition switch unplugged the bike will still crank over if the handle bar switch is on RUN. The only way i get the headlights and start button to de-energize is to disconnect the handle bar control harness. When I disconnect it the only light that lights up is the neutral light. So to shut it off you need to put the bike in gear.

I will do some more wire hunting under the seat and also look where you have mentioned

If i need to I can make a sort video of the problem and post it up on my photobucket for everyone to see. Im pretty good with video stuff if ya'll are bored heres some of the LSx stuff Ive created for ls1tech.com/ls1gto.com/corvetteforum.com. If anyone gets some good vmax footage I will gladly make a video here as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHNhMBXAHuU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pXSuhafpmk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0C02navnG8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0GChRSx1Fg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

I have many more as well

 

[Miles Long]

"Okay i will take a look. The only thing is when i unplug the ignition switch from the harness the headlight/speedo/gauge lights are still ON while the Tail light shuts OFF. The fan shuts OFF if i flip the RUN/OFF switch on the handle bars to OFF and the fuel pump also quits.

BUT with the harness for the ignition switch unplugged the bike will still crank over if the handle bar switch is on RUN. The only way i get the headlights and start button to de-energize is to disconnect the handle bar control harness. When I disconnect it the only light that lights up is the neutral light. So to shut it off you need to put the bike in gear.

I will do some more wire hunting under the seat and also look where you have mentioned "

With ignition switch disconnected, check for voltage at each of the four circuits at the fuse box. You should not have any , but you will find that you do. The neutral light, brake lights and the horn get their power from the signal light circuit. Check to see if the signals, brakes and horn work, with the switch disconnected. Bet they do! Like I stated previously, its' the red and brown wires coming from the ignition switch that have to be traced. Keep us posted, problems like this help everybody.

 

[06x6spdGTO]

did the test and you are correct. The brake lights work no mattter what but the tail light shuts off when the key is in the off position. I did a as much hunting as i could without unraveling the harness tape and dont see anyplace that the wire could have been monkeyed with by the previous owner. I have some errands to run so i think i will take a break for awhile and come back to it to see if I can find it then. The only other thing i have noticed is the clutch depress switch will not alow the bike to start when the clutch is engaged in gear! The bike must be in neutral to crank, this does not matter if the bike is in the ON or OFF position on the ignition. I tried the clutch with the ignition hooked up and unhooked with the same results.

Keep throwing ideas at me! But im leaning toward buying a new harness!

 

[Miles Long]

did the test and you are correct. The brake lights work no mattter what but the tail light shuts off when the key is in the off position. I did a as much hunting as i could without unraveling the harness tape and dont see anyplace that the wire could have been monkeyed with by the previous owner. I have some errands to run so i think i will take a break for awhile and come back to it to see if I can find it then. The only other thing i have noticed is the clutch depress switch will not allow the bike to start when the clutch is engaged in gear! The bike must be in neutral to crank, this does not matter if the bike is in the ON or OFF position on the ignition. I tried the clutch with the ignition hooked up and unhooked with the same results.

Keep throwing ideas at me! But im leaning toward buying a new harness!

A new harness is your best solution, also the safest way to go - providing the "new" one is in good shape!
As far as the clutch switch, put a jumper wire between the two female spade connectors, and then see if the bike will start with the clutch depressed. If this doesn't work, dig a little deeper- follow the clutch switch wiring back to the connector, and check it for corrosion.

 

[dingy]

Following would help me narrow down potential problem sources.

Does the kill switch shut the bike down?

How about putting it in gear with the side stand down?

Will it shut down with the ignition fuse pulled?

Gary

 

[dingy]

Duplicate Post

Gary

 

[rregnold]

Im having the same exact problem with my 92 Vmax. Any help would be GREAT!

 

[Miles Long]

Im having the same exact problem with my 92 Vmax. Any help would be GREAT!

This happened to my bike today. As luck would have it, it occurred when I was putting the bike away in my own garage. Turned the key to the off position, the bike remained running, with everything working, except the taillights. The kill switch did stop the engine, however. I disconnected the positive battery lead to kill all the lights.
I already had a game plan to approach this problem, because of posts I had previously submitted within this thread, and suggestions from other folks.
I disconnected the ignition switch at the connector (in front of the airbox). A meter check for open/closed operation between the male spade lugs (brown, blue and red wires) showed that the switch was working fine.
Then I checked the female harness connector.....BINGO!......continuity between the red (direct feed from battery positive)and brown(switched power to fuse box) terminals. Shorted out within the plastic itself. The blue terminal (taillight) was still insulated from the red.
I didn't have a spare connector, so I soldered and shrink-wrapped the three wires together. One less connector to worry about!
The lesson learned here, one so many on this forum have emphasized -
"Look for the simple things first"
Cheers!

 

[Fire-medic]

A comment was made about "cutting the brown wire as-close as possible to the plug," but whenever I have had to do something electrical where I needed access to a specific wire by itself, I have been able to remove the wire from the connector block by using either a small straight-blade screwdriver or a thin shim type piece of flat stock, such as you can get from the hobby store or the s.s. pieces which come in a windshield replacement blade pkg. Sometimes you can just pull on the wire itself while using the shim, sometimes I have had to use a pr. of needle-nose pliers.