Kill switch

[Lloyde]

How it is going Y'all?!

I just got back from an overseas deployment and i am trying find out what is wrong with my kill switch.

I did everything that i needed to before putting my bike into storage, run the gas out of the carb being the most prevalent on my mind.

I got home and knew that i would need to use my bike the next day to do some running around, so i decided on a quick test run to ensure that everything was still running properly. You can understand my joy when my bike roared to life with little to no hesitation.

When i got done with the test run I was cruising back to my yard and i hit the Kill Switch, but nothing happened, so i had to put the carb on full choke and release the clutch to stop the engine (for emergencys only, do NOT use this method regularly).

I am checking the wires for the kill switch, but nothing seems to be broken or unplugged, the switch itself seems to be a little stiff, but other than that i am wondering what is going on with this switch?

 

[Frankenstein]

It's broken? If you take a wire and bravely short across the 2 contacts that the kill wire goes to and it kills it then the kill switch is dead. If it doesn't then I have virtually no clue why it won't shut down.

It's probably the switch, you can put a multimeter and test the connection if you don't get an resistance from it then it's bad.

Simplest solution is to jury rig it to use a different switch you have laying around or toy can replace the switch entirely (or throttle assembly if that's where it is located in.

You can always kill with the choke which isn't necessarily bad, or you can cover the air filter with your hand and if it's restricted enough it will stall.

 

[Lloyde]

I found the problem, it was the kill switch housing, some of the prong holders had somehow broken while i was gone, and so the components that needed to touch were not touching.

I had a spare throttle with kill switch, so i took that one apart and fixed the problem by swapping what parts i could.

 

[Frankenstein]

There you go! Have fun

 

[KCvale]

Ya, just shorting the magneto wires (black and blue) will kill the engine, that's all the button on the throttle does but it NEEDS to be there just for your own safety!

If you fall and the bike ends up on you, you need to kill the engine quick and sometimes even that isn't quick enough to prevent serious harm but that is another really gory story...

It is really easy to keep an engine from running, but the mag is the easiest way and you can use that to your advantage for theft prevention in other ways...

I find a simple Keylock switch that shorts the wires very effective.
They can steal the bike and pedal it away, but it will never start ;-}

 

[AquaManAndy]

My kill switch on my china girl stopped working a long time ago, I just picked up the habit of unplugging the spark plug boot. I know I should fix it im just too darn lazy about it.

 

[Frankenstein]

My kill switch on my china girl stopped working a long time ago, I just picked up the habit of unplugging the spark plug boot. I know I should fix it im just too darn lazy about it.

Lol more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[oliverw123]

Just get rid of it altogether, less clutter and fewer things to go wrong electrically. It does the job but I tend to think of it more as a gimmick. The choke does the job equally well and if the choke doesn't kill the engine at idle then just blip the throttle with it on and that will surely stop the engine. Can also use the clutch to stall it, I've been using a combination of the above and have had no abnormal issues such as clutch wear. The CDI should last longer too since it is not being shorted out??, so I've heard.

 

[Frankenstein]

Just get rid of it altogether, less clutter and fewer things to go wrong electrically. It does the job but I tend to think of it more as a gimmick. The choke does the job equally well and if the choke doesn't kill the engine at idle then just blip the throttle with it on and that will surely stop the engine. Can also use the clutch to stall it, I've been using a combination of the above and have had no abnormal issues such as clutch wear. The CDI should last longer too since it is not being shorted out??, so I've heard.

Choke works well, I do it often. Magneto is shorted with the kill switch, but the same idea applies. Never like stalling anything with a clutch if I could help it.

 

[AquaManAndy]

Yea but if you're using the choke to flood the engine isnt that gonna foul the spark plug after a while?