L4 starter switch failure, but rectified by contact cleaner…. What else to do..?

[stoatsngroats]

Today, after a pause for a short rest, the bike didn’t start.
I checked the connectors which I could fine, and called RAC.
I explained the nature of the issue, and said I suspected the starter switch, as I have been riding a lot through the winter, and we had some heavy rain yesterday.
He use a spare contact cleaner on the starter switch, and had an immediate start. Switch off, and a second successful start.
So, I have some contact cleaner in the top box, just in case, but what should I do next…. Strip the switch and physically clean it, or is it likely that the cleaner has made a significant improvement which I can rely on.
Thanks SnG.

[nigel s]

take it apart and check it out would be my plan there could still be water inside.Contact cleaner will also clean out any protective grease,allowing contacts /pivots to eventualy rust.Use wd40 it would at least leave a protective residue.dielectric grease is also good here.Unscrew the 2 halves and gently move the halves apart not stretching the cables to have a look,would not try to prise individual internal parts out .Costs nothing but time,and will give you an idea of any possible problems,but it's probably going to be fine.
Time spent at these little jobs also gives you a warm fuzzy glow

[nigel s]

oh oh double post don't know what happened there sorry
what is wanted to add was when you screw it back together try to make fwd edge of joint snug

[Gert]

Not sure whether the L4 Glee starter button is the same as for the 1st gen Wee.
Anyhow, have a look at the guide on starter switch / button maintenannce on a 1st gen, https://blacklabadventures.com/2012/02/19/start-switch-maintenance/

[nigel s]

Good call gert.
stoatsngroats,I have not had my strom long enough to have had the switch housing apart,so having followed gerts link ,if you can take it apart further do so.Happy to bow to direct experience of  the problem.


And cheers to whoever sorted my double post

[stoatsngroats]

@gert and @nigel s
OK, I did have a quick look inside the switch housing, taking the little ‘U’ shape spacer out but didn’t want to unscrew the white little box of electrics out of the switch housing in case I disturbed something or lost something!
I gave it another spray and put it back together.
The gen1 switch seems similar but I have a screw mounted cable entry to the housing so didn’t venture further.
F it happens again, I’ll know where to look, so thanks for your thoughts!
SnG

[nigel s]

Good one ,hopefully that will sort it

[stoatsngroats]

OK, I had a better look this evening as I still have an issue.
The first image shows the switch button, which has a small copper panel with 2 nipples on. This panel is a little loose in the button housing.
I wonder if this should be solid in the button, but I’d have thought some movement should be within tolerance?
I cleaned the 4 copper connections on the other part of the switch in image 2, (before I cleaned it!) as they were slightly dark, but not damaged at all.
Once refitted, I had one non-start out of 5 or 6 attempts, so there’s still an issue.

[Joe Rocket]

Just to be safe check the clutch lever  switch. It seems strange to me that cleaning the contacts inside the starer switch it's still dodgy despite dismantling it too. 

[Rixington43]

Seconded, I've had a few phantom non starts of late and it was the clutch switch to blame. Disassembled, cleaned and greased, no issues since.

[stoatsngroats]

….and greased, no issues since.

Thanks @rixington43 and @Joe Rocket, that’s interesting as I hadn’t looked at this at all!
What grease would you have used?

[Rixington43]

Anything really will help stave off corrosion but something fairly thin.
A wipe of acf50 will do as well. The housing does split to get in and clean the parts and then clicks back together, it is pretty tight though.

[Gert]

Have you thought of pulling the starter motor to check on the condition of the starter motor brushes?
Before you pull the starter motor, when next the bike fails to start, try first shorting out the two big nuts on top of the solenoid to see if the starter motor turns. By shorting out the solenoid, you are bypassing all the safety features, so just make sure that the bike is in neutral first before you attempt this process.   If the starter motor turns, it is safe to say that the brushes are still serviceable for now.

The other thing that comes to mind is that the earth / ground connection from the battery to the engine could be going high resistance due to being a bad connection.  If you can, pull and clean the earth terminals on both battery and engine. Not sure if you had a look at https://advrider.com/f/threads/v-strom-safety-recall.1119681/ and https://www.stromtrooper.com/threads/the-ground-wire-recall-have-there-been-actual-failures-reported.339473/

[stoatsngroats]

A little update from a consideration of something I noted this morning, with the clutch!
If I pull the lever in as far as it would go, it won’t start, but if I let the lever out maybe 2mm, it starts every time!
So an investigation and clean of the clutch switch is planned for tomorrow, which I wasn’t even considering and I wouldn’t have observed this without the note from Joe Rocket and Rixington43, so again, thanks for the pointers.
As for the deeper delves into earth and such, I may progress to this later, especially if the clutch switch clean doesn’t improve the situation.
And yes, I agree, doing these small jobs does give one a warm glow, but only when the end is in sight!
SnG

[Barbel Mick]

If you pull the wire off the switch you can short it out to test it. If it starts every time with the short then reconnect it & see what happens. You'll have a better idea it was the clutch switch then. 

[Joe Rocket]

I hope this is as far as you need to look. Like you I've spent time (and money) trying to resolve things probably by not eliminating the simplest of things first. I overlooked the clutch switch on my GPX because the arriving connector behaved exactly as testing said it should, I was looking for a wiring break, so I assumed the switch was OK. Only on my third round of checking did I think to see if I could open up the switch.....and clean it!

My fingers are crossed for you. 

[Gert]

Any chance that the clutch lever pivot bolt is out of round or the clutch switch activating tab on the clutch lever is damaged / worn?

[stoatsngroats]

Any chance that the clutch lever pivot bolt is out of round or the clutch switch activating tab on the clutch lever is damaged / worn?

The bike has on just ticked over to a0k miles, so I would imagine neither of those were likely, but anything is possible I suppose! I’ll be having a look on, (yesterday was a little busier than I expected).

[stoatsngroats]

A final update from todays check on the clutch switch.
Either I mullered the screw, or it was already mullered ( I don’t think it would have been Ray, in case you’re reading! 😂 ) but I couldn’t get the switch off!
So I popped some cleaner in and had a start every time afterwards.
So, hopefully, things are OK….. I’ll e
Be buying a spare clutch switch, ready for the next time it may be needed, but I’m. It sure how to get this switch off….. time to ponder…..
Thanks for your help!
SnG

[nigel s]

Number of options here.small molegrips end on,dremel with cutting blade to cut slot then flat blade screwdriver,dremel off the top off screw then release switch then molegrips on stub,heat can be applied by using blowtorch to heat up old allen key held in molegrips then touch to screw head.
I would wait till you  get replacement switch first and of course screw,anything done here is likely to damage old switch