R1200 RT Left Blinker Switch REPAIRED!

[Mike05]

Returning from the fall BRR I did 900+ miles, much of it in the rain. "Wet" a lot of the electrics, fixed all except the left blinker. Totally at a loss as how next to proceed; posts here & on other Boards seemed to indicate I could expect a $400 - $800 bill (Beemer Boneyard was out of the $150 used variety) to replace the left side switch gear.

 

Put a call out for help & the result was a mini tech day, wherein Angel added an electrical outlet for his Gerbing's, Eric (EricTheAwful) mounted his Xmas Zumo 550 & I, luckiest of all, got my left blinker fixed!! No credit to me btw; big thanks to Gary Johnson (Edgar) who, ably assisted by John (SilverEagle) & the ever-willing Angel did it all.

 

Some pics to share the day:

 

John, Angel & "Coach Gary" digging in to the switch.

 

 

Why work on only Mike's bike?

 

 

Gary fixes the switch!

 

 

So, I'm back in business.! Now if I can only figure out why the P3's stopped flashing...

 

 

[JohnBeaven]

 

You gunna tell us how he fixed it??

[Mike05]

You gunna tell us how he fixed it??

 

No John, I'm not, 'cause I don't really know.

 

Gary Johnson ("EDGAR" on the Board) is the guru here; he actually dismantled the white "plunger" portion of the switch to fix it. Just getting to it was a chore; out of 8 screws, only 2 were the same! (Take pics as you go.)

 

I had sprayed so much WD-40 into switch housing itself the stuff literally dripped out as it was taken apart. Someone suggested this as a possible "easy fix" & it actually worked for a while, then stopped completely. Didn't prevent me from continuing to spray & hope...

 

If you're having the same issue I'd pm Gary; he'll know how to explain it better then I.

[GrahamB]

Hi John,

 

You gunna tell us how he fixed it??

Not sure how they repaired the switch, but I can tell you how I fixed mine a few times (did it again just this morning).

 

The problem I've had is that the two leaf springs that the switch uses lose tension and so lose contact over time. So it's just a matter of bending them slightly together so they make contact again.

 

It's a pretty quick and painless job once you've done it a few times. The toughest part the first time is getting the orange switch cover out of its mounting points. It's a lot more flexible than you think and can be bent enough to get it out.

 

I should really replace the switch with a new one, but I haven't found an equivlent one from another source. I've been thinking of swapping the horn switch and for the LH indicator since I don't use the horn nearly as much as the indicator.

 

[BarOne]

I did what Irishmike did with the WD40 and it was a short time fix. Real culprit was the small rubber boot that surrounds the "plunger" part of the switch gets torn, water leaks in and bad unexplainable things occur. I was lucky to get a Boneyard left handlebar unit with bad cruise (I didn't care). Damn if the boot was not torn on the one I bought too. BUT, for a happy ending, the boot on the emergency flasher is the same one and that was good.

 

You are right about the fasteners being many, varied and small -- some very small.

[Jim VonBaden]

 

 

So, I'm back in business.! Now if I can only figure out why the P3's stopped flashing...

 

99% chance you accidentally reprogramed them. Get out your instruction card and have at it. That doesn't work? E-mail Jerry, he will get back with you quickly!

 

Jim

[Mike05]

 

 

So, I'm back in business.! Now if I can only figure out why the P3's stopped flashing...

 

99% chance you accidentally reprogramed them. Get out your instruction card and have at it. That doesn't work? E-mail Jerry, he will get back with you quickly!

 

Jim

 

Hi Jim,

 

Good advice; I will give Jerry a call. I've tried to reprogram once already but maybe Jerry will catch something I'm not doing properly.

 

Really like having P3's back there, especially when sitting at a red light!

 

Btw, still pull out your CD every time I do maintenance!

[Edgar]

In the case of Irish PolishMike the plunger on the barrel switch has the notch that pushes the leaf springs together to initiate the turn signal. When you have the top of the switch in your hand you would think that the inside notch would separate the leafs and cause the turn signals to turn on, but it's the other way around. We adjusted the springs so they reliably make contact and as pointed out earlier fixes the problem. We moved them to the side instead of straight up. The rubber gasket was shot, so it got removed. Not knowing if the top of the switch comes off without destroying it the first time you try it always causes some concern.