No Neutral Light, No starting

[ira_ryan_cycles]

I have a daily riding 79 r65 that has worked like a top since I got it running a couple years ago. Until the other day when I went to start it for a weekend trip. No Neutral light and no start. I rode it the day before after I adjusted the points and it ran great. I do take the bean can off the engine to adjust the points and then reinstall the can and adjust dynamic timing with a timing light.

I checked the battery. Full charge. Checked all the connectors I could reach and everything was in order. The starter relay clicks but that's it.
Fuses are good. I pulled the wires off the neutral switch and the switch tests for current when in neutral but not in gear. Is this correct?

Today I unwrapped the wiring harness and looked for obvious shorts in the wires but found nothing. I don't get it.

I would like to move the fuses and tidy up the harness but I don't want to rebuild a wiring harness from scratch.

[Bob_Roller]

Pull the clutch lever in and try the starter, it's got a safety switch that prevents the starter from working if the clutch lever is not pulled in .

Check the wires for the neutral switch, mine broke years ago in this area .

The neutral switch is a known problem, I rarely get 5 years before something happens to it, leaking or internal failure .

You should have continuity through the switch with the transmission in neutral, any other gear and the switch should be open, or infinite resistance ,

[montmil]

Bob's right about checking both neutral switches. Some folks forget about the clutch lever switch as it's almost invisible.

The transmission switch can be bypassed by simply connecting the two wires together. It's a bit of a PITA since the wire leads are rather difficult to reach.

On my '81 R65, I solved the leaky neutral switch syndrome by tossing the OEM leak and fitting a short, plain bolt. Just be sure the bolt doesn't contact anything expensive in the gearbox! Join the leads and ride leak free... at least that factory-installed leak.

I'm old enough to have grown up shifting with my right foot and finding neutral the old-fashioned way- by feel.

If the switch checks don't pan out, check back in here. Good luck.

[livingdeadhead]

you tried a screwdriver accross the solenoid to check its not that?

[Barry]

I'm old enough to have grown up shifting with my right foot  

Me too.

In 75 I bought a new US model T140V with right foot change very very cheap. It was my first brand new bike at something like £750. I had to drive 200 miles to London to pick it up. They were a failed export order to the US.  Apparently the US importer wouldn't accept the old right foot gear change so Triumph flogged the bikes off cheap in the UK.

You guys did me a big favour.

[steven m]

I suppose this is elementary, but have you checked to make sure you haven't accidentally hit the kill switch on the right handlebar control?  It just has to be off center a bit to shut things down.

How do I know this...

[Bob_Roller]

It's a good suggestion, I couldn't get my Guzzi started last Saturday morning for work, I replaced the ignition switch last Thursday and inadvertently moved the kill switch to the off position after testing the new switch .

Took about 5 minutes to realize what I had done .

On the Guzzi, the kill switch just shuts off the ignition, starter will work, but the engine never starts .

[ira_ryan_cycles]

OK, this is very embarrassing but after I tested the wires, unwrapped half the wiring harness and scratched my head for hours, I read Bob's post and saw I bumped the kill switch. Flipped it on and everything works. Reaffirms the idea of starting with the most obvious and working backwards before taking the whole bike apart.  

Thank you all for the help.

[Ed Miller]

I'm old enough to have grown up shifting with my right foot and finding neutral the old-fashioned way- by feel.

That's age-related?  

[Bob_Roller]

A good learning experience, won't happen again, will it !!!!

At least you weren't out on a trip with the bike, when this happened .

[ira_ryan_cycles]

This is the type of thing that turns one into a better mechanic but I did loose my sh*t for a few minutes as the bike sat fully loaded for the weekend and wouldn't start.

I love BMW's for the reliability and ease of working on them.

[Luca]

I did the same thing when I got my bike ready to run last year (it was a sort-of barn find) and also started to "lose my sh*t."  (air) cool (ed) heads prevail  [smiley=wink.gif]

[montmil]

I'm old enough to have grown up shifting with my right foot and finding neutral the old-fashioned way- by feel.

That's age-related?  

Absolutely!  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[montmil]

Back to the kill switch culprit...

After  repairing a faulty "joy killer" switch on the '81 R65, I have since left all the switches on all three Airheads in the RUN posit. Like left-side shifters and right-side rear brake pedals, the danged Gubmint mandated the handlebar kill switch... and cat converters... and lights on all the time- which IS a good idea. How long before mandatory linked-ABS and CTV transmissions become the "law of the land"?  

Now if I can just figure out a way to not bump 'em switches into OFF.  

[k_enn]

OK, this is very embarrassing but after I tested the wires, unwrapped half the wiring harness and scratched my head for hours, I read Bob's post and saw I bumped the kill switch. Flipped it on and everything works. Reaffirms the idea of starting with the most obvious and working backwards before taking the whole bike apart.  

Thank you all for the help.

I have a habit of setting my helmet on the gas tank while I zip up my jacket and pull on my gloves.  Every so often the helmet just barely nudges the kill switch.  I hate that initial sense of panic when I hit the start switch and nothing happens.  Now, the first thing I check is the kill switch.

k_enn