Posted by jb on April 24, 2000 at 05:55:19:
The Savage ignition switch has one major problem. It has a "P" position that turns the ignition off but leaves the tail light on. That would be okay except for the fact that the key can be removed in this position. And if you think you have turned off the ignition, remove the key, and don't see that the tail light is on, you can easily end up with a dead battery when you try to ride again! The guy that rides my Savage did this one too many times today and I swore I'd do something to prevent me from leaving the bike again with the battery draining.
According to the wiring diagram for 1987-1988 Savage in the Clymer manual and the actual wiring in my 1998 Savage, the only connection made in the "P" position is from the RED to the BROWN wire. But the GRAY wire is connected to the BROWN wire in the "ON" position, so just cutting the BROWN wire at the switch won't do the trick.
I then thought of mechanically preventing the switch from rotating to the "P" position, so I removed it from the Savage and examined it. I discovered that there are two BROWN wires going to the switch from the wiring connector where they are tied together. One of these BROWN wires is connected to the RED wire in the "P" position, the other is connected to the GRAY wire in the "ON" position. Cutting the correct BROWN wire will implement my desired fix!
Procedure:
1. Remove the ignition switch from the Savage.
2. Remove the two bolts that hold the back plastic piece onto the switch body.
3. Under that you will find a circular piece of black plastic that has the wires from the connector soldered to contacts embedded in it. The contacts are located in either an inner or an outer circle.
4. With the alignment notch at 6 o'clock, there will be an ORANGE wire at 6:30 (outer), a RED wire at 5:00 and 5:30 (inner), BROWN wire #1 at 4:30 (outer), BROWN wire #2 at 12:00 (inner), and a GRAY wire at 11:30 (outer).
5. Cut or un-solder BROWN wire #1 and fold it back so that the exposed end is inside the insulation sleeve for the wires that go to the switch.
6. Re-assemble the switch and reinstall in the Savage.
No more discharged batteries due to removing the key and leaving the ignition switch in the "P" position!
Anybody interested in my beeping turn signals that remind me to turn them off?
Ride safe,
-jb