on-off ignition switch

Joined
Dec 10, 2019
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I have a 10 year old Aerobic Cruiser which just quit working while I was riding it. I thought--no problem--it just needs a charge. After charging it overnight, I rode it about a mile and parked it during the rest of the day. When I came back to ride it home, it started (as shown by the LCD display) and then went blank. I checked the charge and it still shows fully charged. I check the wire harness relays and they seem to connected properly. This focused my attention on the on-off keyed ignition switch. Has anyone experienced a failure of the on-off switch due to use or just normal wear?
 
easy to test. if it is just a two wire keyswitch, short them together at teh contacts on the back of the switch, and if it works, it's the switch. if it's mulitple wires, you'll ahve to determine which pair needs to connect for on.

if that fails to work, we'll need more information to provide the next troulbeshooting step(s); worry about that after the above test.
 
G'day AM.
I don't think it's the switch, though I bow to Amberwolf's wisdom. I reckon it's in the battery feed circuit. Look for a bad fuse, loose, melted or corroded fuse holder or a melted / corroded connector. If the fuse is a glass tube type & seems to test ok, try replacing it. I've had them go high resistance. A little current trickles through to charge the caps in the controller, enough to let it wake up then die in the arse. Had me stumped for ages coz the fuse tested ok but didn't flow more than a few milli amps.
Go back to the switch if the battery delivers full current to the controller.
Keep us posted so we can all learn!

AussieRider
 
I did the test recommended by Amberwolf and it showed the switch to be ok. I then started checking the fuses--one in-line small amperage and two bayonet fuses--a 10 amp and a 40 amp. When I checked the 40 amp and went to replace it in the receptacle, it arced. I thought I had messed up the 40 amp, but it was OK despite showing some damage. When I reassembled everything and turned on the key, everything lit up and I was back to normal. I have no idea what I did, but I am back on the road. Something just woke up. If anyone has a more technical explanation, I would be interested in hearing it.
 
Poor contact on the 40 amps fuse, either loose female sockets on the fuse holder, or it could be a fault where the wire attaches to the fuse holder.

Could have been the switch though, for similar reasons, the wire to the switch, or the plug leading to the wire to the switch being more likely than the switch itself.
 
Fuses & connectors, over time, can grow a thin layer of oxide corrosion that's basically a resistor. The resistance restricts the current down to enough to trickle charger the caps in the controller to wake up for a moment but when they are discharge the controller shuts down again. A bit like a torch with flat batteries. Leave it for a while & it'll light for a bit then fade out. Hope that makes sense. As for the arcing you got, nothing to worry about. Those caps in the controller when discharged ,( flat ) take a big lot of current when first connected to power so cause a spark. Removing & replacing the fuse scraped the corrosion off the fuse holder & fuse, restoring a good connection.
AussieRider
 
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