Topic: Control Switch question...

[Ravie]

I feel a little silly for asking this but... 

What is the function of the on/of switch on the right hand side on my K5?  All it seems to do is brighten or dim the lights. I KNOW that isn't what it is supposed to do so I'm curious what it *should* be doing. Should it be turning the headlight off?

[alacrity]

what is the exact model and year of this bike? Post a pic of the control switch also please - you wouldn't be the first guy with a bike that a PO had swapped out the wrong part (and/or incorrectly wired it)

[Ravie]

Well, if anyone incorrectly wired it, it would be me. It's the 750 K5 in my sig below. Has what I believe to be an EMGO wiring harness which caused me a lot of headaches wiring up. Everything works as it should but that switch. Let me go grab a pic... Just looks like a standard control.

[Ravie]

Pic..

[danyo]

It's on and off for headlight, taillight and also front marker lights in front blinkers (I don't know if that is proper name). Front blinker bulbs should be dual filament in K5.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

[Ravie]

Hmm. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that this is messed up...wiring the aftermarket harness of unknown origin was a nightmare.

[alacrity]

Well this gives you the oppty to fix it correctly-- AND de-stress that switch by installing relays.

[Ravie]

Okay...I went out and messed with it. Can it be confirmed that in the FIRST on position (bike running, TL1 whatever.) that this switch should be able to turn the headlight off?  Because it doesn't.  I've got the headlight apart so I could check it out and am reminded that this harness is not like the stock harness. It may not even be possible to wire this correctly. I'll futz with it. I need to try and isolate which wires are feeding voltage to JUST the headlight. Looks like there should be one brown/red-brown/white doing this.

[Ravie]

Even with the three associated brown/red and brown/white disconnected. And all of the fuses out, I get continuity bewteen the TL2 brown and the brown/red coming from the hi/low switch. Happens in both the off position of the ignition and TL1/position 1 on the ignition.

Almost seems like this ignition switch is using the TL1 circuit as a common instead of keeping those circuits separated.

[Ravie]

I'm just going to have to leave the damn thing alone.

I messed with it for a few hours...  In the ignition position 1 the switch does nothing. ONLY in position two does it allow me to turn the headlight on and off. I confirmed that the taillight is on it's own circuit and that when I remove power from the headlight circuit the headlight in fact turns off. Where the weirdness is is beyond me.