Neutral Light Problem

[ty]

Hey all,
I have the following situation:

If I start the bike when in neutral - light comes on as expected.
If I start the bike in gear, then put it in neutral - light comes on as expected.
If I'm riding around, pull-up, and put the bike in neutral - light comes on as expected.
However...
At any point while I'm riding the light may come on full, fade in or out, or flicker.
Initially it only happened while going slow or pulling up, but now happens any time - slowing down, speeding up, any constant speed (eg freeway or city).
At times it appears to be rev related - if I speed up it fades off, if I slow down it fades on. But other/most times the revs have no effect.

The fact that it's on when it's supposed to be, and is sometimes rev related, steers me away from thinking it's a faulty connection problem and likely more related to a problem with the switch itself. Though I'm not sure of that.

Is the switch something easily accessible on the ZZR600? or is it inside the gearbox and requires a top-down disassembly to get to?

It's not causing any real problems at the moment. The gearbox is not misbehaving at all or anything. It's just annoying, particularly at night, having the neutral light flash at me. So I'm not desperate enough to pull the engine apart to fix it. But I'm worried that it may be indicative of a problem about to occur.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
ty

[Smitty]

ty

based on your description...
I reckon a loose connection or bad earth....
possibly the switch (maybe)
i think your comment about how the light comes on
"the light may come on full, fade in or out, or flicker"
points to a bad earth or connection...
the rev bit only supports that...
huh???
more revs=more vibes=better (or worse) connection





might be wrong but....

[aardvark]

I was going to say the same thing as Ian, but no point in retyping all the reasons why....

What he said.

[mrmina]

Well, i reckon there is a loose connection and/or is shorting out the switch when its not suppose to. Have you washed the bike lately or rode in bad rain?

The neutral wiring is located near the gearshifter. Unplug it and see if dirt or moister has caused it to short. Give it a good clean in hot water and then spray with electrical conductor spray.

Also inspect the wiring loom for any insulation breaks.

If that doesn't work then your gonna have to locate the switch and see if it is faulty. But thats a whole different story.

Let me know how you go.

[ty]

Thanks guys - got your email too Mario, thanks.

There's a fair bit of gunk around the base of the gear lever - I assume from lube overflow - so if the wiring and/or switch is around there that may be part of the problem.
Hopefully it is cos I wasn't looking forward to trying to chase an earth or connection problem.

I'll look into it soon and report my findings - thanks
ty

[Rossi]

Tony, sent you a message to your yahoo addy

[ty]

Rossi,
that'll drift off into the nether - I was getting to much spam through yahoo, so everything there gets automagically deleted, it's really just a registration account.

Send to my ozemail if you like - tony.young at ozemail dot com dot au
ty

[mattyv74]

I was gonna say what Jase said about what Yoda said. Won't bother now

[mfzx6r]

I hope you find the problem Ty

mario

[Smitty]

I was gonna say what Jase said about what Yoda said.

huh???...............hahahahahahahahaha..............I think

[mrmina]

lube can be bad on electrical connections.

let us know how u go.

[ty]

all fixed - just needed a good clean, and MAN was it filthy behind that cover.
Unplugged the neutral switch lead, cleaned both ends, finished the service and took it for a ride and all's well.
so thanks for all the info and hints guys - appreciated
ty

[mrmina]

no problem any time

[Ratmick]

all fixed - just needed a good clean, and MAN was it filthy behind that cover.
Unplugged the neutral switch lead, cleaned both ends, finished the service and took it for a ride and all's well.
so thanks for all the info and hints guys - appreciated
ty

Where was the switch, pray tell?

Just in case I need to find it.

[ty]

if I had the camera I would've taken a picture.
It's behind the sprocket cover, to the lower left of the sprocket itself.
All that's visible is the connector (male) poking out - the wire is just a female plug that clips over it.
The scans Rossi sent me said that it's accessible without taking the cover off - looks a bit difficult to me though and it's not like taking the cover off is hard or anything.
Took me half an hour just to clear the crap enough to be able to find it
ty