Not starting in gear

[HughJebolzak]

For some reason I cannot get the bike to crank while in gear and clutch pulled in. Will start in neutral with the kick stand down or up. I'm sure this is an easy fix but a quick search has come up with nothing.

Cheers.

[DannoXYZ]

use multimeter to measure clutch switch.

[HughJebolzak]

Ah....clutch switch. Should have guessed.

Thanks.

[DannoXYZ]

You're welcome! 👍

 

A lot of times, it's not even the clutch switch itself, but wiring. Corrosion between terminals. Break in wiring where it goes into connector. Sometimes, connector isn't even plugged into switch.

[Mohawk]

O had a similar issue it was intermittent then got permanent. Turns out the plastic actuator rod on the clutch switch had worn down over 60K miles. I added a little blob of araldite to the end & hey presto back to normal. 

[JimMoore]

I haven't had to do it on this bike, but on other bikes I've cut the wires going to the switch and wired them together.

[Grum]

4 hours ago, JimMoore said:

I haven't had to do it on this bike, but on other bikes I've cut the wires going to the switch and wired them together.

 

Bit of a safety issue doing that, potential of unexpected bike jolting forward, possible damage to the starter motor and starter relay.

 

Not sure if the 5th gen has the "launch assist " like the 6 and 8gens where the rpm is slightly increased (via the ECM) as you let the clutch out when in gear, kind of an anti stall assist. Shorting the clutch switch wiring will screw that system.

 

Another potentially nasty situation with shorted clutch switch wiring is an accidental pressing of the starter switch while riding, the starter will attempt to engage!

 

The clutch switch is generally very reliable and easy to replace if it plays up. The switch also has no effect on a neutral start so you still have that starting option till getting it properly sorted.

 

If I had to chose between an open circuit clutch switch or having it bypassed by shorting the wires I'd chose the open circuit state for sure!

 

As always YMMV.

[DannoXYZ]

3 hours ago, JimMoore said:

I haven't had to do it on this bike, but on other bikes I've cut the wires going to the switch and wired them together.

Why would you do that?

[JimMoore]

4 hours ago, DannoXYZ said:

Why would you do that?

I come from the land of the BMW, where both the clutch switch and the neutral switch are notoriously unreliable. It's not at all unusual to see a bike that doesn't know the clutch is in, and also doesn't know it's in neutral. Then the bike can't start. LOL, nice work, BMW! A lot of guys simply bypass the clutch switch when it goes bad so they don't end up stranded.

[interceptor69]

16 hours ago, Grum said:

 

Bit of a safety issue doing that, potential of unexpected bike jolting forward, possible damage to the starter motor and starter relay.

 

Not sure if the 5th gen has the "launch assist " like the 6 and 8gens where the rpm is slightly increased (via the ECM) as you let the clutch out when in gear, kind of an anti stall assist. Shorting the clutch switch wiring will screw that system.

 

Another potentially nasty situation with shorted clutch switch wiring is an accidental pressing of the starter switch while riding, the starter will attempt to engage!

 

The clutch switch is generally very reliable and easy to replace if it plays up. The switch also has no effect on a neutral start so you still have that starting option till getting it properly sorted.

 

If I had to chose between an open circuit clutch switch or having it bypassed by shorting the wires I'd chose the open circuit state for sure!

 

As always YMMV.

My '98 doesn't have the "launch assist" feature.  I have the same problem-intermittently it won't start in gear w/ the clutch pulled in.  Recently I sprayed some WD40 around the switch and now it works regularly (for now).  How expensive is the switch if it needs to be replaced eventually?

[Grum]

6 hours ago, interceptor69 said:

How expensive is the switch if it needs to be replaced eventually?

 

Just Google 35330-MB0-003. That's the switch part number.