Triumphrat

morecarl

A friend of mine has a Thunderbird Sport. The bike sat out in the rain yesterday, and when he went to leave work, he had to fiddle with the ignition before the bike would start.

Today it won't start at all. With the key in park, he has lights, with the key in run he doesn't get any lights and the bike won't start.

He tried using a blower to dry things out, but that hasn't helped.

Any help/advise to get him back out on the road would be appreciated.

jimmyj900

The first thing to check on a Triumph with an electrical problem is the level of fluid in the battery. If the level is low, top it off with distilled water and put it on a charger for a while.

If you're getting a solenoid 'click' from under the front of the seat disconnect the battery leads, wire brush the leads and battery terminals until shiny and grease them to prevent corrosion or oxidation. If there's no solenoid click the switches are usually the problem.

High humidity, high temperatures and salt air can wreak havoc on an electrical system, so the first things I'd check are the clutch switch, the kickstand switch and the start switch. Look for sticking, but clean and grease them anyhow.

If that doesn't do it, let us know and we'll pursue it further.

Good luck!

Jim

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Wombat

With no light in the run position, it sounds to me like the ignition switch has gone belly up.

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Bob

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parrycm

Spray WD-40 into the ignition lock to try to drive out the wet.

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Chris

"Panniers can never hold everything you want, but they CAN hold everything you need."

johnyC

My TBS is occassionally reluctant to start because I have a dodgy clutch interlock switch. Try dabbing the clutch lever in and out as you push the start button and see if that makes any difference.

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morecarl

I'm guessing that the problem is with the ignition switch since the lights (headlight, diagnostic lights, etc.) aren't lighting up when he turns the key to 'Run', but the lights do turn on when he turns the key to 'Park'.

I don't believe the interlocks would prevent the lights from turning on, would they?

bobshields55

There have been a couple/several TBS ignition switch failures reported on this forumn lately.

Have you tried the WD40 suggestion to drive the moisture out?

Good luck.

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Bob
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aeycue

my ignition switch got a bit sticky after riding in some rain showers.. put a little motor oil on the key and worked it into the switch. works great again. ( ignition switch on my old suzuki went out from weather, too.. had to replace it.)