Triumphrat

NikosR · 05-10-2007

My house is on a hill, up a narrow bendy road with quite a steep incline. When I come back home after dark, I have to stop on the side of the road, dismount and open the gate and order the dogs to stay away (no power gate yet I'm afraid).

To do this I have to stop the engine but leave the lights (and the turn indicator) on for safety. I find it much easier in this case to just stop the engine with the kill switch and leave the lights on, than turn the key, which will switch off all lights and then try to turn the wheel in this incline to try to get the key to the park position.

So, if you live on top of a hill, with a dark, steep and narrow road leading to your manually operated garden gate, the kill switch might be of use to you :-D

[ This message was edited by: NikosR on 2007-05-10 00:24 ]

duckie · 05-10-2007

Quote:

On 2007-05-10 00:23, NikosR wrote:
My house is on a hill, up a narrow bendy road with quite a steep incline.

Nikos I don't envy some of the roads you have to navigate - done a small amount of riding in Greece (although none around Athens) and done quite a few coach trips around Greece - seems like you have a lot of narrow bendy roads with steep inclines and usually large drops and lots of shrines on those steep corners to act as crash barriers... makes me sweat just thinking of them!

Quote:

So, if you live on top of a hill, with a dark, steep and narrow road leading to your manually operated garden gate, the kill switch might be of use to you :-D

Does a mildly sloping, wide and well lit driveway count? :razz:

dakotan · 05-10-2007

Maybe this is pertinent--when I shut my bike down (with the key) there is a pause and then a definite computer crunch/whine. I assumed this was the ECU logging off recording info.... not sure if this happens after kill switch is employed or not.

duckie · 05-10-2007

When I hit the kill switch the letters ***? appear briefly across the right dial... never did figure that one out. :-)

Do you mean the sort of modem dial up / connection noises? If so mine does that as well with the kill switch.

dakotan · 05-10-2007

That's exactly the sound I hear---now where or who is it dialing? :???: and what the F@#% do the letters *** stand for? :-D

[ This message was edited by: dakotan on 2007-05-10 20:34 ]

NikosR · 05-11-2007

Quote:

On 2007-05-10 10:58, duckie wrote:

Nikos I don't envy some of the roads you have to navigate - done a small amount of riding in Greece (although none around Athens) and done quite a few coach trips around Greece - seems like you have a lot of narrow bendy roads with steep inclines and usually large drops and lots of shrines on those steep corners to act as crash barriers... makes me sweat just thinking of them!

You forgot to mention the excitingly slippery surfaces

Super-Moto country.

Actually, you would have sweat more if you knew what those 'shrines' really stand for... Take a guess

duckie · 05-11-2007

Unfortunately I do know what the shrines are for - sad. I remember seeing a particularly steep corner which had a large drop littered with shrines and one 'section' of the shrines had been recently demolished.

You'd have thought someone in power would decide to put up crash barriers on those corners...

AlexTiger · 05-25-2007

I don't know if newer bikes are wired like mine, but its Sagem MC2000 ECM uses a separate circuit to power the unit (via a relay feeding pin 1).

Whether the ignition key or the switch turned the power off, it keeps that relay powered on (via pin 86) for several seconds, giving itself time to "shut down" properly.

So in that respect it doesn't matter how you turn the bike off, the ECU doesn't get unpowered abrubtly.

However, the circuit controlled by the emergency switch also powers items which share the ground with lamps, instruments, and some accessories, which means that residual current will try to flow backwards through that circuit (especially through the neutral light bulb) when the ignition is on while the switch is off. As far as I know there's no diode on the circuit to prevent this.
The voltage is too low to cause any damage but depending on the situation and accessories used it could be high enough to confuse the ECU and be mistaken for a low battery condition (that is, if it measures the voltage on pin 69 rather than pin 1, but I haven't checked).

Sport · 05-25-2007

AlexTiger leans towards my understanding in that when turning the engine off via the 'Engine Cut-Off Switch' (as opposed to a "Kill Switch) as an MSF coach would teach, it sets the stage for something similar to a power aoutage at your house with lights and PC's on. Some of you may have experienced that PC's get fried from time to time due to the surge of electricity sent through the house wires and eventually into sensitive equipment such as you PC. By turning the bike off via the key, you essentually short circuit the system and prevent any surge. However, when using the 'Engine Cut-Off' switch, electrical load may disrupt the ECU in much the same way that an electrical storm may do if it knocks power out from a house.

Just my $0.02 worth...

dolson · 05-26-2007

I just use the key. I guessed that was what it was there for and my ST is a bit more sophisticated than my 1972 Kaw 175/200 enduro that you kill with a jake brake.

Don