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I think I know on my '02 Flashers ON Too much

1K views 21 replies 13 participants last post by  Wingsconsin 
#1 ·
Last night I hit the Emergency Flasher button by accident as I was reaching to turn on my fog lowers -

I hit the button again to turn them off and all was well I thought --
But today when I turn on a turn signal the emergency flashers go ON ?
The button looks a bit.. 'stuck' ..?

I can't use it this way ...so...?

Can I pry the button out/off to release it from the on position ?
OR just spray it with WD40 a lot to clean it out ?
Or do I need to remove the panel and access it from the reverse side ?

What are the options ?

Thanks for the kind and thoughtful responses - in advance ;)
 
#3 ·
just exercise the button some, will probably help..

soapy water and then compressed air... I don't think I would use WD40 on the plastics...

if all that fails... it's not hard to get to the back side of it...
 
#4 ·
...Or do I need to remove the panel and access it from the reverse side ?...

Yes, need to remove the panel to access the switch mechanism from the back side... The "ratchet" mechanism is a tiny wire, between the movable switch arm and the static base... it tends to stick due to factory supplied grease drying-up. If you're lucking, you can just liberally spray the mechanism without dis-assembly... I find 100% disassembly more common though.
 
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#6 ·
Ya, but that doesn't do any good as the "guts" that are sticking are a further ~1-1/2" inwards... eg You can't reach them unless you open the housing, and expose the innermost switch "guts"
 
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#8 · (Edited)
Bottom line is, this switch needs to be disassembled from time to time and lubricated. Do this with the switch in a large clear plastic bag. That way the tiny spring won't get away from you!
It's a sticky switch by design. Has a tendency to get stuck on when you really don't need it. Works only when the key is on!!!???
These is a older tech post here about replacing this switch with another one from Radio Shack, but they are about gone away.
So my advice is to only use that switch in a true emergency. Especially if way out there on the road.


Corventure Dave
 
#9 ·
I guess I know what I will be doing this weekend --
Pulling out that little panel (kinda easy) and reworking that stupid poorly placed button/switch .

Honestly -- for as smart as the Honda engineers are -- they can be dang stupid too (ie: air filter change)
Now this - and one of my radio buttons too :|
 
#10 ·
I guess I know what I will be doing this weekend --
Pulling out that little panel (kinda easy) and reworking that stupid poorly placed button/switch .

Honestly -- for as smart as the Honda engineers are -- they can be dang stupid too (ie: air filter change)
Now this - and one of my radio buttons too :|
I had taken a switch similar to this apart, and it turned out to be hardened grease was keeping the little "toggle whisker" from returning to the open position. Like was said before, disassemble it within a plastic bag since tiny little parts go flying if not careful. I cleaned it out with WD-40 (I know some will disagree with this, but hear me out), and then follow with copious amounts of plastic-safe contact cleaner, to lubricate and remove the WD-40 residue.... then reassemble.
As far as the radio button sticking, I once found that there was a tiny piece of stone, grit, sand whatever it was that got stuck between the face plate and the button keeping the button pressed down. Carefully use some compressed air around the stuck button and see if that blow out the debris and that will free it up.
 
#13 ·
If you remove the panel to get to the back of the switch, you won't believe the dirt in there. There is a cover over the switches but it is ineffective. I have always believed that Honda is lax in their switch design. They don't seem to understand that we expose our bikes to a lot of unfriendly environments.

And we don't seem to believe that switch lube and clean should be part of regular maint. :serious:
 
#17 ·
If you remove the panel to get to the back of the switch, you won't believe the dirt in there. There is a cover over the switches but it is ineffective. I have always believed that Honda is lax in their switch design. They don't seem to understand that we expose our bikes to a lot of unfriendly environments.

And we don't seem to believe that switch lube and clean should be part of regular maint. :serious:
If you think HONDA switches are bad, you should try to deal with old Triumph and BSA electrics that used that terrible LUCAS electrical stuff. The saying was LUCAS, the Prince Of Darkness.
 
#14 ·
A Temporary fix has been enacted
When it was time to ride home last evening (I rode to work yesterday) I did not want to try the commute without a turn signal -
So I reached down and grabbed the switch with my fingers and pulled a little -
It moved out enough to relive the problem - temporarily -
I WILL get into it this weekend and take the panel out and clean stuff --
But this worked to get me home last night ;)
Thanks for the support and words of encouragement

 
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#18 ·
One quick emergency temporary WORKAROUND (as it does not fix the basic problem) has been to push the bottom on the switch in and then QUICKLY remove you finger allowing the button to try to snap outwards. Don't know why it works, but it does....stumbled upon it after trying jumping on one leg while shaking beads and chanting (grin).....

Still, the cleaning by taking it apart or liberal switch cleaner / lubricator is a "common maintenance item" I do each season....YMMV
 
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