kill switch drawing power?

If you turn on your kill switch.. Does it draw more power from the battery while the bike is off? My battery was weak and I was flipping the kill swicth back and forth.. When I would put it into the "run" position the lights would dim and stay that way until I turn it to the "off" postion.. maybe it's grounded somewhere? Shouldn't it just give power to the ignition not actualy drwing any more power?

if the key is off it shouldnt have any affect;)oh yeah its me posting this one Wireman,not cousin so theres no confuion so anytime i feel need to post something youll know its me

Post edited by: PLUMMEN, at: 2007/06/16 22:18;)

Post edited by: PLUMMEN, at: 2007/06/16 22:21

No, I mean when the key is in the "on" position and then you move the "kill" switch to the "on" or "off postion. My light dim a bit when the key is on then I turn the kill switch on... when i move the kill switch to the "off" position the lights get a bit brighter..

the ignition is drawing power if key is on and kill switch is on;)

Ok, because I just put a multimiter on it and when the key is on and the kill switch is off I get 11.74 volts.. When the key is on and the kill switch is on I get 11.54 volts.. I just started working on the bike after 8 years and want to make sure I don't have a short.

im not real sure here someone correct me if im wrong but when the kill swith is off you are making the path the voltage has to travel smaller and making it bigger when its on becuse then it has to travel through the kill switch to the starter or ignition. thus the small voltage drop more resistance with longer travel for electricity.

in this case id say its the ignition drawing power;)

As far as I know-you should have 12.5 volts static charge (that is the voltage of the battery with no load) I think your battery is weak or somewhat discharged.
The ign coils will draw about 4 amps each I think.
But that shouldnt drop the voltage that much. Im not a bike tech Im a certified auto tech.Are you haveing any problems starting?

As far as I know-you should have 12.5 volts static charge (that is the voltage of the battery with no load) I think your battery is weak or somewhat discharged.
The ign coils will draw about 4 amps each I think.
But that shouldnt drop the voltage that much. Im not a bike tech Im a certified auto tech.Are you haveing any problems starting?

No, it starts ok.. I just put a new battery in and when I was working on it last week I ran the battery down while I was messing around with it.. It was almost dead.. I had to leave for a week and when I came back it was completely dead..
When the bike is running the battery charges great.. I thought it might have a short while the bike was off. I dunno.. Maybe the battery was so week and when I went back to the bike it was completely dead? It's charged now so I'm going to monitor it, I'll put a multimiiter on it at night and then in the morning to see if I'm draining it.. Here's another issue though.. When the bike is off my multimiter works fine.. When the bike is running I can't even bring the multimiter within 6" or so to check it it just goes crazy... It's digital.. If I put it anwhere near the bike when it's running, even if the multimiter is not hooked up, it just goes nut's.. What might cause that? i don't have another one to see what's going on but I use this multimier all the time on other cars and electrical stuff.. So, I'm not sure waht is going on one bit...:blink:

It sounds as if your ignition wires are leaking and or you don't have a metal suppression type cap on your plugs.

The ignition system is high voltage and broad band transmitter. Your positive and negative leads are acting as a receive antenna. Try this... twist your black and red leads together over as much of their length as is practical. This is called a twisted pair and is quite effective in cancelling-out RF interference from ignitions and any others sources. The meter reading should be much more stable.

If its not stable enough try this... twist your black and red leads in with a third wire which is connected to the negative of your battery.

By the way, if you tune your portable radio to a non-station and bring it close to your bike you should hear the plugs firing. When I was a kid in the country, I used this to troubleshoot my points.

Best of success!