Where's the neutral switch?

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a 1979 KZ650, and haven't yet had the opportunity to get a service manual.

I noticed that the neutral light operates only intermittently... So my thought was to clean the electrical connections from the wiring harness to the neutral switch, but I can't figure out where the switch is located.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can point me in the correct direction!

The neutral switch is under the engine sproket cover, just below the clutch pushrod. It has a single Red (poss. Red/Green) wire going to it.

Try a pic again:

Please keep me posted how your repair goes. Mine is more non operational than intermittent and I have cleaned up, even replaced the switch. If you do remove the switch though have an oil catch pan ready

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the information (and a photo, even!). I'm on night shift right now, so I'll probably take a look later tonight, after the *work* part of shift is taken care of.

Thanks also Dan for the point about having a catch pan. That'll keep me out of trouble with the boss!

Mark

Spud where are you from? There are a couple members up north and some in Spokane.

Update:

First off, let me say that I'm kinda lazy :whistle:. So I took one look at the cover that had to come off, and decided to look pretty much anywhere else for the problem first.

I decided to check the bulb instead. Guess what - the filament was broken, but I could flick it with my finger and make the bulb light up "intermittently". Hahaha. Note to self on indicating lamps: Check the bulbs *first*! Dan, you might want to replace the bulb and check the bulb holder for corrosion.

Don, I no longer live in Idaho... Boise was pretty much an employment-free zone when I entered the job market back in '79. So I joined the military and got stationed in CA. Been bouncing around Calif since getting out of the military about 20 years ago, but I try to remember my roots.

If you guys want to come down for a long sunny warm ride in mid-winter, I'll be glad to host it! I currently live in Bakersfield, where they grow citrus. Anywhere that citrus is happy, Mark is happy too! :laugh:

Hey, anyone know if there is a source of LED bulbs for these babies? 1445 bulb replacements?

Edit: Never mind - I found a site for LED replacement bulbs (too much free time on the night shift!)
autolumination.com/otherleds.htm

Scroll down and you'll see 1445 bulbs listed first. I just ordered replacements for all the indicator and speedo/tach illuminating bulbs. I found that three of them were burned out. Going with the Blue for the gauge lighting... should be cool!

Post edited by: Idaho_Spud, at: 2005/10/15 05:45

The problem likely isn't the bulb and if you are lazy, you will want to probably let this issue pass bwhahaha

If you take off the clutch actuating cover (left hand as you sit on bike to rear) you can see the neutral switch sitting mounted on the inner sprocket cover. You need to remove the inner sprocket cover. There is oil under there so make sure you have a new gasket on hand when you reinstall the cover.

The switch is basically a contact. The contact touches the 2" round piece right behind at the spot where there is a dimple sticking out. If you take off the 2" round cover which is held by a phillips head bolt, make sure you locktite the bolt after reassmebling OR make sure it has a lockwasher. This 2" cover goes over the outer shift mechanism pins which are actuated by the shift pawls. These things grab the pins and this turns the shift drum inside. The one pin that is a bit longer than the others is the neutral pin. When this pin is behind the dimple, contact is made THROUGH the 2" round cover which is touching the neutral switch. The neutral pin is sometimes worn and contact can be intermittent. You will need a new pin OR the metal dimple isn't making good contact with the back of the switch and cleaning is in order with some light sandpapering or emory board.

Hi George.

Thanks for that input. I'm pretty certain that the problem was just a bad bulb though, with the filament flopping around and making intermittent contact as the bike vibrated it.

I borrowed one of the turn signal indicator bulbs (not having any spares here at work) and put it in the neutral indicator bulb socket, and now it consistently lights when the bike is in neutral. So I'm pretty sure that the problem was just the bulb, rather than the switch mechanism. An ohmmeter showed infinite resistance on the bulb as well.

I used to be an electrician in a previous life (nuclear subs), so I'm not totally hopeless when it comes to this sort of thing Thanks again for the tips though. Someday I may need to bust in there and work on it!

Idaho_Spud wrote:

I found a site for LED replacement bulbs autolumination.com/otherleds.htm

I just ordered replacements for all the indicator and speedo/tach illuminating bulbs. Going with the Blue for the gauge lighting... should be cool!

I know this is a very old post, but did you get those LED's and did they work well? I'd like to hear the results.