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R80G/S Signal, High-Beam switch Rebuild

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Slash2
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R80G/S Signal, High-Beam switch Rebuild

Post by Slash2 »

Seems post rebuild I’m bound to be plagued by numerous electrical gremlins and now they’ve appeared in my left hand switch that controls the high beam, horn and signal flasher.

While riding last night my headlight started flickering and finally went out. Seems just about every bulb has gone out post rebuild so that was my first thought but I hit the high beam switch and everything came back only to go out again a minute or two later. At that point toggling down to flash the high beams brought everything back once again and as long as I held it down I was able to return home safely.

I removed the switch from the left hand control and there was a cobweb and some accumulated dirt etc inside. I started with my vacuum and then some compressed air followed by some lubri-motive electrical cleaner spray. This restored the function of the lights but oddly now my high beam toggle no longer snapped back on its own which was puzzling. All of my gingerly attempts to further break down the switch were fruitless and as it’s made of 40 year old plastic, and I don’t want to risk breaking it.

Has anyone successfully torn one of these down for a thorough cleaning and lubrication?

Upon final reassembly I was once again without lights unless toggled down to flash but after actuating the toggle a dozen times function restored and continued working. (For now) I’m not satisfied with this present situation and would like to restore full function in a manner I can be confident in. Losing my lights at night is not an option as far as I’m concerned.

Hope to hear some experienced feedback. Yes I did see that a new switch is available directly from BMW but it is $125 and does not look original. My switch is in great cosmetic condition and doesn’t show any damage so I’d prefer to fix what I’ve got.

Thanks!

Chris
Western Pennsylvanian - Airhead Extraordinaire

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srankin
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Re: R80G/S Signal, High-Beam switch Rebuild

Post by srankin »

Hi Chris, I am probably not the person you want to have answer your post, LOL

I have attempted to repair not your exact switch but a similar one. I was not successful. IF you decide to take it apart, do it inside a large clear plastic bag. Any spring or small parts that take off will not roll into another time zone.

Same goes for reassembly, it was on reassembly my spring and tiny ball bearing launched themselves over my shoulder into oblivion. A bit of help from another person might have helped me to avoid this but the plastic bag would have caught the parts.

LOL, things assembled at the factory with proper tools and jigs are not always easy to repair. The $125 may be reasonable if you are like me, fat fingers, and no patience. Good luck on what ever you choose to do.

Oh, check out other places for a loose connection as well. Just to cover your bases. St.
Owner of a 84, R80RT and 78, R100RS

Carott
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Re: R80G/S Signal, High-Beam switch Rebuild

Post by Carott »

The flash function bypasses the headlight relay.
I would double check your headlight relay before opening up the switch.
Brett

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srankin
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Re: R80G/S Signal, High-Beam switch Rebuild

Post by srankin »

Oh yeah, listen to Brett, check everything at least once in the circuit and make taking the switch apart the last thing you do. You might just save yourself some pain. St.
Owner of a 84, R80RT and 78, R100RS

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Re: R80G/S Signal, High-Beam switch Rebuild

Post by Slash2 »

Well fellas.. I should have waited for some answers before diving in but then where’s the fun in that?

I scoured the web for any instructions on successfully rebuilding the switch and found none. Then I consulted a few industry vets and was warned against it. So of course I proceeded to do it anyway. I have a decent level of experience assembling and dismantling small fussy components so I figured it couldn’t be that bad. I’ll admit it confounded me for at least an hour or two before I found the key to getting it safely apart, then some more time to clean and get it back together. I did find a few issues inside and sorted those out but in the end I’m convinced my issue was the relay. The reason I say that is in spite of getting the switch back together and I assumed correctly, there was no change in function and I had resolved to replace the switch. But on the following morning I took the bike out and it quickly began functioning properly and continued to do so throughout the rest of the day.

If anyone is interested, I took photos of my switch rebuild and could put together a brief description of that work. Now I’ll be waiting on a few new relays and hopefully putting these persistent electrical gremlins to bed!

Thanks to all for the advice and input.
Western Pennsylvanian - Airhead Extraordinaire

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Re: R80G/S Signal, High-Beam switch Rebuild

Post by srankin »

I have a decent level of experience assembling and dismantling small fussy components


LOL, I bet that made all the difference in this case. If I can't use a hammer, I am out of my skill set (just joking).

Good show. As too if anyone would like to see how you did it, all I can say is there is always a place on the net for how to do it advice. Maybe Kurt can give you a hand on a way to set it up on The Vintage site so others can see it? St.
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Re: R80G/S Signal, High-Beam switch Rebuild

Post by wa1nca »

Yes some photos and how you did it would be great
I have a problem with my left hand switch with the headlight dimmer
I did try to repair it but stopped as I didnt want to make a small problem worse
Tommy
Tommy Byrnes
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Re: R80G/S Signal, High-Beam switch Rebuild

Post by cbclemmens »

Chris;
Some of those electronic cleaners can dissolve plastic. Isopropyl alcohol might have been a better choice. Try squirting in some WD-40 and work the switch back and forth. See if that frees it up.

Craig

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