Turn signal switch lubrication and an old lesson...

Any recommendations for turn signal switch lube?

Here's the story:
After the disentegration of my starter button I figured I'd have a look see at the horn button to see what an intact button looks like. Seeing how hopelessly buried the horn button was in the housing and how much damage I could do just for the sake of curiousity I wisely decided against the proceedure. Then I noticed how mich grime and corrosion was on the turn switch. Hey, I thought, this thing is old and will be tough to replace. So I sprayed it with contact cleaner. After drying I sprayed with contact cleaner/contact lubricant. I proudly reassembled the whole affair and proceeded to test the switch (power off). Oh this is bad. Clicks are way too pronounced and it really snaps. With gloves on I'm sure I'll tear it off. Damn, it worked like butter before...

The old lesson:
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

Di-electric grease is preferrable........

Did you get the little retention ball replaced properly?

 

After cleaning, i used some Bel-Ray 6-in-1 lube and worked it into the switch:
Bel-Ray 6-in-1

Made it nice and smooth, and it's been holding up perfectly all year. I've been using this stuff for just about everything!

 

I didn't take the switch apart but that doesn't mean the ball isn't out of place

 

could this be why, after spraying a bunch of electrical contact cleaner in my switch, i have to push the lever to the right 3 or 4 times before the right blinker comes on? and the cancel doesn't work anymore? and sometimes i have to push it left a couple times to get the left signal to come on?

 

Skeeter -- yes, this could definitely be why -- that's what my switch was like after cleaning but before lubing up with the Bel-Ray. Tough, didn't work all the time, and just felt "strange".
After lubing its very smooth now.

 

I wouldn't recommend the dialectric grease on there either. I basically did the same, except I succeeded in swapping the horn button to the starter button position.

While I was in there, I decided to do the same thing as you and try to get the gummy feeling out of the switch. It felt pretty good once I cleaned it up and tried it dry, but then I thought I would add the dialectric grease for good measure since it is an electrical component. Once I had it all back together, I tried it again, and it turns out the grease made it feel gummy again. And that is in 80 to 90 degree heat. I can imagine what it will feel like when it starts getting cold out.

 

I haven't gotten around to the fix yet but I'll throw this out there. The parts that slide against each other need some type of lubrication. Dielectric grease is primarily used to aid in heat transfer and not as a lubricant as I understand it. The question is whatever lubrication is used needs to hold up over time and secondarily not cause a short which if applied properly and sparingly it should not.

Looking at this switch I'm surprised it lasted this long. The starter button seems somewhat barbaric as well. Is the spring part ofthe circuit?

 

You may want to check and see if your local yamaha parts shop has replacements. Three years back I stopped into deptford yamaha honda for $hit$ and giggles to see if they had the hand controls in stock and after $138 I walked out with both controls all brand new and shiny.

 

No, the spring is not part of the circuit. It is just there to keep the contacts seperated when you aren't pushing the button.

 

maybe we have different style switches then. I have a metal insert inside the button. The metal insert is in contact with the narrow end of a tapered spring. The wide end of the spring is in contact with the the switch housing which is clearly part of the circuit as it's mounting hole also serves as a wire terminal. Another terminal in the housing is at the center of the spring and has a a contact insulated from the housing and extending into it at the base of the spring. It's pretty safe to say the housing is the ground side of the circuit. When pressing the starter, the metal insert in the button hits the insulated contact at the base. Current flows from the contact, to the metal insert, thru the spring, into the housing and the circuit is complete.

 

The switches are the same. You are correct, the spring is part of the circuit. For some reason, I was just thinking about metal to metal contact when the two contacts came together. I failed to take into consideration that one of the contactors simply sits in the plastic push button. And of course, there is no way for electricty to flow through that piece of plastic.

 

I went to a radio control hobby shop, and got a tube of Tamiya Switch Lubricant. It is used for the joy sticks on radio control units. Pulled all the handlebar switches completely apart, cleaned and put this on the contacts, slides etc. That was some months ago, and all switches are still working well. The turn signal switch was a complicated setup, with the push to cancel function.