[Curbo]

Went for a crazy ride up a mountian then out on the beach near the ocean. After i went through the river I stopped to tighten my chain. To my suprise it would not turn off with the kill switch or the ignition. Scared to turn it off that far from home I drove home and it still would not die. I stalled it, finaly it stopped, then tryed to start it and wow fired right up so I went to bed. Next morning I had a look at it and now it wont start. running late for work i had to take the car. My wife called an hour later and said the headlight was going on and off with no key in it? Well WTF so i thought there was some water in the girl so a little heat and a day in the sun disconected the battery charged it up but Im scared to hook it up. Thinking i might wreck something?
Any ideas what to do next??
Next step water proofing.

 

[Fred]

Sounds like salt corrosion in the switch groups. Diassemble as much as possible and flush with clean water, blow with compressed air dry, repeat? Possibly salty sand from beach cold have worked its way into switches and then got wet in river crossing causing grief.

 

[elime]

What year TW?

On my '87 there is a plug behind the headlight, it is red on my bike, that if you UNPLUG it the bike will run without a key but I had to use the kick start to get it going

I would start by removing the head light cowl and checking the wire connections that go to and near the ignition switch for anything that looks bad. Unplug them and see how they look. Spray WD40 on them and put them back together. Good luck and report what you find.

As an aside, years ago a guy told me his old Yamaha would run without the key if he unplugged the right rear blinker (it has been so long it might have been the left one) . Figure that one out !!!!

 

[elime]

Here are some pics of the red plug on my '87.

 

[Curbo]

Washed it last night and cleaned the connections today. Hoocked up the battery and nothing happened the L E D lights worked but nothing else. I then i saw a red connector left side mid gas tank that i did not clean yet. Like a fool I opened it. Upon opening it i looked at the female end and it was smoking and glowing bright white. I franticly unhooked the battery but it was way too late!
crap.
Going to get a new waterproof connector in the morning to replace it and hope nothing else burns up.
Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Fred]

Track down what is causing that short circuit first.

 

[phelonius]

It's a little late now but for others to note, If you have an electric glitch like that and you are lucky enough to get home, or if you truck it home, Before you put it away or go in for a rest
you should disconnect the battery ground strap or even take the battery out of the bike. To not do so risks the loss of the battery as well as any electric damage already done.
In both my Ural and my Dnepr, there was a heavy manual switch on the ground side of the battery. My habit was to click the switch open whenever I parked for the night. Because of the Russian bikes penchant for electric gremlyns this was a safety feature for the battery. The Russians knew how poor their electrics were and installed that switch at the factory. Such a device or a quick disconnect plug is a good idea on any bike.