Electrical gremlins in '78 LeMans

[Ralph Plant]

Hello all
I'm having some issues which I believe to be electrical..not my strong suit at all! I have a Dyna 111 ignition and coils which I installed about 20 years ago and have never had a problem.. Now after I've been on the road a bit the engine will sputter a bit and then come back to life. It may do it once or it may repeat..not sure if its the system or is there an issue somewhere else.
I was told that it may be in the kill switch.
I don't really know where to start.
Anyone have a clue?

[PeteS]

Start with the kill switch. Just spray it with some contact cleaner while moving it back and forth. Switch gear was not their strong suit back then.

Pete

[Ralph Plant]

So I've been told..I'll give it a shot..
Many thanks!

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

All of the power to the ignition runs through the kill switch, and with a Dyna ignition, that's a significant load. Wiring in a relay is a good idea.

[guzzisteve]

Kill switch kills the coils, black & white wires I believe, usually.

[blackcat]

If this is the original wiring harness and you plan on keeping the bike, you might want to consider a new Greg Bender wiring harness and a set of relays he sells to addresses those switches. At which point I’d take the switches apart and clean up the contacts.  Realistically not a huge amount of money given that it is a LeMans.

[fotoguzzi]

If this is the original wiring harness and you plan on keeping the bike, you might want to consider a new Greg Bender wiring harness and a set of relays he sells to addresses those switches. At which point I’d take the switches apart and clean up the contacts.  Realistically not a huge amount of money given that it is a LeMans.

what he said…but when was the last time you checked valve clearance? Your symptom could also be tight valves.

[moto-uno]

 
  At least 35 years ago I simply threw out the original switches and wired in some from a Yamaha 650 Seca and they have been through
hell and back (250,000 kms) and continue to work flawlessly . Put the originals in a box (and pass on to some future owner)