Originally Posted by
OddDuck
I've replaced the ignition relay. Just a very short note about this...
The photo shows the new relay (the cover is sealed), the relay I took off the ST2 in the center, and a slightly older relay off the 900SS on the right. The ST2's former relay is clearly on the way out. The solenoid coil is discoloured and it also had that smell of cooked electrical insulation. The contactor pads looked alright though.
Two of the relay's underside terminals are discoloured, apparently by sustained heating. The other terminal blades appear alright. This is concerning - local heating like this would imply that there's a resistance in the crimp connectors which push on here, or heat coming down out of the relay itself. I haven't checked the crimp terminal connectors in the loom itself yet.
Relay types: it turns out that 87 and 87a (marked on the underside) do mean different things, replacing with the correct type is the difference between the bike firing up good as gold or absolutely nothing happening when the key is turned. It's the only difference between the two relay types. I've marked my spares as Injector or Ignition so I don't get them confused later.
I took the bike for a ride with the new relay and there's a slight further improvement. Still not perfect but liveable for now.
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