I was having trouble with my ignition switch a while back and decided the best course of action would be to replace it. As luck would have it I found a replacement on ebay. So today I decided it would a good time to switch the old out and put the replacement in. Much to my surprise when I followed the cable from the ignition switch back to the harness under the tank, I found the plugs (both male and female) had been cut off and the wires soldered together. So here is my dilemma, I need the plug that would be attached to the wiring harness, plus a little bit of wire with it so that I can attach it to my harness. Any help will be much appreciated. I can pay via paypal if that works for you. I posted this request in the buy/sell forum, but not the explanation.

The ignition switch has only 4 connectors, and it could be easy to find an after market connector.
I believe that a simple Molex connector (found for the peripherals in older computers) would work.

I know, this is not original and it doesn't have the BMW logo printed on it, but this would be easy and cheap to find and install.
These connectors have a very tight fit and the pins can handle the maximum of 15A passing through the switch.

I would consider using the blue 5mm or red 4mm type bullet connectors, (i cant remember what colour the smaller ones are) caravan places 4wd and car accessory stores would have them Jaycars type places. grab a thermoshrinkable capsual and use that. The right bullets will slip right into the 4 pin d shaped plug you have on the ignition cable and the capsual will help house it, maybe some black silastic to seal when done would save you any concerns. Keith

Good point concerning automotive connectors. I guess when you get too focused on finding a certain type of connector you forget there are often times other alternatives. I just might pay a visit to an auto salvage yard in the next few days.

You probably already know but the colour of the crimp bullet connector denotes the cable size they are intended for not the polarity.
Regards,
K-BIKE

PM sent

Okay, here is a picture of the plug on the end of ignition cable. As stated, I need the other half from the harness that it plugs into.

Bike wreckers might have a burnt or accident damaged unit you could pinch the plug from, often a fire or damage might only be at the back of the bike and nothing under the tank has been touched. keith

more or less the same as the tank power supply connection on 85 and on k s

charlie99 wrote:more or less the same as the tank power supply connection on 85 and on k s

These connectors is identical, the same connector is also used at the gear indicator switch.

Inge K.

Got the plug I was looking for, installed it and now on to other things to get ready for the upcoming riding season.

There is a story there Jimz what did the plug come off??????? How common is it for we ordinary people to just walk in off the street and snip off a plug?????

Not sure why the plug was missing to start with, I bought the bike that way. I was in the process of replacing the ignition switch when I discovered the old switch had been spliced into the harness (both male/female plugs were missing). The replacement switch had the proper plug on the end of its cable and rather than do what had previously been done, I started my pursuit for the missing plug.

As far as the replacement plug I found, I was fortunate to have located a faulty harness from a K75 that had the plug I was looking for plus a few other things that may come in handy some day.

That plug has another very useful function.
Several years ago some lowlife attempted to steal my outfit. He levered out the handlebar pad to get at the ignition switch wires but in doing so, he pulled the plug apart (under the tank) so there was no way he could get it started.
I often wonder if I would still have the bike had he got it started.
Paul.

Clever security system, kinda like a remote kill switch. You can bet if the thief had the nerve to tamper with the ignition switch, your bike would have been gone had it started.
It's a shame the lowlife has no more sense of moral responsibility but to think it's okay to take something that someone else worked hard to acquire. Too bad there isn't some type of apparatus on the bike to deal with that kind of attitude, where the thief leaves the scene worse off for his efforts.

he would not get far unless he could ride an outfit