Dangit, ordered wrong part, maybe

Well, just received my first order from DP. All was good, except I may have ordered the wrong part. My fault. I have the MOCO parts catalog, and it covers 95 & 96. The only difference is the switch for mine is 71428-90B, and earliers ones are -90A. The drag specialties catalog clear states it replaces the OEM -90A. Like I said, my fault.

I have a 96 FXDS and the switch I ordered was for the 95 Dynas. It has 3 positions. Lock, Off, and Ign.

Mine has 3 positions. Off, Acc, and IGN. Personally I find the center ACCESORY postion just silly. Never used it and can't figure out when I would.

Any reason I just couldn't wire it like the 95's and earlier? That actually makes more sense to me than the way the 96 is arranged.

This assumes of course it will fit in the space. I won't have a chance to look at it until Saturday.

Thanks all, and stay cool.

dp

You need to call into DP and talk to them. They'll straighten the problem out.

Switched

That switch should be just fine. All the switch does is complete the 12 volt path / loop from your battery / starter. As you said, as long as it fits into place.

You can use it or exchange it. If you want to exchange it contact Sam@directparts.com and explain it.

Now, the three position switches are nice because it allowed a position for running the bike without the headlight etc. Great for when the weather is cold because it takes a load off when firing up.

If you look at the wiring and you have a meter or even a probe light you can tell which wire is which. All you need to do is connect the hot to one pole and the other wire(s) to the other. You can loop a wire to the other pole so you can use either position.

Thanks but I'll try and make it work first. To clarify one thing though, my current switch has the middle "accessory" position that only illuminates the lcd display for the odometer, and allows the turn signals / 4 way flashers to function. It is not possible to start the bike in this position.

Also checked the fat book, and there is no DS part number listed in the cross reference table for the "90B" version of the moco part number. There is a round key switch in the catalog that has 3 wires, but it seems to fit even older model FX's and XL's. In other words, nothing in the catalog seems to be a direct replacement for the 96 through 99 FXDS.

later....

dp​

Just a quick followup on my switch adventure.

As I said, I did get to it on Saturday. Really was quite easy. Got no problem with the bike being either ON or OFF without the ACCY position. I'm an electronic tech by profession so this kind of work is fairly easy / meatball kind of a job.

One thing though, I have some doubts as to the quality of the DS replacement switch. If I have do it again, I'll probably spend the exorbinate amount of money for the MOCO switch. The DS replacement switch had 2 slots where I could see the wiper moving around. That troubled me. I also removed the boot from the switch to see what was under it. There was bare exposed wiring where it passes through an insulating plate of sorts. Not too thrilled with that either. I was worried about water getting in there and maybe breakage due to vibration. I ride in all weather except winter / icy roads. As to the vibration issue, the wire insulation should be supported or restrained, not the wire conductor itself.

I tried to pack the inside switch through the slots with some Dow Corning pure silicone dialectric grease, DC-4. Hey - it's good enough for the U.S.A.F. and NASA is happy with it, so it's probably just fine for a John Deere Model B tractor style and technology level ignition switch. Also globbed some up around the exposed copper conductors as best as I could. Corrosion is your enemy!

Time will tell, but this is one of those times where it seems "ya gits what ya payz fer" $20 aftermarket vs: $80 MOCO.

dp​