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Funky Kill Switch

So i have a simple, clean, nice little kill switch. But it only has one wire connection. When actuated it "grounds" the wire to the bar/frame/whatever it is connected to. Am i stupid, or is this thing going to "kill" my battery?. Does it basically drain the battery momentarily until the motor dies? F- that! Besides, i have a 20 amp fuse that will blow everytime i hit the thing. So what the hell am i missing?? Is this thing too simple for my advanced human brain??
I finally just added a toggle that is handy and easily hit when needed. But i still want to learn how this thing is meant to work. Where in the electric schematic should it go? And, how many uses before I burn my fingernail off with a giant super spark from a battery hooked to a reving motor? Here is a pic of the potential torture device.

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Permalink Reply by crownmotorz on January 15, 2009 at 6:44pm

your suppose to ground the ignition not the battery. and yes the housing of the switch is grounded. it would be just like putting spring metal on the mag housing, and grounding out the mag. hopefully i'm somewhat right and i don't sound like a complete ass

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Permalink Reply by Triumphteer on January 15, 2009 at 6:54pm

so the question remains......where does it go in the wiring scheme? Remember it is basically a dead end too. so, i run an extra wire off one or both of my positive connections on my coils to this thing, and it shorts out my coils? I should have taken electrical classes in college instead of culinary.....

i have never messed with a mag by the way. hopefully i will never have to. those really scramble my brain.

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Permalink Reply by crownmotorz on January 15, 2009 at 9:00pm

no just run the one wire to the coil. the body of the switch is grounded so no need for two wires.

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Permalink Reply by Brewdude on January 16, 2009 at 6:21pm

what kind of bike? Points ignition or electronic?

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Permalink Reply by Triumphteer on January 16, 2009 at 11:34pm

electronic. boyer, on a 70 triumph. two 6 volt coils. 12 volt battery.
all wired by an idiot .

me

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Permalink Reply by Peter Jonsson on January 17, 2009 at 1:25pm

After 25 years of dealing with Lucas and Boyer my advice would be to get rid of everything not necessary or start over from scratch. Why would you need a kill switch? You dont even need a battery when you run a boyer if you have the later model alternator. As long as you keep your lights switched off while starting the bike, the alternator provides enough to get it started. To make this even easier you can always place a capacitor instead of the battery.
This is assuming you dont use blinkers and other stuff that needs electricity.
Wiring a brit bike is really easy once you figure out the principles of it.
There is also this "power box" from Boyer that even replaces the rectifier and zener diode.

Good luck

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Permalink Reply by Triumphteer on January 17, 2009 at 7:26pm

yeah, i wired the whole bike from scratch, and have been told time and time again to run a battery with boyer. so that is the route i have always gone.

just wanted a kill feature on the right hnad side of the bike because my main toggle is on my left and if i need to hold the clutch in and kill the bike i cant reach the main switch. the situation is all worked out with a second toggle, just thought i could learn about this kill switch ....

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Permalink Reply by Toxic Eric on January 18, 2009 at 11:25am

Ok, you ready for a real simple kill switch for ANY bike? Use a Bosch relay or something similar...like a factory Evo starter relay. Run the power to the coils through the realy on the normally closed side. Hook up the relay as per the wiring schematic located on the relay, but hook your kill button to the ground side of the relay and when you hit the button the relay latches over to the other terminal that is not being used.
Normally, the relay would be wired to send power to the starter, rendering the normally closed circuit dead. You are just redirecting power to be normally on...the power for the ignition is always on, and when you trigger the relay, it cuts power to the ignition. Just be sure NOT to connect anything to the dead ended terminal...in fact, it is best to insulate it or even snip it off so as not to accidentally use it. It works really well, and is really safe. Worst case scenario for a failure is the relay won't work and you have to use the key to kill it. These relays are cheap, and work for all kinds of stuff and work with 40-50 amps (way more than you'll ever need). This mod works equally well for points or electronic ignitions.
You can use a single wire kill switch to trigger the ground, or you can use a two wire kill switch to trigger the "switch" lead on the relay. You can even hook one of those ATV "dead man" kill switches to it. Works like an anti-theft device too. If you don't have the clip for the switch, you can't start it even with the key.
If this makes no sense, shoot me a message and I will try to draw a diagram for anybody who needs it.
Here's a quick run down by terminal numbers. (30) to key on, (87a) to ignition, (87) dead ended, (86) to 12v+ (you can run a jumper from the 30 terminal to this one), and (85) to your switch.
Hope this helps and I didn't bore everyone to death.

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Permalink Reply by Roach on January 29, 2009 at 2:00pm

That typ is for points only, NOT Electronik ingition!!!!! The last guy has it down, and remember if you use any thing to ground on the handle bars, you have to run a ground strap from the bars to the frame.....