Hey electrical gurus...

[Coop]

I admit electrical has always been my weak link when it comes to bikes. It's one reason I decided to take EE as a major because I really want to understand it better.

Anyway my 2003 KDX200 has a push button switch for the headlights. If you push it in, it clicks and the headlight and tail light work (now that I put new bulbs in). But it won't return back out, you have to grab it and pull it out. Then it will click and the lights go out.

So my questions is, could this just be dirty and something that can be cleaned, or does it sound like the switch is bad?

[2T Institute]

Yes spray the whole assembly in contact cleaner there is probably dirt in there.

[Coop]

Thanks 2T. I thought about trying that (I have electrical contact cleaner on the shelf already) but didn't want to completely ruin it haha. Wednesday I have a "maintenance" day planned since I am off and I will try this then.

[Coop]

So no spring in this switch. So is the spring just missing? I cleaned it, but it still doesn't work. Here are some crappy cell phone pics:

[SachsGS]

Back in the old days we would just leave our lights on, the idea being that a soft, heated filament was less likely to break then a cold, more brittle one. And now, from a safety perspective with more and more riders being crammed into ever smaller areas, it also makes sense just to leave your lights on.

[Charles Owens]

Yeah, I would assume a spring should be in there. Check a diagram for the switch and see.

[Coop]

Back in the old days we would just leave our lights on, the idea being that a soft, heated filament was less likely to break then a cold, more brittle one. And now, from a safety perspective with more and more riders being crammed into ever smaller areas, it also makes sense just to leave your lights on.

The problem is the KDX uses a weird bulb and it is known to blow bulbs due to vibes with the stock setup. Locally I can't even find one, OEM is $25, I lucked out and found some at a place called HyperParts that has the bulb for cheap, but it took over a week to get it. And since I only plan to use the light for emergencies I don't want to run it and have it go bad when I don't need it and then not have it when I do.

[Coop]

Yeah, I would assume a spring should be in there. Check a diagram for the switch and see.

None of the online sites have one for the switch, it sold only as a complete unit.

[Charles Owens]

You can see where a spring should be seated, check a hardware store grab a few sizes. Shouldn't be hard to fix, probably less than a few bucks too.