Reto fit gear indicators on an 05 400 manual

Anyone thought of doing this? The one thing I don't like on my 05 vs my 01 is the lack of the gear indicator lights. I guess I just got in the habit of a quick glance vs driving by feel or counting the gears. I have not looked very closely by the engine/trans arrangement on my 01 and 05 are rather similar. I have a buddy with an 02, again very similar and yes, it has indicators. Did the 04 have the indicators? The 06 does. I am wondering if the switch is in the trans however the wiring and lights were deleted. Perhaps because they could not / decided not to work them in to the 05 dash. Guess the root of the question is where does the indicator harness plug to the trans on a non-05 so that I can look for a caped terminal on an 05?

 

Well the important part, the switch is still on the '05 engine (the wires run all the way to the insturment pod plug), so it can be done. I did it to our 2001 250. I had to buy different indicator head as the 2X4 light head is different than the 300, but my wife loves it as she is new to riding (she never rode motorcycles either) and likes being able to glance down and see what gear she is in. I thought about doing it to my 2005 400, but the swtich on the new engines only has a neutral switch. The only problem I see is you will need to cut a hole for the lights assembly in the insturment pod.

 

Hay Bear! So let me see if I follow you. When you say the switch is there and the wires run all the way to the pod do you mean the full deal? The switch that would drive all 5 gear position lights and the associated wiring? I am a little confused because you go on to say "but the swtich on the new engines only has a neutral switch". Did you mean the 05 only uses the neutral portion of the switch since that is the only neutral LIGHT on the 05 400 dash?

I happen to have a spare LED console (I bet it is the same one you had to get for your 250) from the 01. A few of the LEDs were flaky so I replaced it last fall. If I have wires running up to the steering stem on the 05 I may be able to plug and play a test. That is assuming they continued to use the same connectors.

I plan on messing with it this weekend if I get some other stuff knocked out. Figured that the more info I arm myself with the better!!

 

Bear,

I was looking back at the service manual on my 01. I noticed that of the 2 connectors in the LED dash pig tail the neutral wire in on one connector along with the other indicators found on the 05. High beams, reverse, and temp. The gear indicator wires are on the 2nd connector. So I am guessing there is a connector "dangling in the wind" under the front plastic that is the chassis side of the gear indicator lights wiring harness???? Man that would make life a breeze. I could pirate my spare LED panel for a connector (assuming they fit) and fab up a mount of some sort for some LEDs.

 

Ok, bad info given (need to make sure the wiring diagram is for the right model when I look next time). On the new 400 motors the switch only has a nuetral contact in it. The 500 has the switch and the wiring for the indicator lights. I would have liked to put the lights on my 400 also, but the engine is different from the older models and the new switch will not support them. Sorry.

 

Bear (or anyone),

Where does that wire attach to the trans for the N light? I was looking at it in the wiring diagram myself and I see what you mean. It is item 25 page 5-43. The diagram shows a switch then a 2 wire plug to get it back into the harness. Is that 2 wire plug the in the case body to provide the pass through to the outside or is it simply an interface to a pig tail hanging on the trans? I still would be interested in finding it on the case and putting an eye on it.

Thanks!!

 

I do not know which plug or wires it is. And the parts breakdown shows the switch but with the harness and not on the case, so..........? I will ask the mechanic next time I'm at the dealer and will let you know or you can and let me know.

 

Sounds good. If I can I will get mine out of the garage this weekend and see if I can figure it out.

 

Hay Bear, I dug into this back when we were discussing it last but never got back to updating the post. Any way, here is the skinny, as I recall it!!

The 05 does indeed have only a 1 position switch. It trips the N light on the dash. I would have to look up the page again but if you dig through the trans section of the 05 service manual you can see a pic of the switch and its associated wiring. I was originally hoping, as I think you were, it was like the previous system (in my 01 400 and your 250). Well, in looking at the service manuals, wiring diagrams, and online parts diagrams it looks like the systems are entirely different.

The older system had a multi position switch. Basically a disc with some contact pads equally spaced in and arc. This system (again from memory) has one spring loaded pin (wiper?!?) that traveled around that arc which would ground the contacts, one at a time, to enable the light (complete the circuit to ground). As the trans moves gears this pin moved accordingly to line up with the corresponding switch contact.

The new system (at least on the 05 400 Cat) has 2 contact pads on the disc: One in the center and one at a specific location on the outer edge of the disc. There are, also, 2 spring loaded pins in this system. One pin stays in contact with the center switch contact, the other travels around the edge of the switch in a fashion similar to the previous system. When the trans is in N the outer (moving) pin lines up with the 2nd contact pad. In the case of this system the switch connects the 2 pins electrically (as opposed to the old system where the contact was grounded). I can not recall it “switches on” the power or if it connects the light to ground, I would have to look back at the diagram. One way or another this system acts as a breaker between two separate wires attached to the individual contact pads in the switch. Again the old system simply connected a given contact (and its associated wire from the dash light) to ground via the trans case.

Look here to see the part on the 05 400.
Alpha-sports AC parts -> 05 -> 05 400 FIS Manual -> Gear Shifting Assembly. Part 22 is the switch (AC PN 3446-313), 20 and 21 are the contacts and springs.

So, back to the original question, what could we do if we wanted to retrofit gear indicators?? Well, I think we have an option; however it is not as easy as finding a spare harness and plugging up an old style dash as I was hoping.

I looked at the 05 500i M. The switch looks different in the diagram and the PN is different than the one for the 400. Not sure of its function as I would have to look at the wiring diagrams again. Not sure if the 05 500 had indicator lights either. The 05 500 was something I though of while I was keying this up. I don’t happen to have my 05 service manual with me.

The 06 400i does have indicator lights (at least I think I recall seeing them on the dash of the last 06 400i I saw some weeks ago). In looking at the parts diagram the switch is the same as the 05. I don’t have an 06 or an 06 service manual so right off I have no idea how they do it. The diagram for the 06 can be found here:
Alpha-sports AC parts -> 06 -> 06 400 FIS Manual -> Gear Shifting Assembly. Part 22 is the switch (AC PN 3446-313), 20 and 21 are the contacts and springs.

That took me to Suzuki as the engine and trans are – Drum Roll – Suzuki!!

Alpha-sports SUZUKI parts -> 2005 Suzuki ATV parts –> LTA400F 4WD Eiger -> Gear Shifting.

Number 32 on the diagram looks a lot like the part on the AC – wiring pig tail and all.

The Suzuki part shows the center contact pad and multiple contact pads on the outer edge of the switch. Similar to the latter AC 400 design (connect the wires not the older wire to direct ground). The diagram only shows 4 outer contacts despite a 5 speed trans. This may due be some detail lost in the translation of a parts illustration??? The Suzuki PN is 37720-38F00. Same part in the 06 Eiger. So, what to do? First I need to visit a Suzuki dealer and see a machine to confirm that the basic wiring exit point at the trans is the same and to assure they actually have gear indicators. I think the real hurtle is the cost of a test. The Alpha Sports cost for the switch is $67.46. Say around $75 to the door. I am fairly confident it would physically fit. Beyond that, well, other than time the rest is easy. Splice in the N light then fab up a small dash or handlebar mounted display using some LEDs. I have not decided if I am going to mess with it or not. I may see what I can get the switch for locally. It also occurred to me to post in the Suzuki forum to see of there is another, cheaper, parts source. Maybe someone over there has an 05 or 06 Eiger wiring diagram I can use to compare to the AC system.

 

Brent;
I have been a bit busy also (hunting, snow riding and family) or I would have followed up too. I thought the '02 400's switch might work and when I look, I find the the '02's switch is the same one as the '05 500 switch, which has all the wires and contacts. The only problem I see is the '03 and newer 400's have a different crankcase cover than the 500's and the older 400's. It might be worth pulling the switch off the 400 and taking it in and seeing if the switch base is the same as 500's. If it is, the rest is easy. I already have a light assembly left over from my 250 light mod, it even has the plug already on it. For you it might be worth buying the shifter light update kit as it includes the plugs, wiring harness and a light assembly. I should be able to just order the wiring harness. It shows the harness as available and only $21.76 compared to the light kit at $34.95. BTW, The 400 and 500 (all years) use the same bolt to hold the switch on which really means nothing but gives me hope.