Clutch micro switch q

J

JC99

Well-known member
I have a clutch switch error on my dash. I know what the issue is. It’s a tiny rod that a clutch pull moves against a leaf spring to activate the micro switch. The leaf spring piece of metal then is supposed to push the tiny rod back into the clutch assembly once the lever pull is released. The problem is the rod is sticking in the “activated” position and the leaf spring doesn’t have the power to push it back. So I need to disassemble the clutch and clean the crud out of the rod sleeve and around the rod so it can move freely.

The question is what type of lube would be best to put on this rod afterwards to ensure it moves freely?

Excessive stiction from thick grease will give me the same issue I think and the wrong kind of lube will attract more crud and gum things up again. There is a rubber boot over this area that does help with protection a bit.

Also these are aftermarket levers but they are Pazzos and bike specific so I’m assuming the things should be working properly (they were fine last season with no errors).
 
I think dielectric grease should be good here as it isn’t too thick.

Is the lever adjustable? With my adjustable lever I made the throw too short and it didn’t travel long enough to move the micro switch. So I had to adjust it out a tiny bit to make it work. Just in case.
 
Sunday Rider said:
I think dielectric grease should be good here as it isn’t too thick.

Is the lever adjustable? With my adjustable lever I made the throw too short and it didn’t travel long enough to move the micro switch. So I had to adjust it out a tiny bit to make it work. Just in case.
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That’s a good point.
 
Relax said:
I'd use a dry lube like Teflon spray long before I used anything that stays wet and collects dirt.
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Agreed, dry lube for sure. I use WD40 Specialty Dry Lube and it works excellent. I bought it mainly for my bicycles but have found plenty of uses away from that.
 
I’d clean them using WD 40 or contact cleane, then blow them dry and clean.

Don’t lube those switches, they are designed to run dry, the plastics are naturally slippery and should be just clean, not lubed.

Any lube will collect debris, even dry lube.
 
Mad Mike said:
I’d clean them using WD 40 or contact cleane, then blow them dry and clean.

Don’t lube those switches, they are designed to run dry, the plastics are naturally slippery and should be just clean, not lubed.

Any lube will collect debris, even dry lube.
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Just dismantled the assembly (dropped a rod connecting the clutch lever to the perch but found it after swearing for 5 minutes).

The micro switch activating rod is metal and the sleeve it passes through is metal. Probably not the best design for zero friction so I’ll see if a small amount of dry lube will work or maybe run a pencil lead around the rod.

There was a lot of gunk in there so a good clean out is timely too. I can also bend that leaf spring a bit to make sure the activator rod returns to the off position regularly too.
 
As already mentioned, oils and greases attract dirt where it is not wanted.

I used this product on the UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) pads that run up and down the channels of my car lift. No more chattering and they run smoothly.

Liquid Wrench Dry Lube.jpg
 
Thanks. I had a spray can of some dry graphite lube that seems to have worked well. Made a god awful mess of my fingers but did the trick.
 
I know the push rod you're talking about. I've switched levers on all my bikes and a lot of the hydraulic clutch models have that push-rod/pin going into a rubber-sleeved well. The factory does use grease to lubricate that push-rod. My favorite levers are from Pazzos, and I've followed their instruction videos on how to install their levers:


At 4:13 he says to use heavy grease. I've done the same on all my levers with that push-rod, never had a problem and I do a lot of off-roading. Not a big issue to remove the clutch lever and clean that area once in a while.
 
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