Help me wire in keyed ignition 86 R

[robludwig]

Hey fellas I have had my 86 R for about 2 weeks now. It had a Pro Armor tether wired in but I want to replace it with a keyed ignition just as a bit more security. I got a 91 250x 2-wire ignition, since I figure it's close enough to the 250R being kick-start only, and the wire colors even match the 250R wiring diagram.

The previous owner had the tether wired into the green and black/white wires coming down from the stock kill switch. I've read other places you should do it to the coil?? Either way, the tether was working fine. So I removed the tether, and now I am back to having spark all the time.

I thought I could wire the ignition into the same place, as that is what it shows on the 87+ 250R wiring diagram (if I'm reading it right), but I cannot get it to not have spark with my keyed ignition. I'm thinking the tether and ignition don't work the same, are their functions opposite?

Can anybody give me some direction? I'm sure I'm not the only guy to want to add a key to an 86 R in the last 25 years, lol

Rob

[deathman53]

connect the key switch just like the tether. Just make sure the switch is a normally open. I use crf50 key switches for mine.

[robludwig]

How do I determine if it is open? I did a test with a battery and one of those testers that light up when it has current pass through. The light came on when the key was in the Off position, and went off when the key was turned to On. This seemed opposite of how it should work to me, but then again I am not an electrical guy.

So you're saying the key should behave the same way the tether does?

Rob

[robludwig]

Ok I got it now. I actually had it last night before I posted this but the wire leads I was using for testing had a bad alligator clip so I wasn't getting a good connection. With the 91 250x ignition, you wire the green to 250R green, and black/white to 250R black/white coming from the stock combo switch and it works perfect. I drilled a 1" hole for the ignition in the front hood plastic just under and to the side of where the handle bar headlight goes.

Rob