I have a '98 FLSTS. I just installed an aftermarket 6 speed in the bike and everything seems to be fine with the transfer with the exception of the neutral switch, it's backwards in that it displays "N" while in gear and vice versa. I had to use reinstall the switch from my stock 5 speed in the new upper tranny cover because the 6 speed "switch" or maybe hole plug only had one post and my bike previously had two wires, one black and one tan/light brown, attached to two posts on the switch. Any ideas? Is it as simple as reversing the black and tan wires onto the opposite posts from the ones they are on now? Thanks

 

I am not clear on what you mean when you say "6 speed switch or hole/plug". Did this new tranny already have a sender screwed into a hole? If it did and only has one post, just hook-up your tan wire to that one post. Like I said...IF it did, that switch simply completes a path to ground for the indicator light and you do not use the black wire, which is ground. The 2-wire switches simply close a set of internal contacts and "make" the circuit to turn on the lamp. The single post switches merely close a set of contacts that grounded the circuit through the transmission case. The shift drum and other parts up in that top case are different from the 5-speed guts and your 2-wire switch may never work in that hole.

My 6-speed uses the stock 2-wire sender screwed in the top cover like it always did as a 5-speed. Reversing your wires likely won't make an difference as all the 2-wire system did was close the contacts anyway and could care less which side ground is on.

I know this sounds stupid and I am not trying to be a SA...but have you consulted the manufacturer or installation manual?

 

You aren't being a smart ***. I don't have a install manual for it and haven't tried the manufacturer yet.
The 6 speed did have a switch installed. I referred to it as a plug on the off chance it wasn't intended to serve as a switch. I didn't connect the tan wire to the new switch because the post is a larger diameter and the stock cap on the tan won't snap onto it. Instead I swapped switches and hooked it up the same as the stock set-up. Will getting a wire fitting to work on the new post and reconnecting the tan wire to it solve the problem?

 

I think I would install that switch that came with the tranny back in and make up a "pigtail" of some sort and connect my tan wire from the harness to that one terminal and give it a try. Maybe if you take both switches and compare just how the plungers are made on the bottom side, you can see some differences. I know it is reasonable to think that a switch-is-a-switch, but there must be some differences in how/where it contacts the shifter drum under the top cover.

Make up a pigtail and simply touch the tan lead to a bare spot on the transmission case....and the lamp should come on. Then connect it to that one post on the switch and see how it goes.

When that switch is activated by the "correct" position on the shift-drum, all it does is tie that tan lead to ground through the transmission case.

If this works, you can come up with some modification to that tan lead connector to make it properly attach to the single terminal.

Over the years, the MOCO has used both the single wire switch and the 2-wire switch. I have a idea they added the 2-wire feature to make sure they could get a good ground. Getting a good ground back when the engine and tranny were not mated could be a problem. They are both bolted together since the TC-88, so you should not have that problem.

Let me know what happens and you won't blow anything up. When you touch that tan lead to ground...all you are doing is what the switch does anyway.

 

Thank you, I'll give that a try and let you know what comes of it.