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Thread: 250es handle bar switch question

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
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    250es handle bar switch question

    Trying to make my headlight work on my 87 Big Red. The switch to turn them on was broken and no longer worked correctly, so i tried a entire switch assembly from an 85. the lights then worked, but the starter would not work then. The original 87 switches and housing look the same as the one on my 1995 foreman 400, so im wondering if i found one for one of those might work.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
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    USA
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    Sounds like you could take the two switch assemblies you have and make 1, I'd splice the starter switch wires since there's only two of them (assuming the switch is bad on the one assembly).

    The biggest problem with sourcing the parts from a TRX model is the choke requirement. A fair few models newer than the big red, but older than what's still in production matched up well in my research but clearly can't really buy them new to mod/resell. I think there's 1 model with the right housing still in production, but it's like $90 and the kill switch works opposite than what it should for the 250es.

    Besides the choke, the rest of the switch assembly works the same for most models. The starter button however is wired differently on the new models vs old. Like the ones I mod w\o choke has the power supply wire wired to the starter button, but OEM for some 3 wheelers was wired separately since the wire ran through safety switches and such. I just checked the wire diagram, and the Black/Brown wire is the power supply wire, and the 250es runs the wire both to the lights and starter button. The 1995 TRX400FW switch is wired separately, so you'd have to wire one of the starter button wires to the power supply wire. On top of that wiring difference, the kill switch works opposite as well, so for the machine to have spark you have to use the kill switch to off or leave it disconnected so it doesn't do anything and rely on the ignition switch only to kill the engine.

    The 95 switch is out of production
    96-97 - 35200-HM7-720
    98-03 - 35020-HM7-A00 (Cheapest) $70.79 -> https://www.partzilla.com/product/honda/35020-HM7-A00

    I haven't bought one to test, but I'd assume the choke cable setup on it is a match for the 250es and 250sx. I probably should buy one some day, there's a million models of TRX handle bar switches that are out of production too, some of them the kill switch is correct for. Haven't looked into how hard it is to switch the kill switch out from another switch, but that would add atleast $35 in costs for the cheapest handle bar switch with the correct kill switch, and who knows if it will swap switch bodies just fine or not. Besides that, it's not easy to pull that switch cap off to remove the switch from the body. The old units just break, new ones took more effort than I wanted to put into it in fear of breaking something. There's probably a special tool to use or something.

    If you don't mind fronting the money, I can buy a new 98-03 trx400fw switch and wire it for the 250es, I'm pretty sure that was the best source switch I could find for that model. Actually just looked up my notes... those are the only switches + the trx300fw switch. I'd assume the choke section of the housing is the same design. There's 14 switches total with the same layout (choke, lights, kill, & start), and 10 are out of production 7 of which uses the same kill switch setup as the 250es/sx.

    As you can see, I've spent a lot of time looking at wire diagrams and images to populate my spreadsheet lol. I have 97 part numbers logged looks like I stopped at around 2008 or 2009.

    Also, since you have an 85 and 87 switches, can you validate both of the wire layouts/lengths etc is the same and all the wire colors match up? According to the wire diagram, they should be electrically exactly the same, including wire colors, so *something* changed, might just be something super minor though or a pinout change.


    Not to spam my business stuffs, but I could take the two switches you have and make one good one out of them since together all the functions are covered. Probably the cheapest option, most OEM correct, but the fact remains it's 30+ year old parts. If you end up using the TRX switch, I might be interested in the "junk" switches if the price is cheap. Never hurts to have spare parts on hand for the OEM units. The New switches uses some parts that interchange, but not all. I'd mainly be using them for the kill switch and repairing other OEM switches with the extra parts (I have a 350x switch with a bad light switch if it interchanges in the housings).
    Last edited by ps2fixer; 10-08-2019 at 10:39 AM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
    Location
    South Dakota
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    248
    I think i might have found a good switch from a parts 87 that a guy has, i have bought parts from him before (from the same bike), so i know that it is complete and the correct year. i might have to make a single switch from the two if this other does not work.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    USA
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    4,114
    Good luck, also FYI, the 86-87 switch has the same part number, 85 is the odd ball but super common.

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