side stand lock out switch

Nighthawk 250 won't start. All the lights work and the horn works, but when I hit the starter button nothing happens. I think it's the side stand lock out switch. the reason I think this is the last time I rode, after I got home, I went to put the side stand down, and it killed the engine immediately. I thought it was odd at the time, but I didn't have time to investigate it. Went out yesterday and no start.

Is there an easy way to bypass the side stand lock out switch?

Hey there,

You don't say what year your Nighthawk is, but, is your neutral light working?
You should normally be able to start your bike with the sidestand down, as long as the bike is in neutral.
This would lead me to believe that maybe there is something wrong on the neutral switch side of things.
Also, if the neutral switch isn't working, you would have to pull the clutch in to start the bike, even with the sidestand up.
That's assuming that the clutch switch is working, of course.

Hope this helps.

If it is the side stand switch, you can usually wire around it by cutting the two wires to the switch and connecting them together.

Not the best fix, but it will get you moving.

thanks for the replies, and sorry for the delayed response, my computer has been acting up.
the bike is in neutral ( I can roll it around without pulling in the clutch ). I don't have a neutral light, long story, but it's worked fine without it for many months.

i'll see if I can jump the side stand switch and see what happens.

Here's a wiring diagram I found for a Nighthawk 250, I'm sure yours is fairly similar. If you can get your hands on a voltmeter I can start helping you work your way through what works and what doesn't. Also can probably get your neutral light back up and working.



Appears from squinting that the yellow/brown wire when grounded to the green? completes a 12v circuit to the stand indicator on your dash.

If you connect the green wire to the green/white (can't really see it very well but the wire on the left) you should get the go signal to the CDI and that should eliminate that switch from the problems you are having

thanks sailah, good of you to track that down for me.
I decide that though it rolled around like it was in neutral, it couldn't hurt to put it in first and then back to neutral. started right up! what does that tell me?

That your neutral light sensor is flaking out.

If the bike thinks it is first (even if actually in N), it will cut the engine when you put the side stand down (as it should) but not let you restart because it still thinks the bike is in gear until you cycle the switch again.