QuestionI have a 2008 Suzuki GSRX600 the key won't turn in the ignition it worked fine this morning but now it doesn't can you please advise?
Thank you in advance
AnswerI have no direct exxperience with this model and you didn't say where you are so I cannot tell whether the following is applicable or not.
A couple of months ago I drove my '84 CX650E based sidecar outfit to an out of town event it rained most of the weekend. When I left for work monday morning the temperature was about +2c. By quitting time the temperature had dropped to about -3c and my key would not turn in the ignition switch.
Fortunately, a co-worker who smokes let me use her cigarete lighter to heat my key. When the end of the key started to glow orange/red I put it back into the ignition switch and after a couple of seconds I was able to turn the key, start the engine and drive home.
By the time I got home, of course, the switch was frozen again. I used a syringe to squirt a couple of CC of methanol (the only alcohol I had in the garage) into the lock after warming the syringe in my hands (you don't want to heat alcohol too much - it's flamable).
After that I put a lighter and a small bottle of ispropyl alcohol lock de-icer in one of the pockets of my jacket in case it happened again.
Almost 2 months later (including several days in the -20c range and lots of snow) I went to an evening club meeting after the outfit sat in the parking lot at work all day in a light drizzle. By the time the meeting was over the temperature had dropped below freezing and the ignition switch was frozen again. I poured some de-icer in and waited a few seconds but it didn't seem to help so I tried to heat my key with my lighter but the breeze kept blowing it out. Finally I gave up and accepted an offer of a drive home.
My Wife took me back to get it in the morning with my propane blowtorch (the breeze wouldn't blow it out) to heat my key. I tried the key before heating and, wonder of wonders, it turned easily. I figure that the alcohol melted the ice and flushed it out overnight.
After that I bought a windproof lighter to carry with my de-icer.
If your problem was the same as mine, what are you doing taking out an almost new bike when it's that cold out?
If it isn't cold there, why didn't you tell me where you are so that I would know it was warm?
BTW: If your lock isn't iced I haven't a clue why the key won't turn and I would not be likely to be able to figure it out without actually seeing it.
The only things I could suggest are:
- Make sure someone hasn't tried to tamper with the keyswitch and had their tool break off inside the lock. It this is the problem you might be able to remove the obstructon with fine tipped tweezers.
- If your key is a double cut type (notches in both sides as most bike keys are) and it goes in but won't turn, try putting it in the other way around. Sometimes when double cut keys are coppied (especially by poorly trained hardware store clerks) the indexing can be a little off on one side so the key will only work one way.
If none of this helps (or even if it does) you should consider joining a discussion forum that caters to bikes like yours. I think www.thegsresources.com covers the GSX models, but if they don't they will probably know who does.
