ps2fixer
10-16-2020, 12:30 AM
Since there's no solid Honda option, I picked up one of these Chinese knock off clones. It's clearly molded up from the original part, the rear cover still has TEK in it even though the build quality is clearly Chinese. I wanted to check if the quality is good enough for me to mod/resell or not and I believe it's almost good enough, just needs some grease in the switches since the Chinese never lube anything it seems like. Typical worst thing about it is the wiring, second worst is fit and finish. Overall it's not half bad for Chinese made though, better than the average Chinese made part.
In all of the photos, the left side is the Chinese version, and the right is the Honda version. The Honda switch assembly I took apart is from a newer TRX model that I normally mod for other machines like the ATC350X, but clearly the 350x doesn't have electric start so it's a little out of place except for the people that have the Goki electric start kits.
Anyway, to the photos. First up is just the overall look. The painted lines are sloppy, but I can't fault them too bad since I've seen some Honda switches with similar mistakes on them. The holes in the housing for the rocker switches aren't cleaned up at all, you can see the parting line for the mold right in front of the "Lights" label, and the housing surface finish isn't nearly as smooth as the Honda version. The colors are pretty close to being right, the yellow switch is more glossy than the Honda one. The gray switch is a tiny bit darker, hardly noticeable though. The kill switch is a bright read while the Honda one is more of the "Honda Red" like the fenders on most machines.
https://i.gyazo.com/1b815e1945a63c25b874094bdcd73ed0.jpg
Inside the switch is really interesting, the metal plate is actually thick like the OEM one. It also has metal threaded inserts in the plastic and the Honda one the actual plastic is threaded for holding the two halves together. I'd dare say the Chinese version is better in that regard, but I'm no expert.
https://i.gyazo.com/f2ece26e9a5b52524a2558ce18613a5e.jpg
Wire routing is lazy, you can see the wires got pinched when the metal plate was installed. No real damage so seems alright.
https://i.gyazo.com/58047d9e041ae24c0d3a4cc41c49b7bc.jpg
not sure why, but Honda put some sort of coating on the solder points, but assembly is the same style on both assemblies. Only difference is the yellow switch has the solder points on the opposite side which might just be an age related thing.
Honda:
https://i.gyazo.com/c167f4cc442c836ddb8486fab7236069.jpg
Chinese:
https://i.gyazo.com/906e0177b1de54df8d5fb5a310a1e04f.jpg
Same story for the kill switch solder points.
Honda:
https://i.gyazo.com/c91bd44ad5679885229381acd50f493f.jpg
Chinese: (the green wire isn't soldered very well)
https://i.gyazo.com/7d92d068799e14fe71c3e3302ce9463e.png
Kill switch build quality isn't too bad, a bit lighter duty but it's a low amp high voltage short so just needs to have a good connection mainly. Copper contacts with a brass slider. The copper contacts are rough, very typical for Chinese made parts though. The Honda switch is a totally different design and I suspect it's silver or nickle plated, very mirror like finish. Encase the design isn't clear, the two nubs on the right side are to kill the ignition (black/white wire), and the bar on the left side of the housing is the ground. The little "U" shaped thing by the ball bearing is what connects the two when in the "off" spot. The Honda one was much harder to pull apart, the plastic is stiffer/thicker. Also notice the very clear presents of grease, it helps the switch function smoother, and also help prevent rust/oxidation, since it appears clear I'd guess it's dielectric grease.
Honda:
https://i.gyazo.com/18828bee5c5c2bbd86b48192af75abc4.jpg
Chinese:
https://i.gyazo.com/31789b06fc86b2dce745f3abbc1f017f.jpg
To the light switches, I couldn't get the Honda one apart, the plastic is so thick/stiff I couldn't sneak the tab out with out the fear of breaking it. Instead I took a photo of the wiper/slider and there's a huge difference. Honda is very thick and silver color (nickle/tin plated I'd guess), the Chinese one is plain brass. Since this is for lights, there's a potential of quite a lot of draw across that part, Honda clearly over sized it likely for safety overhead. Thinking of the highest draw headlight setup for stock and I think something like a 450 foreman is up there, two helper lights (25/25w I think) and a main headlight 55/60w plus a couple tail lights and dash lights, probably around 13w more. That's a total of 123w or around 10 amps. The actual contacts in the Chinese switch are copper while the Honda one appears to be brass. Again the Honda one has clear grease on the contacts and wiper, Chinese one doesn't.
https://i.gyazo.com/e062320bb93dcdf7b650db304fe7d58e.jpg
Now onto the wiring. Of the Chinese stuff, this is probably the best wiring I've seen from them, insulation is a reasonable thickness, the wire size is similar to stock, and the crimps aren't completely a joke even though they aren't great either. First pic is of the bullet terminals which I think are the worst terminals that are on this switch. Look how thin they are, less than 1/2 the thickness. Wire should extend past the crimp a little bit, the Honda one does but not for the Chinese.
https://i.gyazo.com/ec64d6433d34e8aa39e127c3ed416463.jpg
https://i.gyazo.com/834592ef0f9afeb6a8eef208d280493b.png
The raw wire... isn't bad though. The Chinese wiring might be a tiny bit smaller than stock, better than what the Chinese ignition switches normally have.
https://i.gyazo.com/e170deec014492b900e3e91c828a86fe.png
Next is the 3 pin connector, looks like the Chinese used tin plated terminals, they are not magnetic so not steel. The terminal on the right is my aftermarket ones I use, I also have tin plated ones that look similar to the Chinese one but thicker again. My aftermarket terminal measures 0.48mm thick at the tip, while the Chinese one is 0.42mm.
https://i.gyazo.com/9c754b3df5a8c0414ef72259b6c74993.jpg
Overall I think the switch assembly isn't half bad and the price is reasonable now. I think I'm going to start buying these and modding for other machines that uses the same style of housing (no starter button), and also should be a good option for the other design of switch assembly like the ATC200ES came with. Of course I'm reworking the wiring to make it work for other models, this one was listed for an atc200x.
Here's the exact listing I bought the switch from, ebay seller partsdynasty. I suspect all of the ones listed are from the same source though.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/313100286954
I haven't found a solid wholesale source, but if anyone wants one modded, I can change over the wiring for around $35 + cost of the switch. Should be good for a ton of models, pretty much all 3 wheelers with out electric start. Post/pm me to work out the details.
Hopefully you guys find the post interesting and useful. I know in the past there was some questions about these switches, but that was when they were like $70 too. The alignment of the switches seem to be pretty good, the kill switch was the only one at a little bit of an angle, only noticeable from the side. Light switches don't rub and seem to be centered fairly well.
In all of the photos, the left side is the Chinese version, and the right is the Honda version. The Honda switch assembly I took apart is from a newer TRX model that I normally mod for other machines like the ATC350X, but clearly the 350x doesn't have electric start so it's a little out of place except for the people that have the Goki electric start kits.
Anyway, to the photos. First up is just the overall look. The painted lines are sloppy, but I can't fault them too bad since I've seen some Honda switches with similar mistakes on them. The holes in the housing for the rocker switches aren't cleaned up at all, you can see the parting line for the mold right in front of the "Lights" label, and the housing surface finish isn't nearly as smooth as the Honda version. The colors are pretty close to being right, the yellow switch is more glossy than the Honda one. The gray switch is a tiny bit darker, hardly noticeable though. The kill switch is a bright read while the Honda one is more of the "Honda Red" like the fenders on most machines.
https://i.gyazo.com/1b815e1945a63c25b874094bdcd73ed0.jpg
Inside the switch is really interesting, the metal plate is actually thick like the OEM one. It also has metal threaded inserts in the plastic and the Honda one the actual plastic is threaded for holding the two halves together. I'd dare say the Chinese version is better in that regard, but I'm no expert.
https://i.gyazo.com/f2ece26e9a5b52524a2558ce18613a5e.jpg
Wire routing is lazy, you can see the wires got pinched when the metal plate was installed. No real damage so seems alright.
https://i.gyazo.com/58047d9e041ae24c0d3a4cc41c49b7bc.jpg
not sure why, but Honda put some sort of coating on the solder points, but assembly is the same style on both assemblies. Only difference is the yellow switch has the solder points on the opposite side which might just be an age related thing.
Honda:
https://i.gyazo.com/c167f4cc442c836ddb8486fab7236069.jpg
Chinese:
https://i.gyazo.com/906e0177b1de54df8d5fb5a310a1e04f.jpg
Same story for the kill switch solder points.
Honda:
https://i.gyazo.com/c91bd44ad5679885229381acd50f493f.jpg
Chinese: (the green wire isn't soldered very well)
https://i.gyazo.com/7d92d068799e14fe71c3e3302ce9463e.png
Kill switch build quality isn't too bad, a bit lighter duty but it's a low amp high voltage short so just needs to have a good connection mainly. Copper contacts with a brass slider. The copper contacts are rough, very typical for Chinese made parts though. The Honda switch is a totally different design and I suspect it's silver or nickle plated, very mirror like finish. Encase the design isn't clear, the two nubs on the right side are to kill the ignition (black/white wire), and the bar on the left side of the housing is the ground. The little "U" shaped thing by the ball bearing is what connects the two when in the "off" spot. The Honda one was much harder to pull apart, the plastic is stiffer/thicker. Also notice the very clear presents of grease, it helps the switch function smoother, and also help prevent rust/oxidation, since it appears clear I'd guess it's dielectric grease.
Honda:
https://i.gyazo.com/18828bee5c5c2bbd86b48192af75abc4.jpg
Chinese:
https://i.gyazo.com/31789b06fc86b2dce745f3abbc1f017f.jpg
To the light switches, I couldn't get the Honda one apart, the plastic is so thick/stiff I couldn't sneak the tab out with out the fear of breaking it. Instead I took a photo of the wiper/slider and there's a huge difference. Honda is very thick and silver color (nickle/tin plated I'd guess), the Chinese one is plain brass. Since this is for lights, there's a potential of quite a lot of draw across that part, Honda clearly over sized it likely for safety overhead. Thinking of the highest draw headlight setup for stock and I think something like a 450 foreman is up there, two helper lights (25/25w I think) and a main headlight 55/60w plus a couple tail lights and dash lights, probably around 13w more. That's a total of 123w or around 10 amps. The actual contacts in the Chinese switch are copper while the Honda one appears to be brass. Again the Honda one has clear grease on the contacts and wiper, Chinese one doesn't.
https://i.gyazo.com/e062320bb93dcdf7b650db304fe7d58e.jpg
Now onto the wiring. Of the Chinese stuff, this is probably the best wiring I've seen from them, insulation is a reasonable thickness, the wire size is similar to stock, and the crimps aren't completely a joke even though they aren't great either. First pic is of the bullet terminals which I think are the worst terminals that are on this switch. Look how thin they are, less than 1/2 the thickness. Wire should extend past the crimp a little bit, the Honda one does but not for the Chinese.
https://i.gyazo.com/ec64d6433d34e8aa39e127c3ed416463.jpg
https://i.gyazo.com/834592ef0f9afeb6a8eef208d280493b.png
The raw wire... isn't bad though. The Chinese wiring might be a tiny bit smaller than stock, better than what the Chinese ignition switches normally have.
https://i.gyazo.com/e170deec014492b900e3e91c828a86fe.png
Next is the 3 pin connector, looks like the Chinese used tin plated terminals, they are not magnetic so not steel. The terminal on the right is my aftermarket ones I use, I also have tin plated ones that look similar to the Chinese one but thicker again. My aftermarket terminal measures 0.48mm thick at the tip, while the Chinese one is 0.42mm.
https://i.gyazo.com/9c754b3df5a8c0414ef72259b6c74993.jpg
Overall I think the switch assembly isn't half bad and the price is reasonable now. I think I'm going to start buying these and modding for other machines that uses the same style of housing (no starter button), and also should be a good option for the other design of switch assembly like the ATC200ES came with. Of course I'm reworking the wiring to make it work for other models, this one was listed for an atc200x.
Here's the exact listing I bought the switch from, ebay seller partsdynasty. I suspect all of the ones listed are from the same source though.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/313100286954
I haven't found a solid wholesale source, but if anyone wants one modded, I can change over the wiring for around $35 + cost of the switch. Should be good for a ton of models, pretty much all 3 wheelers with out electric start. Post/pm me to work out the details.
Hopefully you guys find the post interesting and useful. I know in the past there was some questions about these switches, but that was when they were like $70 too. The alignment of the switches seem to be pretty good, the kill switch was the only one at a little bit of an angle, only noticeable from the side. Light switches don't rub and seem to be centered fairly well.