It's just a switch so removing the two wires and joining them together
would be the same as the switch "Making" when the ignition is on.  You
might try that for troubleshooting purposes.

To remove the switch, just unplug the 2 wires and unscrew the switch.
You could test it with a cheap ohmmeter by selecting an ohms scale,
putting one wire on each of the 2 terminals and pushing in the plunger.
  If the switch is making, you should get a meter deflection when the
plunger is pushed.  You could then check to see if the terminals are
shorted to the body of the switch.

Often, people say they have a short when in fact what they have is an
open (no contact).

Mike

Jarrett Kupcinski wrote:
> So I'm trying to trace the fault in the back-up light circuit, and it seems
> that the culprit is the back-up light switch.  Two questions:
>
> 1. Is this a likely place for the short to occur (other candidates being
> systematically eliminated)?
>
> 2. Can I easily replace this by simply swapping out a new switch?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Jarrett
> 89 Westy, Olly
>