speedometer problem

[Sawyer]

Hi - I have an 05 city x which is having some issues with the speedometer. When starting up the bike in the morning you usually get the needles flick round the gage in there start up procedure. This always works with the revs but the speedo intermittently doesn’t do this. It takes a few mile for the speedo to register but it always starts working at some point. Because its an intermittent problem Im finding it hard to get fixed. Does anyone else have/had this problem?

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

Speed sensor is what it sounds like. Could be as easy as taking it out and cleaning it off. Could be a bad sensor itself, or could be the worst thing and it be in the cluster. At least that will get you started, that happens all the time on the Harleys and most of the time its something to do with the sensor.

 

[Sawyer]

Thanks for the reply, I've cleaned the sensor and its still not working properly. should I wait until it completly breaks before I find the problem, or is there somthing I should do now? what would you do BuellPartsGuy?

 

[LeFox]

i would say check the wiring from the sensor to the speedo, but since it's always at the start that the problem is showing, that should not be the problem.

i would test the sensor to see if it's malfunctioning.

 

[NOMORE4s4ME]

Mine does the same thing. It sticks a bit if it gets cold. But as soon as I start the bike it works. The tach has stuck before I think too.

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

Check and see if you are getting any voltage from the sensor when it is not working at the guage, if no voltage, replace the sensor, if so move up the wiring to back of the cluster, if you have the same voltage there as you did at the sensor, its something in the cluster if not, you have to trace down the wiring problem.

 

[JohnXB12ss]

I see some people with speedo problems.
I have an 06 XB12Ss which bought new in April 07
I have done 4000 km's (when it worked true mileage now unknown est around 6000km's)
The speedo does not work the dealers have replaced the sensor and the speedo as well still not working.
They are trying to get answers from HD.
The question is was there a bad batch of sensors , speedo's or harnesses issued?

 

[Sawyer]

That does'nt sound promising, let me know if you get it sorted, Im still having problems with mine.

Andy

 

[glukasik]

I am having the same problem. My speedo and tach both don't work in the morning. It is really weird... Last two mornings I started my Buell, both didn't needles didn't circle around the gauge. Both mornings I took off, and about 3 miles into my ride, the tach kicked on, and about 5 miles into the ride, my speedo kicked on... When I get off of work, both have kicked on during ignition... only in the morning do they seem to have a problem. I live in Hawaii, so it has nothing to do with cold weather. I first thought it might be the battery not supplying enough juice to kick them on until later in the ride, but it is actually a brand new battery... still confused by the whole thing.

 

[JohnXB12ss]

Hi guys
Just a quick update. HD have decided to change the ECM this time. When I get it back I will let you know if it was sucessfull

 

[Sawyer]

Thanks, I'm still having problems but my bike isn't under warranty. So before I start pulling the bike apart myself, it would be good to know what I'm looking for. Was there any reply from HD about there being a bad batch of sensors , speedo's or harnesses issued?

Andy

 

[JohnXB12ss]

Nothing yet I dont think they would admit to it .
I am taking the bike in on Friday for the new ecm.
I will test it over the weekend and give you an answer on monday 24
John

 

[JohnXB12ss]

It seems as though there was a bad connection to the ecm. The dealership swopped the ecm for one off a new bike (my spare hasn't arrived yet) tested it and the speedo worked properly. They then put the old one back in and on my way home from the bike shop the speedo was working fine. So it seems as though the connections may have come loose. Try it and see what happens guys.
John

 

[Sawyer]

Thanks John I hope its as simple as that on mine, I'll let you know later

Andy

 

[Sawyer]

Ok, so I took the bike for a service and asked the Mechanic to check all connections related to the speedo and ecm. It turns out that there was a bit of corrosion on connections to the ecm, he give them a clean and lub and so far it works!!

In saying that I now have a brand new boxed speedo for an xb 9sx if anyone is interested?

 

[azsnow]

I just replaced my speed sensor, and it is a new part number, dont know if there is any difference between the new and old part other than $10, but I now have a working speedo, with no problems as of yet.

 

[Shesthebest]

I have a strange problem; my speedo, tach, odometer, headlight & turn signals all stopped working while I was riding home from work. I still have the high beam light & the indicator on the dash works. I can start the bike so I'm guessing/hoping its not the ECM. It's not the fuses. Is there an easy way of checking all the wiring or a suggestion of where to start looking first?

 

[Stevenc150]

There's a couple of places notorious for wires to get rubbed through their insulation. 1) Where they go through the steering head. 2) Under-seat area.

If you don't see anything right off hand, below is one of the best ways I've seen to narrow down a short down to a single "circuit". Then you can start tracing wires.

To ID the area of interest (after ruling out the obvious sources like bad/dead battery, kickstand switch, etc): place the key in off position, disconnect the negative wire from the battery terminal, place a multimeter set to milliAmps between the negative terminal and the ground wire. If it reads anything other than 0 you have a short somewhere running current to ground. Now start pulling fuses from the block one at a time until the needle drops to 0, indicating you have opened the circuit.

 

[CANADAXB]

My speedo packed in yesterday, I checked the fuse - seems OK. From reading the forum it sounds like the sensor could be the culprit? Can you clean the piece or just replace? Thank for any advice...

 

[xtremelow]

Try to clean it first, might be something as simple as that.

My speedo actually quit working on me today mid-ride??? So tomorrow I am going to check all the stated above items to get it going again.

Seem to remeber it happened once to me a while back and I disconnected the battery for a bit then reconnected it and it worked fine.

Luckily I have extras for all the possible issues so I will be set tomorrow, love having extra parts just sitting on the garage shelve.