Hi guys,

I am having trouble getting my speedo to work. It has never worked since I got the bike.

I've searched and done all my "homework" on the required fixes.

Had the instrument cluster off - cleaned up all the connections etc.

Cleaned up the transducer on the final drive (what is "clean" anyway - wipe with a cloth? ...

Checked THIS connection on the side of the bike (I'm sure you all know which infamous one it is [on the RHS of the
bike under the side cover near the battery]):

What you see me measuring is the resistance across the two terminals on the transducer side.

I get this reading (in Ohms) whilst the rear wheel is stationery:



When I spin the rear wheel this figure jumps around wildly.

Is this the correct reading when the wheel is stationery?

Am I doing the correct thing to check the resistance?

Is this a good way to check if the transducer is stuffed?

Anybody's advice or help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi barry,
you say you cleaned up all the connections etc. how did you do that there are a lot of connections in and around the instrument cluster starting with the plug down by the brake reservoir and on through the big multi-pole connector at the back and moving on through the plug and socket connectors inside the instrument cluster.

One problem that some instrument clusters have suffered from is ingress of moisture via several routes. I wrote a section on how to clean and seal the cluster, search on LED lights in the instrument pod plus sealing out the moisture.

280 ohms is about right and I would want to see close to that on pins 2 and 3 of the instrument cluster plug starting from the bottom of the row on the left. Having confirmed that you will need to open up the speedo again and with the multi-pole plug connected test again on the pins that correspond with the pins you tested before. If you still see around 280 ohms then you have connection into the cluster.

We are looking at a signal level of +-0.5 of a volt into about 1 megohm so don't put any silicone grease anywhere near that (or any other electrical connector on the bike) silicone or sometimes called dielectric grease is an insulator we want and need a conductor. DeoxIT is the stuff to treat the contacts with (all of them). Assuming you have the connection into the cluster treat all connections and I suspect you will find it works again.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Thanks K-Bike,

OK, I plugged everything in again, and went up to the connector beind the instrument cluster.

I did the same test across pins 2 & 3 and saw nothing. I established that it was pin 2 (ground/earth/brown) not coming up through from the connector near the tank.

So I hooked up a piece of wire from there to the NEGATIVE terminal on the battery to circumvent things a bit.

Tested again across pins 2 & 3 and then it seems to work - get the same readings again - so I am confident everything is reaching the connector.

When I had the instrument cluster out and disassembled, I cleaned all the pins at the back (by sanding each one meticulously with fine grain water paper until they were all shiny new).

I also did the 4 pins at the back on the "arm".

I also did the 3 pins which go into the speedo unit itself.

Then I put a tiny bit of copper slip onto each pin.

Still no joy.

I must admit though that the 3 pins which go into the speedo unit itself seems to offer ZERO resistance when "plugging them in". In fact, it seems they are quite springy and I can bounce the whole lot up and down with the touch of my finger....maybe that is my
next port of call.

What do you think?

Also, are there any further tests I can do INSIDE the instrument cluster with my meter to make sure everything is doing what it should (I tried following the ribbon cable as best I could and all seems OK in terms of continuity - do you have specific tests I can do perhaps).

Thanks for all your help and suggestions - much appreciated!

Barry

I did bend the pins a little when I rebuilt the speedo to make shure there was contact.
Very carefully,I did not want to break a pin off.
My speedo was never completly broke though,a tap on the housing made it work for a while and then die again.
Very annoying.....
Cheers,Wikur!

Still no joy with this - redid all the pins again (this time bent the pins as you suggest Wikur) - tested with a meter as far as I could, externally and inside the instrument cluster - still it refuses to work.

Next step for me I think is to send the instrument cluster in to some electronics fundis who might see something...can't think of anything else.

Anybody got a used working one for me? ...

Copper slip grease is largely an insulator same with silicone grease, the best material is to use DeoxIT. I am not a fan of using abrasive since it can leave particles behind embedded in the metal. Go though the whole cluster with DeoxIT and report back.
Regards,
K-BIKE

OK will try that first K-BIKE!

Where would I get the DeoxIT.
This is something new to me. Thanks in advance

Richard, have a look here.

Richard1 wrote:Where would I get the DeoxIT.
This is something new to me. Thanks in advance

Richard, check out any music shop dealing with music electronics, that's where I found mine.

Hi,
If you check on the Caig website they list dealers in most cities. Just for those of us in Aus and NZ Jaycar sell it.
Regards,
K-BIKE

oops thought richard was in aussie ...was going to verify that its in stock here

The speedo on my bike did not work when I got the bike.

I dismantled the instrument cluster and found that the gears on the side of the speedo unit were crumbled.

This forum advice me to get the gears from a US supplier but the price was USD 25 each, not yet the freight costs.

Then I bought a second hand instrument cluster and replace the speedo unit. I also replace the speedo sensor with a second hand one.

Now it works well even though the speedo is in miles instead of km the original.

Cheers.