Hi there ,my speedo dies all of a sudden,do not know where to clean the connections ,have cleaned the connections to the unit itself,but not to keen to open it up,
Thanks any help will be welcome,if you could send a photo to show where to clean and what connections are critical,
Oh the trip meter reset turn thingy does not reset all the digits ,can that be replaced easily or rather leave well alone?
Thanks
Kenny

G'day new member. It's customary to go the the New Member's Intro page and tell us about yourself. We like pics of your motorbike(s) too. You'll get two amazing things in return: a hearty round of 'how ya goins' from all over this great big world, and the keys to the kingdom. Well, not actually the latter, but it will, after three posts and the aforementioned 'howdy do', get you access to the download section and a wealth of info.

Down on the final drive is a small, black, egg-shaped connector with a solid lead going away to the front. It's held in by a 3mm (?) allen head screw. Carefully remove that, being sure not to drop any debris into the final drive. It's the speedo/ABS sensor. Give it a good wipe off and carefully press it back in being careful not to bugger the o-ring seal. The sensor gets a residue on it at times that can cause sudden and erratic speedo issues. Now follow that lead up the right hand side of the bike until you come the modular two-pin connector. Separate that and give both the male and the female ends a good how's your father cleaning as well. This might do it for you. Otherwise, it's a bigger but not always too big issue. This and what you say you've already done are the two quickie fixes...

BTW, There's also this stuff that's called DEOXIT, but only long-time member and funny man, Blakey, knows how it's actually written out. It works a charm on any skungee electrical connector.

Barring those suggestions, go to Search and type in 'speedometre issues'...see what you get in reply.

Cheers.
TWB

TWB I have the same issue and will try your suggestion as well and do abit of a right up on my thread this weekend, have Blakey's can of wonders and it's great stuff

Halo

Hi Kenny, try tapping the front of the speedo when it stops working, if that temporarily cures the problem, then it's most likely the internal connections that need cleaning.

They come apart quite easily and for anyone who is competent with spanners and screwdrivers it shouldn't be a problem. Just go for it!

Cheers, and welcome from England.

Paul.

Welcome Kenny
I have just rebuilt all the inside cogs that make the world go round, the primary drive cog is
made of some softer rubbery stuff that just gives up. The trick is apparently never to reset your odometer whilst the bike is moving as that little cog is forced backwards against a forward moving
bigger cog and puts a great strain on the teeth. I was doubtful about my ability to fix it but with the help of info in the "How to"section, it was relatively easy.
Don't be afraid to ask questions, it's better than flying blind.
Good luck
RT

RT wrote:Welcome Kenny
I have just rebuilt all the inside cogs that make the world go round, the primary drive cog is made of some softer rubbery stuff that just gives up. The trick is apparently never to reset your odometer whilst the bike is moving as that little cog is forced backwards against a forward moving bigger cog and puts a great strain on the teeth. I was doubtful about my ability to fix it but with the help of info in the "How to"section, it was relatively easy. Don't be afraid to ask questions, it's better than flying blind. Good luck RT

RT, I would think that a man of your annual 'stature' wouldn't necessarily want to have a record of the miles under his wheels. It might be too much a reminder of things that have passed while flying blind. Imagine, too, leaving it up to some soft rubbery thing...?!

Thanks for The smack on the wrist...Had a Bike many years ago and did a fair amount of touring,got married ......bike sold....Now I have A beauty of a BMW K100 rt ,which I picked up locally,

Very happy with her so far and will send pics once I know how to send one.....me and computers.....
Did the tapping thing while riding today and did work on and off,will have to open it up but very nervous ...will also clean the connectors ..have got contact cleaner ...works well so far with all the others that have been done ,have not gotten to that side yet,,

Thanks Guys
Kenny

If the speedo starts working when you give a gentle tap on it (Please don't smack it and brake the glass), this post will tell you where is your problem.
CF

True TWB, especially as my insurance policy says no more than 9,000 Klm a year. Without the Odometer, that was easy, didn't ride it for first 3 years apparently. Now it's fixed I have to report the mileage. Bummer.
So Kenny, it's not all bad.

RT, you may forget to put the connecter together, every now and then. I did not say that!

I recently had much grief with my speedo. Got replacement sensor for the final drive. Speaking with THE GURU (RickG), he suggested I hold an electric soldering iron near the sensor, turn on the ignition and speedo should read 59.9Km/h (We have 50Hz supply here in Oz.) The iron induces the vibes into the sensor and causes the speedo to read. I know this is not quite relevant to the initial problem, but it is handy info.

I have had a similar experience with my speed. Sometimes it would slowly die but last night on rapid acceleration from about 80 to 120 it suddenly stopped. Turn bike off and back on again (after stopping !) and hey presto it worked again. Went home and took out rear sensor and cleaned it. Haven't had any trouble today so hopefully that was it.

Thanks guys will take a look at all the connections and contacts in the instruments,give good clean and see,
Thanks to Crazy Frog picture definitely helps now I know what to clean and check,
Hope not too much swearing this time round......(only a little)
Thanks once again.
Kenny

Well,
What can I say, cleaned all the connectors in the instrument panel,cleaned sensor on the shaft ,hey presto all working...........BONUS!!!
Thanks once again.....nothing wrong with good advice,
Not going to be scared to ask again that's for sure,
Shot a lot
Kenny

As usual, it's easy when you get guidance to boost your confidence.

Good job.

good result Kenny it's a part i would be worried about taking the screwdrivers to.

88KE

Well done Kenny, now having been inside the unit when you decide to replace all the lights with LED's you will feel totally confident in doing it.
Good on you mate.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Hey Guys,
Thanks for all the info on this post.
Gives me direction in what to check with my speedo.
The forums are a great training source for us basic users. 
thanks Sparrow

I know this topic was sometime ago but wanted to say thanks as well for all the info. Had this problem yesterday with the speedo suddenly dropping out for a while. After reading here I realised I wound the trip meter back to zero while riding a couple km after getting fuel.

My speedo just stopped working the other day, and I was wondering where to start troubleshooting.  This looks to save a lot of time. Thanks for the nice set of tips, esp Two Wheel..


No love for those suggestions.  I'm thinking I need a new speedo sensor.  Anyone know where to get one - or the part# even?  I looked at bikebandit, but can't find the part in the online catalog.


OK, found the part after further search here.  For some reason the "Pulse generator,Speedometer" is located under the Electrical,Horn page .  $90 is a bit steep though.

I too out of the blue suddenly had a speedometer that would just stop working while riding.  After looking here I decided to give the advice a try.  100% right, now 100% fixed.  Here is what I found:  There are two fex circuit "boards" (actually Mylar with printed traces).  As you look at the instrument cluster with the back removed with the bottom facing you on the bench there is a three "plug" that mates up with a "socket" on the speedometer.  A second four pin plug at the bottom of of the instrument that connects to a phenolic circuit board.  Both of these suckers are tin plated as well as the receptacles.  This is bad as movement and galvanic corrosion will eventually reduce the connection to intermittent at best.

The good news is that this an easy fix.  Obtain a bottle of Cramolin "blue" B-5.  Remove the pins by gently pulling them out, and I mean gently and using a cotton swab dunken in the Cramolin gently clean each pin, you'll see where the contact point was because it will be a slightly discolored line on the pin.  Reassemble.  Go for a ride, bet that fixed it.  Did for me.

Below is a photo with red arrows showing where the connectors are.  A note about the instrument cluster in the photo an extreme low buck eBay find...it'll never work again, but I knew that when I bought it. It seems the glass had been broken and the bike was parked outdoors for an extended amount of time.  Water was allowed to enter  to sit in the cluster, also as a bonus there were not one but two spiders nests in there.  Junk?  Totally.  A learning tool?  Absolutely!  Your cluster should not look like this.



Below is the 4 pin plug and socket.  As you can see extreme cheap!



On this, I presume this is an earlier cluster, the plug would be a real Mo-Fo to remove, on the cluster on my K-100 the plug attaches with separate plastic bit, it could be unscrewed and pulled away.  Pins swabbed with Cramolin, back together.  Good.



Above is the three pin plug, the pins fit through three holes in the back plate and mate up with the three receptacles that line up in the speedometer PCB.  Swab with Cramolin, put back together.  Done.  In my case there were were two foam squares used to stabilize the connection.  It seems as there there were some changes/upgrades to the MotoMeter cluster over the years..so YMMV.

I took the speedometer off the back plate on my totally trashed guinea pig, there are three brass screws once loosened the speedometer (likewise the tach) can be pulled away.  The metal piece you see through the backplate on the right (not in the photos) the speedo had been removed is the poll piece for the motor that drives the odometer, connected with some very delicate wires, so if you feel this needs to come free be careful.  For this repair you don't need to do this.

While you are at it this would be a great time to swap out those burned out bulbs, maybe with LED's?  Just watch the polarity (didn't explore to find which is which).  Purple would look great!  Um, maybe not.  I didn't make this mod BTW..I like the retro incandescent look.

Also, pull the odometer reset knob OUT when removing the cluster from the case, this will allow the shaft to clear the instrument card. For this repair you don't need to take it this far apart though.

Hopes this helps someone.

- John.