Speedometer quit working......

[Mike in AR]

Have a 2000 I/S with around 25,000 miles on it. Went for a ride today and everything was fine, at first. Running around 50-60mph, look at the speedometer, and all of a sudden it dropped back to zero. Then it started fluctuating, between zero and forty, before going to zero and staying there. Recently had the fork seals replaced at the dealer, but had no problems with the speedo on the ride home. Is there a fuse or something that could have blown? Maybe a wire that could have come loose. I am open to any and all ideas. TIA



Mike

[Hook#3287]

I'd check the speedo gear on the front axle.

Have to remove the front tire.

[gordonv]

+1

Also, going by memory, not positive, but the battery/alt may have an issue with some problems on the IS dash. Insure that the battery is fully charged, and that the alt is putting out power.

Since the front wheel was played with, check there. Insure that the sensor is wired/mounted correctly.

[Hook#3287]

What gordon said, seems like when the alt is heading south the digital displays go first.

[Mike in AR]

Hook#3287, what should I be looking for on the gear? Should it rotate freely, or should it not turn at all, unless the wheel is turning?

gordonv, new battery, and alt. is working fine. Any other ideas. I think the speedometer on the I/S is electrical, but, unless I over-looked it, I could not find a fuse for it.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Hook#3287, what should I be looking for on the gear? Should it rotate freely, or should it not turn at all, unless the wheel is turning?

gordonv, new battery, and alt. is working fine. Any other ideas. I think the speedometer on the I/S is electrical, but, unless I over-looked it, I could not find a fuse for it.

The interstate speedo doesn't have a gear setup like the standard and tourer. Some have reported having to clean the little pick up box.

[Hook#3287]

Hook#3287, what should I be looking for on the gear? Should it rotate freely, or should it not turn at all, unless the wheel is turning?

gordonv, new battery, and alt. is working fine. Any other ideas. I think the speedometer on the I/S is electrical, but, unless I over-looked it, I could not find a fuse for it.

The interstate speedo doesn't have a gear setup like the standard and tourer. Some have reported having to clean the little pick up box.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

I'm in Tourer mode most times.

[Mike in AR]

Meathead, I opened the sensor box and cleaned it up and dried it out. Still no speedometer (or odometer reading). Going to pull the wheel today and check the speedo gear box on the wheel. If it is good, I guess I will be buying a new sensor, unless someone can come up with something else to checkout.

Thanks, Mike in Ar

[Hook#3287]

Mike;  the gear assembly appears to be the same for all models from what I could tell from the parts seller's sites.


The sensor is bolted to the gear assembly by one screw.

I'd remove the sensor from the gear assembly and check to see if the small bar moves when you move the front tire.  If it does, you probably have an electrical issue, if it doesn't move, it's the gear assembly.

[Cracker Jack]

Mike;  the gear assembly appears to be the same for all models from what I could tell from the parts seller's sites.


The sensor is bolted to the gear assembly by one screw.

I'd remove the sensor from the gear assembly and check to see if the small bar moves when you move the front tire.  If it does, you probably have an electrical issue, if it doesn't move, it's the gear assembly.

I agree, no need to remove the wheel to check the gear. While checking the blade/bar, put a little resistance on the bar while turning the wheel. If it continues to turn with the wheel against resistance, it's OK.

There is a coupler behind the gear assembly inside the wheel. It's made from stamped sheet metal with tabs that turn in to engage the wheel and out to engage the gear. Many years ago, I was not careful when I put the gear assembly into the wheel to make sure it was aligned properly to engage the coupler and flattened the tabs. The speedometer worked for a while then became intermittent and finally stopped working. This could be your problem and can be verified easily by checking the blade/bar behind the sensor.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I concur with Hook and Cracker Jack.

[Hook#3287]

The monkey wrench in the gears is  "Still no speedometer (or odometer reading)"

Sounds electrical.

[msb]

Some have reported having to clean the little pick up box.

Had the same issue coming home from Spearfish in 2015...this solved my problem. Been OK since

[Mike in AR]

When I say no odometer reading, I mean it is showing 0.0. I checked the metal bar in the gear box, and it was turning when the wheel was spun, so, I am assuming (not always a good thing for me to be doing ) that it is the speed sensor that is bad. I found a section in the manual about how to check the electrical plugs, to see if there is any current going to them, and there was current on the wiring harness side, to the ignition. I could not get a pulse reading on the sensor end of the plug, with the wheel being turned, but I am not sure that I had a good connection on the volt meter to the plug. I'm not just real good on this multi-meter thing. Heck, until I got the Valkyrie, I didn't even own one, much less how to use it.  Still not sure about the using part of that statement.

[Hook#3287]

When I say no odometer reading, I mean it is showing 0.0. I checked the metal bar in the gear box, and it was turning when the wheel was spun, so, I am assuming (not always a good thing for me to be doing ) that it is the speed sensor that is bad. I found a section in the manual about how to check the electrical plugs, to see if there is any current going to them, and there was current on the wiring harness side, to the ignition. I could not get a pulse reading on the sensor end of the plug, with the wheel being turned, but I am not sure that I had a good connection on the volt meter to the plug. I'm not just real good on this multi-meter thing. Heck, until I got the Valkyrie, I didn't even own one, much less how to use it.  Still not sure about the using part of that statement.

I'm relatively new to the Interstate world, but I don't see how a bad sensor would make the odometer read 0.0.   Maybe someone else knows it will, but I kinda doubt it.

It's sounding more like a electrical issue.  I would go thru all the connections and check for tight and clean.

[Dusty]

Replace the sensor. Mine wasn't working and there are no user friendly parts inside.  I was told the sensor gives a Hall type signal to the speedo. If your speedo is not showing a speed then your odometer thinks your not moving and will not record the mileage.  This  is the second thread tonight with the same problem

Let us know what works

Dusty

[Hook#3287]

If your speedo is not showing a speed then your odometer thinks your not moving and will not record the mileage.

Ah, he must have it on trip mode, that's why the 0.0.

I was thinking he meant he had 0.0 on the total mileage.

[Mike in AR]

Sorry about that Hook#3287. I never thought about how that sounded. It is on the trip meter setting. I do have the sensor with the electrical plug on order. I will update this post once the part comes i. I sure hope that fixes the problem.  Thanks


Mike in Ar

[Hook#3287]

Sorry about that Hook#3287. I never thought about how that sounded. It is on the trip meter setting. I do have the sensor with the electrical plug on order. I will update this post once the part comes i. I sure hope that fixes the problem.  Thanks


Mike in Ar

No worries Mate!  Hope the sensor does the trick.

[larue]

[
For those of you that had cleaned the speedo box of an interstate, is it supposed to have this big yellow paste acting like s cushion or this is not supposed to look like this. Thanks to all

[Ricky-D]

That, does not look OEM to me!

***

[larue]

That, does not look OEM to me!

***

Have you opened one before and does it look like this or not

[John Schmidt]

Doesn't look OEM to me either. Sumting Wong!   

[larue]

The one in the mail looks just like it from the outside. Still waiting for Mike in AR or someone who had just opened one  or can post a pic of what an inside oem one look like

[Dusty]

  Your's look's normal . Mine had a potting compound in it I seem to remember it was clear . It was over ten years ago   ???   Here is a fuzzy picture of it cleaned out.  I cleaned it out so I could repair it but was non repairable.

Dusty

[Mike in AR]

larue, i apologize, I meant to get back here to tell you that yours looks just like mine, but got sidetracked. Family has a way of doing that to a fella. lol Anyway, as I said, your sensor looks no different than mine, so you are good to go.

[larue]

Will clean it up and see if it works while waiting on the spare. Thank you guys for the assurance

[larue]

Well I think I found the culprit, I received the replacement unit today and when I separated the speedo gear from the the sensor box, I found out the gear shaft in the new unit sticks out half inch outside its hole to engage the sensor when the wheel spins. Compared to the one on the bike I could hardly see the shaft which I deduce was broken and I can only see what's left of it spinning  when I spin the wheel -and that's using a flash light. In conclusion it's the gear and not electric. Tire needs to come off and change the gear out. I was successful following your advice guys to pry the inner fairing speaker side cover out, as mentioned before the little screws were spinning in the insert couldn't get them out to check if I had a bad connection there. Will jb weld the inserts back after taking the screws out and anti seize the little screws. Hope that helps

[Mike in AR]

I received my speedometer sensor and the wheel gear box assembly today. I hooked the new sensor up, took the bike for a little ride, only about a mile, and the speedometer was working fine. Tomorrow I will take it out for a longer ride to be sure the wheel gear does not have to be replaced. Thanks to all of you for your replies and suggestions.

Mike in Ar

Update.....Went for a 156 mile ride on Friday, and everything is "hunky dory". (Technical term right there) Will keep the wheel box gear assembly for a spare.