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2008 FatBoy Speedometer issue

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Old Jan 5, 2018 | 03:36 PM
  #1  
jlkoko's Avatar
jlkoko
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From: State College PA
Default 2008 FatBoy Speedometer issue

I posted this some time ago, and never got anywhere with it, so I am trying again to see if anyone can help me out.
I have a 2008 Fat Boy w/ ~15k miles. Awhile back, when I started out for a ride, the speedometer LCD was blank (no clock, no odo). I figured it was a fuse and would take care of it when I returned. When I got back, I checked the instrument fuse and it was fine; I swapped fuses to be sure. However, I also noticed that the speedo dial was now stuck at 60mph. Hmmmm..... I pulled the speedo and tried it in a buddy's wiring harness; my speedo showed nothing (and was still stuck on 60) when we turned the ignition on. So, at that point I assumed that it was a problem with the speedometer unit. I should have tried his speedo in my wiring harness but he was reluctant to do so.

Rather than pay $200 for the stock unit, I purchased a new combination speedo/tach from H-D. It is a model 70900070B and is supposed to work on a variety of models (including mine) that have a 5" speedo. The instructions tell me to first marry the new unit up w/ the ECM/old speedo thru the data link port under the seat. Following the instruction, I plugged in the new unit to the data link port (with the transfer wire that came with the kit), turned on the run switch and the ignition to begin the calibration process. The LCD on the new speedo showed CAL (which meant that it started the calibration/transfer process), but then went to NO SPD. The trouble shooting instructions do not say anything about what to do if you get the NO SPD display.

My old, inoperative speedo was still plugged into the harness so I wondered if there was something else wrong. It seems like the system was looking for the old speedometer but couldn't find it. I'm guessing that
the ECM can only be married to one speedo thru the VIN. I'm not sure, but I think the conversion process may wipe the VIN from the old speedo, so someone can't swap it to a bike that has higher miles. Since mine is no longer working, when I plugged the new one into the data link, it can't see the old one b/c it is dead, so it thinks it was removed, and therefore, won't let the new speedo run thru its calibration/transfer process.
I did take the old speedo off the bike and pulled it apart. You can see by the attached pictures that something fried inside the unit. I don’t know if it can be repaired, or if someone somewhere can read it via the port. A dealer did tell me that on the newer models (after 2012?), the odometer mileage resides with the ECM and that the dealer can plug their diagnostic tool into it, read the ECM for the VIN and mileage and then transfer to a new speedo. I find it hard to believe that someone out there can’t plug in my new speedo and enter the mileage (and VIN) that I have from the old unit before it fried.
Does anyone have any suggestions or have experience w/ this? Thanks.


2008 FatBoy Speedometer issue-hd-speedo-1.jpg

2008 FatBoy Speedometer issue-hd-speedo-2.jpg
 
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Old Jun 8, 2018 | 01:59 PM
  #2  
Tony124's Avatar
Tony124
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Joined: Jan 2017
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From: Surrey, UK
Default

>>>I find it hard to believe that someone out there can’t plug in my new speedo and enter the mileage (and VIN) that I have from the old unit before it fried.
Does anyone have any suggestions or have experience w/ this? Thanks<<<

The EEprom can be flashed with many tools .. Enigma is one that I know does this.

A 'mileage correction' business should easily be able to do this for you.

You speedo will require opening like in your pictures to access the EEprom.
 
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