1998 flstc softail heritage classic.
riding the other day and i noticed my speedometer was stuck at 20mph, and my odometer was not showing anything.
I made it home and once garaged i noticed my headlight would flicker every 10 seconds, and i could hear a fuse under the seat clicking with the headlight click.
from what ive read it seems to possibly be my speed sensor (VSS). my question is, is it ok to take a ride with it not operating? or could it possibly leave me stranded?
I have a short ride scheduled in the next 2 days and was wondering if its ok to ride it as is ( i know its not optimal)

thanks for any help or insight I appreciate the help i get from this board.

 

Sounds like you have a lose wire or short. If you do not find it you could very well be looking at serious damage.
Your speed sensor wire runs under the fuel tank . Just a fail speed sensor would not cause this . You have a short somewhere. Start looking for it now you may find it in time.
Take the seat off and find the breaker that is popping trace the wire back. May just be a lose wire.

 

thank you for the reply and info, i really appreciate it.
ill see if i can look at it before my ride, and if i can't ill cancel the ride, no sense in doing any damage.

 

Yep. The speedo on that is essentially a computer, and is going to behave badly if you've got an intermittent short to ground.

Can you ride it? Who knows. You might get away with it. Or you might end up draining the battery and end up trailering it home. Or you might end up smoking something expensive like the ignition module. Or maybe it catches fire and you bring the whole thing home in a bucket.

Personally, I'd want to get the wiring fault identified and corrected before taking it back on the road.

 

I think you are hearing the main breaker tripping and resetting.

Find the main breaker, and look at the wiring between the breaker and the ignition switch, and between the ignition switch and the fuses.

 

I wouldn't take on the road at all.
These guys are saying right.
Look carefully at the wiring for a place rubbed though the insulation also.

WP

 

Time for you to get a factory service manual and dig into what circuit is causing that and fix it.. unless you want to get stranded somewhere... I'd take care of it sooner and later..

 

Thanks guys....i dug out my Manual, ill take a look at it this week.
I canceled my ride as a precaution.

I hate chasing wires, but its going to be 50 and rainy here in Detroit, so nothing better to do anyways.

 

This is something to put in your notes for future use. Some times the speed senors just do not give correct speed. Even cleaning the sensor or replacing it does not work. This unit while not part of you current issue will work on your bike and allow you to adjust the speed to read correctly.
https://www.dakotadigital.com/index....od/prd1011.htm

If you need yo trace speed sensor wire all the way back up it will require splitting the tank. Not as hard as it looks . At first just loosen front mounts bot sides and remove rear mount bolts under the seat slight spread the tank half's you will see the triangle shaped connector.
If you find no wire issue you may need to go farther.
This is the speed sensor cable removed from the bike. it is not hard to fish a new one in if needed of to trace it down for wear. It is long.
Owning a 20 plus year old EVO is still a great ride. It will often require a bit more home work.

 

thank you i appreciate the info....im going to dig into it this weekend sometime and see what i can figure out.