With the crappy weather we had this past winter, when I could ride, I wanted to ride something with a windshield. My 2003 Night Train sat from November until April. Of course when I got ready to ride it the battery was completely flat. Since it was the original battery I decided to buy a new one. With the new battery in place the bike starts right up and runs perfectly.

Except: no speedo, no odometer and the turn signals don't auto cancel. The light in the gas gauge works, but not the one in the speedo. After checking the fuses, I'm thinking loose connection or bad speed sensor. Except that now the bike starts and runs with the ignition switch in the accessory position as well as in the on position. The last time I had an ignition switch go the bike just wouldn't start, what's up with this?

Anyone have an experience like this?

 

It does seem like the switch. I did try to get the power back by finding a mid point between detents but no go. I'll clean and lube it tomorrow and see if that makes it work.

 

I have some more information on the problem. I swapped the ignition switch with a known good one. Same problem with the other switch. Back in it's own bike the good switch works fine. In the Night Train, no speedo, no odometer, no cancel to the turn signals, no speedo light, and the bike runs in either acc or ign position.

I figure that since the other switch didn't fix the problem, it's not a switch problem. That makes me think about the VSS again. What link is there between the VSS and the speedo light and especially to the acc position of the switch? Very confusing.

 

My 2000 heritage did the same thing, replaced speedometer sensor on the top of the transmission fixed it. Check conectors before you buy a new sensor.

 

I was going to pull the sensor out today but I got busy. I've replaced a few of these over the years (it's a bad design) but I can't figure out how the VSS could possibly be making the ignition switch act the way it does. It may just be one of those HD mysteries.

 

Bad Ground for the Speedometer.

 

Now we're getting somewhere. Where does the speedo ground on a Night Train, and would a bad ground make the bike run with the ign switch in the acc position?
Thanks.

 

Bad grounds can cause all kinds of strange and flat out weird problems.
But for the life of me I can't see how a bad speedo ground would relate to the bike being able to run in the acc position.
My best guess would be that you probably have more than one problem and your confusing the symtoms of one problem with another.
If that's the case the only way your going to get to the bottom of it all is to stick to one single issue to the end then go to work on the next one.
First place to start is to check and clean every connection you can get at (including the ECM connector) then see what's still screwing up when your done.
Good Luck

 

Especially since this is a problem that wasn't present in the fall and with the bike sitting in a heated shop developed seemingly on its own.

 

Even if it seems a bit strange, its one of the reasons I always recomend that people always keep a tender on the bike if its not going to be ridden for any length of time.
As long as you can keep some kind of electric power in the bike, the electrical connections will stay relativley free of corrosion.
Once the power fails however connections start to corrode and after that you can count on having all kinds of strange and nasty little problems till you clean them up.