This may be somewhat of a long read but I wanna give as many details as I can. My speedometer intermittently cuts out and drops to 0. I had this problem before and it turned out to be a loose ground wire. This solved the problem for almost 2 years but all of a sudden I am having the same problem. I checked the ground wire I had repaired and it is fine. There seems to be another bad wire somewhere because when I'm riding, I move around the harness between the fairing and the gas tank and my speedo jumps around. I'm really convinced it is one of the wires on the speedo because the stereo auto volume control cuts the radio volume down when my speedo drops. I've looked through the wiring diagram I have in my manual but can't find a wire that even says "AVC" or anything to that affect. Can anyone help me narrow this down a bit more? I really thought I had it narrowed down to two wires but had to make a run to the store for a voltmeter. When I came back, I couldn't get either of those two wires to duplicate my problem!

 

year/model info would be helpful

you may be right about wiring but the first check is the sensor- it is magnetic and any metal filings from the tranny gears can give screwy readings, remove and clean tip with a rag.
the same type sensor has been used for 20 years, it is secured into the top of the tranny with an allen screw

Mike

 

Oh yeah, 03 Ultra Classic. I forgot to mention I did change the sensor the first time and that didn't fix it.

 

Pull the fairing and check your electrical connections. You probably have some corrosion in the connection going to your speedometer. My 2001 did the same thing a few years ago. I found a little corrosions in two of the Molex connectors. Cleaned them up with some QED contact cleaner, the problem has not come back.

 

I have actually been trying to pull the connector from the back of the speedo but haven't been able to. It looks like there's plastic tabs and I'm afraid to break them. I have pulled the fairing already and thought I had it narrowed down to a couple of wires. Well, I made a trip to the store to buy a voltmeter and when I came back, I couldn't duplicate the problem!

 

I have the same problem with my 02. I have split the wire loom and traced from the speedo back to the front of the fuel tank. I thought for sure I had a break in the wire from the sensor to the speedo. Because I could move the harness around by the steering neck and replicate the problem I checked the are specifically. I did not find any break so I taped things back up. That was this spring and I had no issues until the other day. It started acting up again. If memory serves me correct the wire you are looking for is a white/green stripe or white/purple stripe. Good luck.

Neil
RDMC

 

That is the EXACT problem I'm having. And, like you, as I am riding I can move the harness around and see my speedometer going wack! The thing is, the two wires I narrowed it to were the white/green wire you mention and a black/yellow stripe. I guess I'll mess with that white/green one again tomorrow and see what I can figure out. Thanks for that info.