Instruments Dead.....Bike runs fine...What gives?

one-auburn-fan

.020 Over
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
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Hi all, was riding a while back and my instruments stopped working. They were working great until I stopped for a bite to eat. Came back and nothing. The bike runs fine. The only thing that shows any sign of life is the light on the tach. That is it. No fuel light, no sweeping needles at startup, nothing.


I have combed posts and the only thing that I have found is a suggestion that the ignition switch could be going out. Hate to deal with that swap on a hunch.


I was under the tank this weekend and have checked all connections that I can find. Really, the big one directly under the tank is about all that is obvious. The wires disappear in the loom and head towards the ECM on the RHS of the bike. Can't really tell much past that. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Given the year of bike did the previous owner do any mods to the electrical system? Ie... Ignition mod, add'l fuses for etc... ? Simple way to trace issue is to start at the wires coming from the back of the two instrument clusters and trace them until you find power and the issue should expose itself. Welcome to the forum from Ohio.
 
The harness looks pretty clean under there. I find no mods. The spare fuses are even intact.

It seems clear to me that the cluster has no power from the way it behaves. I have the service manual but could not really tell where the power comes into the cluster. Typically, a power wire is a little bigger than the rest of them. In this case however, they are all the same size.
 
Iv'e read about this problem on here before from memory I think it was a simple fix. I'm sure someone that knows will post something soon.
 
Sounds a bit different to what happened with mine but could be worth a try. Under the tank at the front is a large connector block with the wires from your ignition switch and gauges. Turn the key on and give the connector block a bit of a work out. Unplug and plug it a few times or just a hard wiggle. If this brings it back to life, the problem's in the connector. It can easily be bridged, either each wire or just any suspect ones. if there's a problem in it you should be able to see some blackening on one/some of the pins inside.
 
I will give the connector a workout while the ignition is energized. I messed with it some but not with it energized. Just confirmed good connection and moved on. Thanks for the suggestion, I will try this later today after work.
 
Sounds like a bad ground. Do the guage lights work? The power to cycle the guages comes from the starter/kill switch block. If there's any corrosion you can have a bad ground. You might check that easy enough. My guess is your ignition switch is going out if the headlight relay mod wasn't installed. See if you have power from the ignition switch green wire out (use a multitester). If not your ignition switch needs help.
 
When you do find the devil, most likely a bad or corroded connector, remember that a little bit of dielectric grease will go a long way toward preventing a recurrence down the road!;)
 
I have powered the ignition up and worked the connectors under the tank vigerously. No luck. Very frustrating. I am looking for a flicker or something, but get nothing.
 
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