Self test and speedo issues

[ianbickerton]

Hi all

I am hoping or rather not hoping that anyone has been affected in the same way but if anyone has had a similar experience and managed to find the problem some help would be appreciated.

It started about 6 months back and the service guys and even Triumph themselves have not come up with an answer.

On turning on the ignition the gauges do not carry out their self test. Start the bike and then the Rev Counter does a self test and not the speedo and when riding the speedo will work sometimes and not other. If you start riding and the speedo works it will work until you switch off the bike then it may not work the next time. It does not stop working while riding.

So any ideas or solutions to this irritating issue would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Ian

 

[tdragger]

year and model Rocket would help in getting an answer.

 

[ehh]

I had the same problem on my 2005 Rocket. One day when I started the beast, it did exactly what you described.
One Triumph mechanic told me that sometimes the cable from under the tank to the speedo and taco got water inside and started to corrode and therefore making a bad connection.
When handing the bike in to the "Stealership" to get it fixed, they told me that I had to replace both Speedo and Taco and I paid 1200 Aussie dollars for that.
It did fix the problem but I don't know if they also fixed that cable and just wanted to sell me those instruments also.
I did get the old gauges back.
It was hard to convince me that both instruments would break down at the same time and I'm still not fully convinced but happy that it works again.

 

[R-III-R Turbo]

I did get the old gauges back.
It was hard to convince me that both instruments would break down at the same time and I'm still not fully convinced but happy that it works again.

im not sure about the older gauges but with the roadsters its pretty easy disconnect the wiring loom at the back of the gauges. if the same applies to the older ones you could put your old clocks back & test, and that'd tell you if the issue was with the loom or the clocks

 

[ehh]

im not sure about the older gauges but with the roadsters its pretty easy disconnect the wiring loom at the back of the gauges. if the same applies to the older ones you could put your old clocks back & test, and that'd tell you if the issue was with the loom or the clocks

I was thinking about doing that, but riding the bike took priority over the time spent pulling the brackets off and then maybe get pissed off when I realized that there was nothing wrong with the old ones.
I did unplug them and cleaned the connections before I gave up and took the bike to the "Stealership" to get fixed. They looked fine with plenty of some greasy looking protective stuff on all connections. I didn't look at the other end of the cable.

Oh - and then I ended up with a spare Rocket as my wife suggested that maybe the bike was getting old and in need of a replacement. About 2 hours after that comment I was the proud owner of a newer Roadster. (only 3 months old)
My wife was under the impression that I would get rid of the old one, but she was wrong. It's not easy (for me) to part with a bike like a Rocket so now I have it stored at my sons place. He doesn't mind at all. I think he is trying to make new speed records with that bike.

 

[pjsmithres]

In the past, with most electrical gremlins, first on the list is to disconnect, inspect, and reconnect ALL of the in line connectors from the battery to the problem. Once fixed with a check over, continue riding.

Not sure how y'all like WD-40 or di-electric grease.
Most all of the connections, especially light bulbs have a generous coating of Di-electric grease after inspection and super clean verification.

I have a friend that sprays everything with WD-40 if it moves or can move. I think he does shots of it once in a while.
I know he gets a spray down end of September every year.

WD-40. It's not just for breakfast.

 

[warp9.9]

From what I gather there is some kind of fancy can-bus system board (computer geek stuff) in the gauges that make it perform the internal test like the sweeps and yours is going bad. (next will be the gauge lighting) I have not seen one get fixed yet most buy a used set off flee bay install and ride on. Used sets go from 350 to 450 USD. As long as yours is not a Roadster then any year model Rocket gauge will work whether they are all black or the older silver and black. Fred aka Rocket Scientist just went thru this with his you might want to touch base with him as he could save you some time trouble shooting it. He just ended up replacing his.

 

[pjsmithres]

My speedo went squirrely for a week, acted normal for a day and then stopped doing the self check.
Odo stopped recording and needle worked for a week longer.
Then the needle stopped and the odo started working (which is just stupid).

Dealer looked at it and disassembled and hooked to a different bike and said it can't be fixed.

We negotiated the $400 price to 300 including install.

I have had 4 speedos apart, in my MC years to fix (all successful) and this one is not repairable (economically). You can't get the internal parts and the press crown will never be the same.

Now it's an 2005 8k speedo. less the 28K lost in the old speedo.

 

[barbagris]

Fred aka Rocket Scientist just went thru this with his you might want to touch base with him as he could save you some time trouble shooting it. He just ended up replacing his.

I think Ken (DEcosse) is trying to see if he can find a solution too, following on from Fred's issues.