Speedo went to zero and engine stumbled : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

joejoe · 07-09-2007, 09:47 AM

2001 Dyna carb. Going about 20 MPH yesterday when the speedo drooped to zero and the engine stumbled for a couple of seconds. Speedo popped back up to normal and engine resumed runnign fine. Is the speedo tied to engine management or somethhing?

chrisjanes · 07-13-2007, 05:25 PM

I don't know how these lectric gizmo's work but my carbed 03 flhtc had a problem similar to yours. Every now and then the engine would start to stumble
and run bad and I noticed that when it did the speedo would 1/2 clock or read real slow. I would pull over and shut it off and re-start it and it would be fine until it did it again. I kept taking it to the dealer and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Finally I was getting some new rubber on it and they took it for a test ride and it did it. They figured out that it was a bad speedo.
What the speedo has to do with the running of the engine I couldn't tell ya but 7 weeks later when I got my bike back with a new speedo it ran fine and has been running good ever since.
CJ

SYCLONE · 07-14-2007, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joejoe

2001 Dyna carb. Going about 20 MPH yesterday when the speedo drooped to zero and the engine stumbled for a couple of seconds. Speedo popped back up to normal and engine resumed runnign fine. Is the speedo tied to engine management or somethhing?

Pull the speed sensor out of the trans.....right on top on the right side just outboard of the starter.. held in with one 1/4-20 hex head fastener.
wiggle and turn it as you pull it out..has one "o" ring on it for a seal.
Now wipe all the metal filings off the end ...re-install and your good to go.
should take 5 minutes.

joejoe · 08-08-2007, 11:21 AM

Thanks for the responses. I have not had any trouble again until today so I forgot to check the replies to my question. I rode the bike to work today and it did it again. Speedo dropped to zero and the bike stumbled. During lunch today I took Syclone's advise and removed the speedo sensor that plugs into the transmission. WOW!!! I could not believe all of the metal filings on the end of the sensor. It was absolutely smothered in small metal filings. It took me a while to get them all off because the sensor is magnetic. I haven't had a chance to ride the bike yet but I'm sure that all those metal filings covering the sensor had to affect something...
This should probably be a regular maintenance thing.

joejoe · 08-09-2007, 09:26 AM

After cleaning the speedo sensor I drove the bike lst night and experienced the same intermittent stumble with the speedo dropping to zero. I got home safely and checked the bettery connections. Both were a little loose. I re-tightened them and now no issues at all. One of these days I'll learn to locktite basically anything and everything on a Harley. Does Harley own stock in Locktite?

Gulfstream · 08-09-2007, 11:56 AM

The sensor is going south on ya...pony up for a new one and your problems will go away!

LittleBear · 08-09-2007, 02:59 PM

Oh so sad that anything connected to the Speedo circuit could kill the motor.
Modern electronics on a Harley are a pain.

**HDWRENCH** · 08-09-2007, 04:28 PM

they are common to go bad. Mine is working fine though if you care?? i bet not huh?/ They are a pain to get the wire back into stock location though.

DenverRK · 10-29-2008, 11:35 AM

My Heritage did the same thing and It turned out to be the ignition switch.

nixdad · 10-29-2008, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DenverRK

My Heritage did the same thing and It turned out to be the ignition switch.

Same here.

tiny0720 · 10-29-2008, 01:00 PM

Just got my 1200 sporty back w/same problem. It was the speedo sensor, which also affected the fuel pump and turn signals. HD electrics!!!

per6594 · 04-06-2009, 01:40 PM

intermittent speedo problems on a 2001 FLHTCI. my speedo intermittently goes to zero. the loss of speed signal also affects my radio volume and turn signals not cancelling, but has had no effect on fuel pump / injection or ignition. i pulled the speed sensor, cleaned it (it was clean of any metal shavings), and is working okay at present. next time, i'll replace it with the new part number sensor.

bulldogmoe7 · 05-17-2009, 01:22 PM

i am experiencing the same issue on my 2005 EGC. the speedo drops out and the radio starts to cut in and out. i noticed today that the radio didnt cut out when at the stop completely. but it did get real load and real quiet at times. noticed that when coming to a stop the idle will go down to about 500 rpms, then come back up to 950 (normal)
as i am in the garage on the stand idleing to find the issue it really started to run rough.
smelled of gas loading up. but the idle was staying at 950.
didnt mention that on a trip last week an HD dealer "changed" the speedo sensor.
i dont think they did. it looks like a hard time to pull the plug out from under the starter.
how long and what would it take to change out the sensor?

wanna ride · 05-17-2009, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joejoe

After cleaning the speedo sensor I drove the bike lst night and experienced the same intermittent stumble with the speedo dropping to zero. I got home safely and checked the bettery connections. Both were a little loose. I re-tightened them and now no issues at all. One of these days I'll learn to locktite basically anything and everything on a Harley. Does Harley own stock in Locktite?

I've started to loctite everything

bulldogmoe7 · 05-17-2009, 01:31 PM

what gets me is there is a lot of "different" resolutions for the same issue here.
just trying to figure out a common resolution