Bob

I know its impossible to diagnosis over the internet, but I would like your opinion...............

7 months I installed the HD Speedo/Tach (#74556-04) assembly in my 06 Road King Classic. It was a plug and play and has worked perfect for 4000 miles.
Yesterday after I fueled up, when I went to start the bike I noticed the EFI check light would not light up, neither would the cruise control light and the speedo and tach quit working. Also the odometer didn't register the miles. Figured it was a short.
*edit* Also the red security key stayed lit the whole time nothing else was working*edit*

Met up with friends and rode anyway approx 70 miles and stopped for lunch.
When I went to start the bike again, I noticed the EFI light came on, and when I fired the bike, the tach was working.
Was planning on getting home and swapping back to the factory installed speedo, but everything "just started" working like it was suppose too..............for the 60 miles or so back home.

Got home and pulled the console to check the harness plug, and it was tight. What other thing can I check?
Are these guage kits know for sporadic readings?

Thanks for your opinion
Bruce

 

The red security light is the tattletale......

Probably a lack of comm on the J1850 line......

Look for an intermittant fault in the connectors...

Especially a spread out socket pin for the MAIN Power to the speedo....

 

Thanks Bob
I thought it had to do something with power for the security light to stay lit.
200 miles today.......no problem. But I got to find some slack in the main wire harness going up to the speedo

 

Another item to look at is the IGNITION SWITCH........

Sometimes the contact points will get spread out a little,,,, and the switch doesn't engage COMPLETELY......

 

After taking the console off the bike again tonight, Iam almost 100% postive that you hit the nail on the head with the..........."Especially a spread out socket pin for the MAIN Power to the speedo".... comment.

The factory speedo has a plug at 4 o'clock, where as the new Speedo/tach unit has the plug in at 12 o'clock. So the wire was pulled tight to make up the distance. Upon looking at the plug again, the wires comes out of the plug and does a 180 degree turn. With the wires as tight as they where, I could see how a bad commection could be possible.
So I cut the plastic tie holding the main wires together and pulled a little more wire up into the console, then re-tied with a plastic zip tie. Then pulled the wire tight and zip tied it to one of the metal clips on the backside of the console. Then snapped the connector back together. The wire isn't as tight as before and hopefully that was my problem.

The bike ran fine while I was having the no speedo/tach and idiot light symptoms. So I would [t]think[/i] that would rule out the Ign switch...........Right?

Anyway, all seems to be good to go now.
Once again, THANK YOU for your time and advice