Hi im am new to this, sorry if i am posting this in the wrong place.
I need help with my 2004 sportster 1200 custom. The issue is my speedo will stop working (light stays on) bike runs fine,usually if i turn the bike off and resart the speedo will work for awhile. the bike is very clean, 17,000 miles, never seen rain.
New battery, speed sensor,voltage regulator and tried a different speedo.
still does the same thing.

if anyone can help thanks in advance
brian

 

I had similar prob recently on an '04 FXDP. With my Dyna, the speedo would drop to zero & odo go out when I hit a bump in road while underway. Then would immediately come back to life. I decided it must be an open in the power (orange/wh) line to the speedo. And I opened up the entire wiring harness from power center to speedo looking for it.

I was close, but not quite barking up the right tree. Turns out the acc/inst power feed spade connector to the ign switch had worked loose at the switch & was just sitting against the connector. Made contact most of the time, but bounced loose when I hit a bump, then back in contact. When I pushed it back onto the ign spade connector securely, prob went away. I should've known because my pursuit lights also went out very momentarily when I hit a really big bump, and they run through the acc/inst circuit also.

Look for an open somewhere in circuit to speedo, tight connector at speedo, good/clean/tight grounds, secure battery connections.

Good luck. Frustrating, I know.

 

everything seems good as far as connections, grounds and wires. i will do a more thorough check on the wires later. i took the ignition loose and out of the housing but it seems to be a solid cover over it how do i see the contacts inside?

thanks

 

also does anyone know how many grounds would affect the speedo and where they are?

 

Not familiar with Sportsters, so can't help on specifics of opening up ign switch. You really need a shop manual with wiring diagram to find the right ground.

But the way I found my prob was the old "wiggle test" which is actually recommended in HD shop manual. With console/seat off & wiring/ign open, fire bike up & just go around the wiring wiggling individual/suspect wires & connectors. When you wiggle the right one, speedo needle will move slightly & odo will blink. Did for me anyway. Once I got it opened up, only took 5 min to find the loose connector.