Speedo and FI light problems - 2004 non-ABS

Just went on my maiden ride last night and came back bummed. Speedo is basically completely inoperable (reads 0 or erratic small numbers) and the FI light came on solid red. Crapola! I'm not being very successful in my searches on the site here either. Haven't figured out how to do a search for "speedo not functioning" and not get all the countless threads on recalibrating the speedo error percent, for example. Hopefully someone will see this who has had a similar problem. 2004 VFR800 non-ABS with 24k miles, after market exhaust (could be the prob with the FI light), but the guy I bought it from said he had neither of these issues and I trust him.

 

Well before digging into the wiring diagram has any work been done to it lately?
Go through a killer rainstorm or anything out of the norm?
Are the rest of your gauge readings behaving ie, OAT, Temp, Signals, Tach ...?
Do you have your O2 sensors still plugged in? or have you bypassed them?

Start by checking your connection to the instrument cluster just to rule that out if you haven't done so already.

Sounds strange your running into two problems at the same time, I'm leaning more towards a bad plug connection than an actual problem. If your FI light is consistent then run a diagnostic and see what code it gives you, the procedure is in the manual.

 

You may want to remove and inspect the speedo driver(easy to do) and inspect the plastic coupler for damage and that it is engageing the sprocket . Here is a link to the download for Gen 6 service manual so you can get the codes off the ECU.

http://www.xar.it/Download/service manual.honda vfr 800 vtec 2002.pdf

 

Thanks Jason and Toe Cutter...

"No" on work done or rainstorm. Rest of gauges and lights seem to be operating normally (150 degrees F about right operating temp?). Don't know anything about O2 sensors, just bought the bike and didn't ask (that's not just a California thing?) I'm limited on what I can do, due to lack of knowledge and relatively limited mechanical inclination. I'm taking it to the shop Friday anyway for 24k mi service to include oil, filter, brake & clutch fluid chg, coolant drain/chg, etc. Hopefully they won't gig me too much on looking at these issues. If I wasn't taking it in, I could probably take off the left cover and check the speedo sensor for wear, but since they'll have it apart...

If it needed a root canal, I'd fix it!

 

i think speedo is on counter shaft sproket..maybe you have some loose wires other then the lite problems does it run okay?

 

Seems to run just fine.

 

Be sure to let us know what the issue was when your shop is done.

 

Will do...and how much the bleeding was.

 

Hey, tell me about your links in your sig to Mr. Baker and Mt. Ranier. In my neck of the woods sort of...

 

Never mind...I clicked, I saw. Cool rides I'm sure...

 

I had a similar problem

I had a similar problem this summer with my bike the speedo read zero and the fi light came on. I was riding through a rain storm at the time so im guessing water got into one of the electrical connections. If i was you i would just go through all of the connectors and make sure non of them are corroded or loose.

 

So how do I do that? Take off all the plastic and just start hunting for electrical connectors? Seems like if I don't know what I'm looking for, I'll just be missing most of what could be wrong? Keep in mind the limit of my mechanical prowess with motorcycles is changing the oil and I put on some after market exhaust on my cruiser...LOL. I know, I suck!

 

Yes, in short. You would look at the wiring diagram and start at the ones that pertain to the system of your troubles.

Considering the above my friend I suggest you just take it in and let the dealer take care of it for ya. If you felt comfortable you would give it a try but you don't so you may just make things worse if you start poking around. You must understand though that you came here asking for help and all we can do is offer you advice on what to do, that entails you taking your bike apart in 99% of the cases.

 

Gotcha. And I do appreciate the help and advice. When I research a problem I like to have as much information as possible regardless if I am going to undertake the repair or not on my own. Going into the stealership and just being ignorant and at their mercy is no way to go about it IMO. For example, last year my first instinct was to drop off my Vulcan 900 at the dealer with the Cobra pipes and let them do it. However the Beartooth Kawasaki forum is repleat with helpful guys and gals and I did the install on my own and everything was good. With my current problem I was hoping to find someone or several people that had the exact same problem and a common fix that was employed. Apparently that is not going to be the case...and that's cool, I'll just have to trust the guys at the shop have seen this before and will repair it.

 

Pasted in this reply from another thread to keep the speedo/FI light problem stuff together...

Many thanks Meatloaf! My Viffer is in the shop as we speak. I did a VIN check with my dealer and sure enough, the wiring harness and brake recalls had not been done. Talked briefly with the mechanic working on my bike today and he said the inspection for the brake recall was fine and mine wasn't leaking and didn't need the recall work done. He's in the middle of replacing/repairing the wiring harness now and will check the speedo/FI light problem next. I'm just having them do it since I did't have to pay for the hours to take the bike apart due to the warranty work being done. My bet is that it's a short in the speedo sensor because I checked the little nylon nut cap that fits over the hex nut at the front sproket and it didn't look worn like some pics I've seen. I'll let you know what they come up with.

 

Update: haven't gotten my bike back from the shop yet...still waiting for wiring harness to ship. However, talked to mech on Saturday and he said he cleaned contacts where speedo sensor plugs in (like others here have suggested!) and I saw that the speedo was registering while the bike was on the lift. He said the FI light error codes were just that it wasn't receiving a speedo signal. I'm cautiously optimistic and will report back after first test ride. I had 40% remaining on the rear and left front brake pads (are those the two that are linked?) and just had him replace those since it was there. Damn I'm itching to get it back! Rode the Vulcan 900 this weekend and still love that bike as well...it's just some completely different than the Viffer...

 

Final update on this problem...bottom line as most of you guys probably already know, I don't think most dealerships are in the diagnostic business for motorcycle repair. They are in the R/R business (remove and replace). Thanks to VFRD.com and Hispanic Slammer, I fixed my speedo problem last night with a $7 plastic part. It's the little "speedometer joint" that is the nylon plastic piece at the end of the speedo sensor that fits over the hex nut on the front sproket. Apparently this little gem wears and then registers speed erratically or in my case mostly not at all. Of course the dealer wanted to order the entire speedo sensor to the tune of $120 plus labor. Thanks to the guys on this forum for giving me the confidence and tools to research and fix this problem. Oh, and the FI light was just giving the codes that ECU wasn't recieving speedo data. Problem Fixed!!!

 

Appreciate the report back, awesome news and awesome info, I will file the problem and fix away in me head.