Tacho/speedo

[jimg1au]

can any one help me with a electrical problem i have.my lights go off and on in my speedo/tacho.i cleaned all conections i could and even put a new fuese box in.now my tacho and fuel gauge dont work when i switch the lights on and sometimes no lights at all in the speedo/tacho.sometimes there is lights only in the speedo which now stay on all the time the lights are on.any help would be good.
cheers
jim garvey
xs1100h
xs1100rh/special
xs1100rh

[NCXS11F]

Wow...lemme know if someone tells you the problem...because I am having almost the same problem.......my lights go off as soon as I put the bike in gear . . . seems as soon as the neutral light goes off, so does the speedo / tach lights and high beam.

[Ken Talbot]

Your note that you cleaned "all the connections you could" might be the key here. This is much like triple-cleaning carbs. If you haven't actually disassembled and cleaned every last pin from every last connector (i.e. removed every last jet and cleared every last orifice), you have not finished the job. I know it is a PITA, but you're working against 25 years of corrosion. How did that old saying go - rust never sleeps??

[scalded dog]

Why did the xs 11s change to 85 mph speedometers in 1980, did they have less horsepwer/topend than the 78-79s. Just curious, thanks 'Dog

[jetmechmarty]

The 85 mph speedometer has nothing to do with reduced performance of the motorcycle. I believe most, if not all, motor vehicles sold in the United States had 85 mph speedometers by 1980. I think they showed up in American cars in 1978.

Maybe some one else can shed more light on this, but I think the 85 mph speedo was by government mandate.

[buffalo]

almost certainly a ground problem... there are connections in the headlight bucket, not sure where the harness grounds to the frame though

[skids]

I agree with that assessment. You might also check out the key switch contacts.

Originally posted by buffalo
almost certainly a ground problem... there are connections in the headlight bucket, not sure where the harness grounds to the frame though

[TopCatGr58]

Marty was right, it was a gov't thing, but it was for safety as well as for fuel economy!! Using the rationale that with the higher reading speedos, you had to go really fast to peg the needle up over midpoint. With the reduced range, it pegged up and past much sooner allegedly making it seem like you were going faster cause you knew pegging the needle that far "was" going fast with earlier cars! But then again, it seems that people wanted to see if they could max peg their 85mph speedo, so it probably didn't really help to keep people from going over what was then the 55mph national limit!!

And with the advent of air bags, crumple zones, crashes were livable with faster speeds, and then everybody complained because it took so long to go anywhere, the gas crunch ended, and so limits started rising again, and apparently they realized that it didn't matter where the speedo was set at, so they allowed them to range higher again! Just my memory observations!
T.C.

Originally posted by scalded dog
Why did the xs 11s change to 85 mph speedometers in 1980, did they have less horsepwer/topend than the 78-79s. Just curious, thanks 'Dog