[dmzx11]

Let's see if anyone can shed some light on this. I just got back from a 2,800+ mile trip. Rode through some rain. Everything seemed fine during the trip. The last time it was in the rain was last Wednesday. I got back Sunday, everything was still fine. On my way to work this morning, everything was fine. Sometime between filling up this morning and arriving at work, the tach, speedo and fuel gauge all stuck. If I turn the key off and on, the blinkers flash a few times, but the needles don't move, and there is no reading on the odometer either. The bike starts OK and the security seems OK. The turn signals work and the high-beam indicator is OK too.

At lunch time, I opened the clamshell and everything was connected tightly. I pulled the gauge cluster off the connecter and reset several times. That didn't make any difference.

During the trip, I rode through about 200 miles of pretty strong rain. Is it possible the prolonged exposure to the water shorted something? That would be contradictory to the documentary where they sprayed the bike for 5 days.

Any ideas? Will I have to replace the gauges? The bike is an '02 coming up on 35,000 miles.

DMZX11

 

[scoutdoc]

give it day or so and it may just be a little damp inside, or use a dryer of some type and blow it out.

side note: your not part of DMX racing are you and if so....... when can i expect the 400hp engine to be out???

 

[DTHDOC]

If you turn the key to accesories do the gauges move?, have you checked the fuses? there maybe some water in the cluster causing a short, also try to remove the maxi fuse and then reinstall and try again.

 

[dmzx11]

give it day or so and it may just be a little damp inside, or use a dryer of some type and blow it out.

side note: your not part of DMX racing are you and if so....... when can i expect the 400hp engine to be out???

Nope. I've been using DMZX11 online since before I got my V-Rod, and didn't feel like having a bunch of online names. The ZX11 is because I also own a Ninja ZX-11.

DMZX11

 

[dmzx11]

If you turn the key to accesories do the gauges move?, have you checked the fuses? there maybe some water in the cluster causing a short, also try to remove the maxi fuse and then reinstall and try again.

They are dead when I turn the key. I have not tried the fuse yet. This happened sometime on my way to my office this morning. I briefly went out at lunch to simply see if anything was loose.

I started reading some threads and came across the fuse suggestion. I can try that before I leave to go home.

DMZX11

 

[Danno]

Check the fuse marked "Battery". It supplies 12V to the cluster as well as the cooling fans. If the fuse is blown, reach in and check that both fans spin freely by hand. If one does not, that is your culprit. You can replace the fuse but when the bike gets hot enough and tries to kick the fans on, the fuse will blow again. Good luck.

 

[dmzx11]

Check the fuse marked "Battery". It supplies 12V to the cluster as well as the cooling fans. If the fuse is blown, reach in and check that both fans spin freely by hand. If one does not, that is your culprit. You can replace the fuse but when the bike gets hot enough and tries to kick the fans on, the fuse will blow again. Good luck.

Thanks for that tip.

DMZX11

 

[Max]

I'm betting Danno knows this from experience.

 

[dmzx11]

Check the fuse marked "Battery". It supplies 12V to the cluster as well as the cooling fans. If the fuse is blown, reach in and check that both fans spin freely by hand. If one does not, that is your culprit. You can replace the fuse but when the bike gets hot enough and tries to kick the fans on, the fuse will blow again. Good luck.

I went out and checked. Indeed, the 15A fuse marked "Battery" is blown. I'll stop on my way home and pick up a few of them. I see other things use 15A fuses.

BTW, both fans did spin freely.

Let's see if the fix is that simple.

Thanks for all the advice.

DMZX11

 

[luxlamf]

Glad to see you and the bike made it back safe this time.

 

[dmzx11]

Glad to see you and the bike made it back safe this time.

Yup.

Once I get this fuse business out of the way, I'll try to make a separate post about the trip including some pictures.

No double rainbows this time :sad:

DMZX11

 

[Max]

Yup.

Once I get this fuse business out of the way, I'll try to make a separate post about the trip including some pictures.

No double rainbows this time :sad:

DMZX11

Fuses don't just blow, something always makes them blow. It could be a wire rubbed through, it could even be a fan motor drawing high amperage that isn't frozen up yet. If you replace the fuse and it doesn't blow right away you can run the bike and see if you can notice when it does blow. During bumps and turns usually means a bare wire some place and if when it gets warm usually means the fan motors.

 

[dmzx11]

Fuses don't just blow, something always makes them blow. It could be a wire rubbed through, it could even be a fan motor drawing high amperage that isn't frozen up yet. If you replace the fuse and it doesn't blow right away you can run the bike and see if you can notice when it does blow. During bumps and turns usually means a bare wire some place and if when it gets warm usually means the fan motors.

We definitely hit some hot spots on our trip. The last night we were in Laughlin, NV and it was 108 in the day, and coming home we hit some more hot spots. This morning, I also hit heavy traffic and was splitting lanes. I know after a few minutes the fans would normally come on until I hit the open freeway again.

But this isn't anything I haven't encountered in the past. I've had the bike over 3 years and didn't encounter anything today that I haven't dealt with before.

If I change the fuse, and it works, then blows shortly afterward, I'll know I have a bigger problem.

DMZX11

 

[ion-man]

Since his bike is an '02, it seems this thread would apply as far as replacing the fans...

http://www.1130cc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27719&highlight=danno+replacing+radiator+fans

 

[Danno]

If it's not one of the fans, then you should investigate per Max's suggestion. The Battery fuse provides 12V to the cluster on pin one and if anything in the cluster killed that 15 amp fuse, the cluster would be filled with smoke. That only leaves the wiring and the fans. Each fan has its own connector and their harnesses are zip tied together under the left radiator shroud. If it looks like the fuse blows when the bike gets hot and the fans kick on, you can always disconnect one fan or the other to see if the problem goes away. This will identify the bad fan. Remember that with one fan, you're pulling half the amount of normal air through the radiator and the working fan will run a lot longer. Definitely not a long term solution but shouldn't be an issue for troubleshooting. If the fuse blows and the fans have nothing to do with it, you'll have to start tracing the harness forward from the fuse panel looking for problems.

 

[dmzx11]

So I stopped at Radio Shack and picked up a couple of packs of 15A mini-blade fuses. When I got home, I put one in the "Battery" slot on the fuse holder and the gauges made that sound. When I turned the key, the fans came on immediately, and I proceeded to start the bike. Everything worked for a few seconds, then the gauges died again. The fuse blew.

I let the bike cool off a bit and tried it again. I let the bike run almost 5 minutes without incident. The fans did not come on. The bike was too hot to chek the fans. I'll take my car to work tomorrow, and check the fans after I come home when the bike is cold.

DMZX11

 

[Danno]

Sounds like your problem is fan related. Check them again when the bike is cold. Both should spin freely with very little resistance. If one feels tighter than the other, trace is back to the connector and disconnect it. Run the bike again until the remaining fan kicks on to see what happens.

 

[silversurfer]

I'm just writing to say how good this forum is. My bike had the same problem and I would never have thought to check the fans. But, sure enough, the fan was binding. When I tightened the oil line it pushed against the shroud pinning the fan blade. Easy fix when it could have been hours of troubleshooting.

 

[ElrodontheV-Rod]

I'm just writing to say how good this forum is. My bike had the same problem and I would never have thought to check the fans. But, sure enough, the fan was binding. When I tightened the oil line it pushed against the shroud pinning the fan blade. Easy fix when it could have been hours of troubleshooting.

Good for you.