Gear shift indicator stuck on 4

[bflint]

My six speed 2014 CB1100 DLX just started acting up today when getting on freeway. Came off the SoCal on ramp in 4th and ran mph up to 70 (about 500o rpm) and then shifted into 5th then 6th. However gear shift indicator is stuck on 4. Turned everything off. Started up but still show 4 no matter what gear. Refueled and reset odom hoping this might do something …. but still shows 4. Any thoughts …. I have shop manual so I will look for something there also. Cheers ….

[the Ferret]

Maybe disconect battery for 10 minutes and reconnect? Bet Max, Doc or popgun can figure it out.

[bflint]

Will give that a try

[Lord Popgun]

I’ll have to do some looking as my bike doesn’t have a gear shift indicator. OK, I do have one, but it is aftermarket.

A quick look at the wiring diagram shows a gear position switch that puts a ground on one of 6 wires that go to the meter. Neutral has no wire so when in neutral no wire has a ground on it.

With no wire having a ground you would have a neutral indication at the meter. Since you have a 4 showing then the white wire would normally be grounded. Assuming (yes, I know ) the meter is good, I would suspect the switch.

I don’t know how it is mechanized (connected to the shifter) though. But by disconnecting its connector You could easily check the switch with a multimeter while working the shifter through each gear and metering each pin to ground. I’ll have to look in the manual some to see where it is and how it works with the shifter.
OK, if you have that manual, look on page 19-38. It shows how to test the switch by doing what I said above. Picture makes it easy. If it has to be replaced it doesn’t look too difficult, just a little pain in the, well, you know.

[bflint]

Disconnected battery for 4 hours. Reconnected … still stuck on 4. Was a good idea though. Thanks Mr Popgun for your research. Will refer to my manual and locate the switch. Thanks

[Lord Popgun]

If the switch checks good you could actually disconnect the switch connector and ground each pin on the bike side of the connector one at a time and verify the meter indication. Using the wiring diagram of course. It is a very simple circuit.

[the Ferret]

Disconnected battery for 4 hours. Reconnected … still stuck on 4. Was a good idea though. Thanks Mr Popgun for your research. Will refer to my manual and locate the switch. Thanks

Shoot I was hoping that would reboot the system ( then again I'm no mechanical genius and try simple things first before taking it to a shop of trained mechanics lol)

[pekingduck]

The gear position switch is a simple rotary switch with 6 contacts inside. It is mechanically rotated by the gear shift drum. If it displays the same gear position (4) as you shift normally, the switch is simply not turning. It is not a wiring problem or a short or open.

It relies on a little roll pin pressed perpendicularly into the rotating shaft of the switch, which aligns with a slot in the end of the shift shaft. When the switch is installed at the factory, it must be aligned by eye before bolting it in place. It is easy to get it miss-aligned, which could bend or break the roll pin.

The switch is underneath the sprocket cover.

[Lord Popgun]

And now I know how it mates with the transmission. That isn't shown or shown well in the service manual. Assuming the meter hasn't failed, it seemed obvious the switch isn't turning or has failed. Checking with a meter would tell most of the tale.

Do you know if the roll pin could be replaced? I have a kit of roll pins. Sure would be cheaper than a new switch.

[E11even_Hunnit]

Don't mean to thread hack, but has anyone here ever experienced False Neutrals/Un-displayed Neutrals?

Has this switch failed others prematurely?

My bike is at ~7k and as of late, I've experienced a few inconsistencies with the gear indicator, all from a cold start- It will show (-) on the meter, without having the green (N) bulb come on in the Tach(Bike will not crank). Then I will clip on the bike, lift the kickstand(N light still wont come on), and it will crank and start right up

My initial thoughts were maybe this was oil-related, but as this has happened a handful of times in the past month, I'm starting to think it's a bad connection somewhere or a switch going bad..