Can't get speedometer working after accident

[lccb1100a_imp]

I've had the unfortunate experience of wrecking my cb1100 after only about 500 miles. Even more unfortunate was my decision to not go through insurance to fix it. I had a mechanic put it all back together for me, but it's at the point where the speedometer will not function, even though the tachometer is working fine. After about a minute of riding, the engine light comes on and the bike won't rev over 6000 RPMs. I'm assuming this is some kind of safety mode because the speedo isn't functioning. The mechanic working on it is scratching his head at this point, and when he calls Honda they won't talk to him because he's not a dealer. He does have a friend who works for Honda who told him that it has to do with the ABS, but the ABS was not damaged in the accident.

Does anyone out there have a clue as to how to get my speedometer working again which doesn't require taking the bike apart to get to the ABS, only to replace this very expensive part and find out this isn't the problem?

When I called the dealer they are hesitant to touch it because this other mechanic has already done work on it, but the mechanic I'm using owns a motorcycle shop that does mechanical work on motorcycles as their main business. They don't sell them, or sell gear for them. They fix and modify motorcycles, so I'm not sure why the dealer is so hesitant to work on my bike after another reputable shop has worked on it. Also, why will Honda talk to the dealer, but not to this other shop which is licensed to repair Honda's?

I've learned my lesson which is to always take the bike to the dealer for repair, but if anyone has any clue as to how I can move forward without spending thousands of dollars, please help!

 

[TINK_imp]

The speedo uses the rear wheel sensor, your shop guy will need to troubleshoot the meter and the rear wheel sensor connections.

Q: When you turn on the key does the speedo needle sweep? If not start looking for bad connections at the meter.

 

[HikerToo_imp]

or if possible, and you go to another dealer, don't tell them someone worked on it.

 

[lccb1100a_imp]

The speedo uses the rear wheel sensor, your shop guy will need to troubleshoot the meter and the rear wheel sensor connections.

Q: When you turn on the key does the speedo needle sweep? If not start looking for bad connections at the meter.

Thanks tink. I have forwarded this to my mechanic. I'll post if this leads him in the right direction or not.

or if possible, and you go to another dealer, don't tell them someone worked on it.

Unforutnately it will be pretty obvious that someone worked on it. The bike was pretty much a wreck and while they were putting it back together I had them change some things, like a new exhaust and handlebars.

This dealer will work on it. I think they were just warning me that it may take a while for them to figure out the problem because they may have to reverse engineer what the other mechanic did. I think when he told me that he didn't realize that it wasn't just my buddy down the street working on it, but it was a reputable bike shop.

Hopefully tink's suggestion will work, or someone else will respond if it doesn't, or the dealer will be able to resolve the problem once I get it to them. The other issue is that my appointment with the dealer isn't for 2 weeks. I live in Northern Virginia and good riding weather around here is a precious commodity. Today would have been a perfect day to take her out. Bummer.

 

[HikerToo_imp]

What happen by BTW?

 

[lccb1100a_imp]

What happen by BTW?

Back in January we had an unusually warm day, and I took it out. Going around a turn I lost traction because I hit the throttle too hard. I tried to get it back up, but I couldn't and I wound up going down and slamming into the curb head first. Luckily the curb was at a 45 degree angle and not 90 degrees or it would have been much worse for the bike and for me. I was just bruised, but the whole front of the bike was smashed in. I waited about 2 months before I even called to get it repaired, and now it's been about 5 weeks and it's still not done. It's rideable, but no speedo, and it won't go over 6000 RPM, so that's no fun.
The mechanic said the needle does sweep when powered up. Meter is brand new and sensor is working fine. Signal is getting into the antilock brake box. Ugh!

The speedo uses the rear wheel sensor, your shop guy will need to troubleshoot the meter and the rear wheel sensor connections.

Q: When you turn on the key does the speedo needle sweep? If not start looking for bad connections at the meter.

The mechanic said the needle does sweep when powered up. Meter is brand new and sensor is working fine. Signal is getting into the antilock brake box. Ugh!

 

[dBuster_imp]

could it be a "limp mode" or something like that with the ECU???

 

[Deanohh_imp]

Both the meter and ecu get a signal from one wire coming out of the abs unit. I think its pink and blue. If no signal or bad signal you'll go into limp mode. Check for continuity this wire.

 

[lccb1100a_imp]

could it be a "limp mode" or something like that with the ECU???

It goes into limp mode because the speedo isn't turning. That's not the problem. The problem is why the speedo isn't turning.

Both the meter and ecu get a signal from one wire coming out of the abs unit. I think its pink and blue. If no signal or bad signal you'll go into limp mode. Check for continuity this wire.

The mechanic is saying this signal is good. He's baffled.

 

[enzo_imp]

If you can get your hand on a workshop manual, it has all the wiring colours and tests you can do to get to the problem.

 

[Deanohh_imp]

could it be a "limp mode" or something like that with the ECU???

It goes into limp mode because the speedo isn't turning. That's not the problem. The problem is why the speedo isn't turning.

Both the meter and ecu get a signal from one wire coming out of the abs unit. I think its pink and blue. If no signal or bad signal you'll go into limp mode. Check for continuity this wire.

The mechanic is saying this signal is good. He's baffled.

It goes into limp mode because the speedo isn't turning. That's not the problem. The problem is why the speedo isn't turning.

Both the meter and ecu get a signal from one wire coming out of the abs unit. I think its pink and blue. If no signal or bad signal you'll go into limp mode. Check for continuity this wire.

The mechanic is saying this signal is good. He's baffled.
if its a good signal in the wire that comes out of the brake box and to the Speedo and ecu, then it would have to work..... Any error codes?

 

[shdwghst457_imp]

Not super knowledgeable in this field, but trying to think in terms analogous to what I know.

Certainly the ECU is not "reading" the speedo itself. Am I correct in thinking this is a digital speedo, and not cable driven?

Could you perhaps use a known good CB1100 and probe it's wiring looking for where the two are different?

 

[Ridem32_imp]

Check the tip over sensor. When the bike is laid over the tip sensor kicks in. I saw in my 2014 shop manual it has 2 I think. But there under the seat one could be bad or needs to be reset. Most of the time cutting key on and back off resets it.
Michael

 

[lccb1100a_imp]

Both the meter and ecu get a signal from one wire coming out of the abs unit. I think its pink and blue. If no signal or bad signal you'll go into limp mode. Check for continuity this wire.

The speedo is analog. Whether it's being driven by a digital signal is another question. He did say after I mentioned the pink blue wire that he had not traced the wire all the way back because it's buried and he'd have to take the whole center of the bike apart. He said that the signal was getting to the abs box, and the meter was fine, but from what you are saying even if this signal is fine the signal to the ECU may not be. But he said it's not throwing any error codes saying the abs is bad. Wouldn't it be saying this if the cable was bad?

Check the tip over sensor. When the bike is laid over the tip sensor kicks in. I saw in my 2014 shop manual it has 2 I think. But there under the seat one could be bad or needs to be reset. Most of the time cutting key on and back off resets it.
Michael

I will have him do that.
Whoever gets this right wins my "Hero of the day" award. I'm not quite sure what that is yet, but I'll think of something.

 

[flynrider]

I think Deanohh's on the right track. The symptom you're getting has been replicated by people disconnecting the speed sensor wire at the back of the bike. The Speedo gets no signal and the ECU doesn't detect speed input and goes into limp mode.

I think your mech's basic issue is going to be finding where that signal is going bad (which is a little more complicated on ABS bikes). At this point, you can be fairly confident that neither the speedo, nor the ECU is seeing a valid speed signal from the rear sensor. Time to pull the shop manual and start tracing the path of the signal.

 

[Deanohh_imp]

He did say after I mentioned the pink blue wire that he had not traced the wire all the way back because it's buried and he'd have to take the whole center of the bike apart.

This guy is wasting your time and money. Get it to somebody that knows what they are doing if you want it fixed.

 

[Firstfour_imp]

What happen by BTW?

Back in January we had an unusually warm day, and I took it out. Going around a turn I lost traction because I hit the throttle too hard. I tried to get it back up, but I couldn't and I wound up going down and slamming into the curb head first. Luckily the curb was at a 45 degree angle and not 90 degrees or it would have been much worse for the bike and for me. I was just bruised, but the whole front of the bike was smashed in. I waited about 2 months before I even called to get it repaired, and now it's been about 5 weeks and it's still not done. It's rideable, but no speedo, and it won't go over 6000 RPM, so that's no fun.
The mechanic said the needle does sweep when powered up. Meter is brand new and sensor is working fine. Signal is getting into the antilock brake box. Ugh!

The speedo uses the rear wheel sensor, your shop guy will need to troubleshoot the meter and the rear wheel sensor connections.

Q: When you turn on the key does the speedo needle sweep? If not start looking for bad connections at the meter.

The mechanic said the needle does sweep when powered up. Meter is brand new and sensor is working fine. Signal is getting into the antilock brake box. Ugh!

Back in January we had an unusually warm day, and I took it out. Going around a turn I lost traction because I hit the throttle too hard. .

Another refutation of the "underpowered" nature of the CB1100.

 

[shdwghst457_imp]

Agreed. I've had two run-ins with the low, low power of this bike. I felt the back slip out a bit from under me once (but caught it) and another time I accidentally downshifted an extra gear (to second) when attempting to speed up to pass a car and I swear the bike lifted the wheel a bit.

 

[The Spaceman_imp]

Just wondering lccb1100a why you decided not to make an insurance claim on the wreck. If you don't care to answer, of course please ignore the question.

 

[avsbezzy_imp]

Both the meter and ecu get a signal from one wire coming out of the abs unit. I think its pink and blue. If no signal or bad signal you'll go into limp mode. Check for continuity this wire.

The speedo is analog. Whether it's being driven by a digital signal is another question. He did say after I mentioned the pink blue wire that he had not traced the wire all the way back because it's buried and he'd have to take the whole center of the bike apart. He said that the signal was getting to the abs box, and the meter was fine, but from what you are saying even if this signal is fine the signal to the ECU may not be. But he said it's not throwing any error codes saying the abs is bad. Wouldn't it be saying this if the cable was bad?

Check the tip over sensor. When the bike is laid over the tip sensor kicks in. I saw in my 2014 shop manual it has 2 I think. But there under the seat one could be bad or needs to be reset. Most of the time cutting key on and back off resets it.
Michael

I will have him do that.
Whoever gets this right wins my "Hero of the day" award. I'm not quite sure what that is yet, but I'll think of something.

The speedo is analog. Whether it's being driven by a digital signal is another question. He did say after I mentioned the pink blue wire that he had not traced the wire all the way back because it's buried and he'd have to take the whole center of the bike apart. He said that the signal was getting to the abs box, and the meter was fine, but from what you are saying even if this signal is fine the signal to the ECU may not be. But he said it's not throwing any error codes saying the abs is bad. Wouldn't it be saying this if the cable was bad?

Check the tip over sensor. When the bike is laid over the tip sensor kicks in. I saw in my 2014 shop manual it has 2 I think. But there under the seat one could be bad or needs to be reset. Most of the time cutting key on and back off resets it.
Michael

I will have him do that.
Whoever gets this right wins my "Hero of the day" award. I'm not quite sure what that is yet, but I'll think of something. I am with Ridem32 on that one.