Speedometer keeps going out

lately the speedometer keeps going out and will start working has a wire short somewhere and 2 times in the last 6 mons the engine has cut out but only for 1-2 seconds leads me to think theres a bad connection in the ignition circuit somewhere, not sure if the 2 are related as they dont happen at same time.


so my Question is where is the speed sensor located? and any thoughts on why the motor had 2 flutters

Speedometer sensor is located at the rear wheel and is mounted on the final drive housing. Check for a frayed wire along the top of the belt case.

Check the ignition coil, high tension wires, and spark plug caps.

ty i think you are talking about the very rear of the gear housing in the FD its bolted on i remember seeing it when i replaced the bearing .. and that wire i found it shorted out when i did all that work and repaired the fray will look at it again i did not put it back where it was inside the belt housing i laid it across the top and used zip ties. as for the flutter will do as you suggested it did it again a bit ago under acceleration so i paid close attention to its action it did not stop till i decelerated and hit the gas again ... so your suggestion that it could be plugs or ignition wires sounds well founded will let you all know.

Hi Cosmic_Jumper,

Thanks for the tip about the frayed wire. Thanks to you I just finished replacing two of the three wires which had frayed all the way through, and now I have my speedometer back! The wiring had completely come out of the channel along the outside of the belt cover and wandered where it shouldn't (I think it was brushing the tire). After replacing sections of two of the wires I carefully ran the wiring back in the channel, but I couldn't find any way to secure it there. Apparently the outer cover is supposed to hold it in place by pushing up against it but, obviously, it can't be trusted because the wiring fell out once already. Any suggestions on ways to make it more secure? Thanks!

Gorilla tape. Good stuff just clean all oils off first if any.

I ran into this same issue. There is a plastic "H" molding that holds the wire in a cast recess that is then covered by the belt housing. Easy enough to miss it and let the wire hang free (DAMHIKT). Here is mine just after I spliced it back together:

Thanks EvilTwin. That's exactly how I left it when I was done, but not how I found it when I first removed the outer cover. It was completely loose from the channel and hanging in the breeze near the tire. I haven't had that cover off before, so it must have been left that way when it was last serviced at the shop a few months ago. A bit disappointing to say the least.

What year is your SWing? It is AMAZINGLY clean! Certainly not what my old 2002 looked like.

Thanks for the tip Mech 1 twa!