Replaced speedo cable and.......

still nothing! A few months ago, I was riding when my speedo on my 82 xj maxim started to bounce around and then NOTHING. I assumed the cable was shot. So I just got around to replacing it and it still does not work. Could it be the (excuse me for not knowing the name) unit that the cable connects to on the axle? Everything else works in the cluster so I wouldnt think it is something in there.....

 

Get the front wheel off the ground, disconnect the cable at the speedo, spin the wheel & see if the inner cable turns.

 

Inner cable does not turn when wheel is off ground. Im going to assume it is something on wheel. Does that part go out often?? Is something not engaging??

 

When I got my bike the speedo didn't work so I got another cable, but when I put the new cable on it still didn't work. Turns out that part of the old cable was stuck in the speed drive on the front wheel, had to remove front wheel and speedo drive to get the broken piece out.Removing the front wheel isn't hard, just remember to torque the bolt to correct spec when putting back on.

 

Quite often, the act of removing the cable from the instrument can cause the inner cable to get pulled up enough to disengage itself from the speedo drive.

Before you tear anything else too far apart, try spinning the upper end of the cable with your fingers while pushing it back down into the outer cable and slowly spinning the wheel. The inner cable may suddenly start turning for you.

If not, disconnect the cable at the wheel end, get a flashlight and have a look at what's going on with the speedo drive at the front wheel.

 

Turning the cable with my hand, the gear unit moves, so the cable is working there. When I reassemble the wheel and leave cable off of the speedo housing and turn the wheel, the cable does not turn. Could the meter clutch be bad/broken/short and not engaging? Thats what it sounds like to me! Thanks!!

 

Remove the front wheel, extract the speedo gearbox and have a look.

Common problem is that somebody put it back together without paying attention to the little tabs that engage the wheel and mashed them flat (or enough that they're not engaging.)

What happens if you peek in where the cable attaches at the wheel and then turn the wheel? You should be able to see the inner piece (where the cable plugs in) rotating.

 

i've had this problem a couple of times. usually the "dog"ears for the speedo drive have been bent back so they are no longer driving the drive gear. you have to remove the seal and retaining ring on the rim. the drive has 4 ears, 2 that recess into the rim, and 2 that should be sticking out enough to slide into the corresponding slots in the drive unit itself. i just went through this last week when i changed my front tire. i flattened out the tabs and the speedo wouldn't work. you can still buy these from the dealer, as they have been used forever on our bikes. i stole one off of a 79xs1100 parts bike i have. you should replace the wheel bearing seal at the same time to prevent problems down the road.

 

Yamaha pn 341-25149-00-00 CLUTCH, METER I'm showing still available from Yamaha for CHEAP. Still used to this day (on the 2009 V-Star, among others) so local dealer should have them if yours is mashed dead. Betcha Len has them too.

 

SOLVED!! I have a parts bike laying around and I took a look at the the meter clutch on that wheel....turns out, on my bike, the tabs were "wore" down. I simply replaced the clutch and now it works. Guess I bought a new cable for nothing! Oh well, gotta support Chacal, right??