M620 malfunctioning speedo and odometer..help!

[AK ducati]

Well this is just frustrating. So I finally got around to putting the gauge back on. Tested it yesterday, and on turning the key, the gauge did the diagnostic sweep and showed the odometer reading (which it hadn't been). However, when I tried to start it, the battery died. Pulled the battery, charged it up and put it back in today, and the gauge now is not doing the sweep anymore, nor is it showing the odometer reading! Before I spend between $600-900 for a used/new gauge set-up, is there any way of making sure it's the gauge that's messed up and not the wiring??

[thorn14]

Is the gauge getting power, and does the bike start?

I'd have to dig up the wiring diagram again and trace through it to see what could cause that harness wise.

Double check the ecu ground that comes from the battery (small cable that bolts into the side with an M6ish bolt). Only saying that because of it changing behavior on a charged battery, don't expect it to be the case that it's loose.

[AK ducati]

Yeah, the gauge is getting power, and the bike starts and runs fine. I should've added earlier that the battery only died because the bike was in storage for the winter and hadn't been started for a few months. Today, with the charged battery, the bike started up multiple times no problem. All the lights/turn signals worked fine too. Even the idiot light for low fuel came on as it should've, along with "Low Fuel" warning on the Tach digital read out. Didn't seem like any other electrical issue besides the odometer only reading "----", and the needles not doing a sweep, which was the original issue to begin with. I didn't ride the bike, but I'll bet that the speedometer needle isn't going to be working either. Thanks for the tip, I'll check the ECU ground from the battery tomorrow, and make sure it's not loose. I'd just like to make sure if I can that it's not a wiring issue before I go down the expensive replacement console route.

[AK ducati]

Well I just checked the ECU ground by the battery. It's bolted on tight and seems in good shape. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the issue.

[thorn14]

Drats.

I'm somewhat at a loss. I've had needles not sweep with constant on/off of the key in rapid succession, but not consistently.

Annoying that it all worked great at least once. So unless it's a shoddy connection somewhere in the wiring harness, or dirty pins on the ecu and it's connectors, it's probably the gauges.

I had one cluster that was permanently flashing the left blinker no matter how many times I cleaned and disassembled it. Swapping clusters (and flashing the ecu so I could) fixed it. I'm not sure how else to test that in your case. The odometer reading is stored within the cluster itself, so even if it isn't getting a reading from any sensor, it "should" have a number there.

Needles sweeping the associated motors could be chalked up to a mechanical issue maybe.

[Howie]

Might be worth it to send the gauges off to SOS since you have no way to confirm the gauges are good and you checked all connections and grounds. 

[AK ducati]

Yeah, I guess it's starting to look like it is a faulty cluster. Oh well, I did want to make sure before going down the expensive cluster replacement route. Thanks very much for all the helpful suggestions!

[AK ducati]

Update: Been riding the bike so far, and while the needles aren't doing their sweep, and the odometer, trip, and engine temp functions are still not working, the speedometer needle has been working consistently (knock on wood....), which is good enough for now!

[koko64]

Well thats servicable until a long term solution is found. Surely there are automotive instrument repairers around? Its probably a lost art with parts replacement over repair nowdays. There's an old guy 25 mins from me that can fix everything from modern stuff to old Smiths clocks. I hope he's teaching someone.

[Howie]

Well thats servicable until a long term solution is found. Surely there are automotive instrument repairers around? Its probably a lost art with parts replacement over repair nowdays. There's an old guy 25 mins from me that can fix everything from modern stuff to old Smiths clocks. I hope he's teaching someone.

http://sosdiagnostics.com/Ducati.html

[koko64]

Definately worth a call