1976Whinning Speedometer Noise

[dlarsen1972]

I needed to replace a speedo cable after it broke and once I replaced it it started avery high pitch whinning noise. I removed it and greased it and oiled with different types and maybe it would stop for a day or two and start up again. I am open for suggestions, is it a coincindece that the speedo head went bad right after I replace the the cable? Is there a way to lube the speedo? Thanks for the help.

[D2D]

Try a little shot of WD-40 or some graphite in the speedo connector's hole to see what results you get. It could be a piece of the plastic gear inside has broken off and that is what you hear. Does the speedometer work as it should or does your needle jump around?

[artgrantz]

That's good advice from D2D. When my speedo was making noise I sprayed WD40 into the cable connection and the noise stopped.
A word of caution, never turn the speedo or the tach upside down. They are oil damped and the oil will rum out onto the instrument face. If you ever remove them keep them upright.

[Fred Camper]

Many find out they need 200 miles or more to solve this problem.

[dlarsen1972]

The speedo works fine, it did jump a bit befre the cable broke. I will try to lube the speedo connector and see what happens. I may have to wait though to try it out, it kind of cold and snowy out right now in N. AZ. Thanks for all the help and advice! Dale

[portugeezer]

My 1976 did the exact same thing. I had to take the speedo off and kept spraying wd40 in the hole the cables goes in to until it washed out a lot of black stuff. It works perfectly now!

[dlarsen1972]

The speedometer works great, only it whines like heck as I go - really doesn't change with speed either. I may try the wd 40 with a little graphite tomorrow if it doesn't rain, Thanks for the info!!!

[portugeezer]

Mine started whining about an hr outside of Chicago on my way to Colorado. After about 200 miles the needle was just jumping all over so all I had was the GPS speedo. When I got to colorado I took it off. There are two phillips head screws underneath that takes it off then you take the cable off and unplug the lights. You can turn it upside down to spray into that hole but don't keep it inverted or you will get WD40 on the inside of the glass. Like i said copious amount of black goo washed out of there. i used almost a whole can. Before it started whining the needle kind of shook. Afterwars it works like new!

[dlarsen1972]

Thanks portugeezer, it is nice out today, I'll try it and let you know how it goes. The noise is annoying and seems like everyone will look to see what the noise is!!!

[dlarsen1972]

I finally got around to spraying it with some wd40 and seems to have done the trick! No more noise, another happy camper moment - thanks for all the help!!!!!
Hope it warms up a bit,

[Sask_Aspencade]

Same issue with my 1982 GL1100A after 118,000 km (73,000 miles). From what I've read, this is about the mileage when the speedo starts to show its age. The speedo started bouncing a bit and making a little grinding noise for a couple of minutes starting off then kind of stabilizing. After a few more rides it got worse. You could feel the vibration in the speedometer with your hand while driving. I lubed the cable with graphite and it didn't help. I took off the speedometer and turned it slightly upside down, with the connecter end at the lowest point. I turned the mechanism with a small screwdriver and it certainly felt 'grindy' and not smooth. I sprayed a bit of Ronson multi-lube into the inlet, just a bit, and turned it again with a screwdriver and it was instantly smooth. Note: CCW is the correct rotation. I did one more minor spray and turned the mechanism a bit more to make sure the solution got in to all the bits. I left it alone for about an hour with a piece of paper towel under the inlet to catch a bit of wet crud coming out and then put it all back together. Test drove and it ran perfectly. I've driven 300 km (180 miles) and no issues. No signs of gunk on the speedo face. All good. Thanks everyone for the good articles here. See attached pictures of the procedure.

[Fred Camper]

Mine just started to dance a little, so soon I will do the same.

[quinting]

Mine started whining about a week ago, then on Tuesday, my needle started bouncing from 0 - 200KPH while on the highway (at about 110KPH (60MPH). Then it finally bounced so much my needle fell off....going to take a look at it tonight, and see if I can re-attach the needle, and then see about some WD-40....hopefully I can fix it....can't find anything nice enough on eBay to put on my bike Plus most I find are in MPH, and I really want to keep it in KPH....easier on my Canadian brain

[Sask_Aspencade]

I wouldn't use WD-40. You want the a graphite spray like the one I used. I found it at Canadian tire. It has the right kind of lube properties over what WD-40 offers.

[quinting]

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind....won't get to it until next week anyways...too busy, and I'm running out of summer

[Arthurh]

Try disconnecting cable at clock and putting small rubber "o" ring on top of cable, lift up nut carefully with "o" ring inside and tighten gently. Stopped screeching on mine when I replaced speedometer.