How to fix neutral light , tachometer gauge not working.

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Glenfruin

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Maybe this can help someone else I had a problem with no neutral light and Tacho not working I spent hours checking and cleaning connections in the wiring loom but just couldn’t find the fault I removed the whole console unit cleaning all the little screws and connections but still nothing so tried using a multimeter to check continuity of the wires from the connection plugs to the screws in the console and eventually discovered no continuity on the brown wire ! I gave it a little pull and the brown wire came out see pic a broken wire in the small loom from the little console that holds the temp tacho and neutral light engine lights etc at the faux tank, the little brown wire that supplies power to them was broken half way down inside the loom, I had to cut the black loom open and soldered a new bit of wire in and everything is working properly now I’ve attached a photo of the culprit below C2A3D63A-DB94-4A80-A822-62FD114AE452.jpegC2A3D63A-DB94-4A80-A822-62FD114AE452.jpeg
 
Nice find. The end of the wire looks to be a different colour, like would happen if it over heated. Quite possibly some copper strands broke resulting in the current passing through fewer strands to cause localised heating.

We can speculate all evening but it's fixed.

Happy thanksgiving. ;)
 
Nice find. The end of the wire looks to be a different colour, like would happen if it over heated. Quite possibly some copper strands broke resulting in the current passing through fewer strands to cause localised heating.

We can speculate all evening but it's fixed.

Happy thanksgiving. ;)
Yeah the wire was very thin to begin with a couple of inches above the break there was two or three other brown wires that all join together factory crimped so This thin wire is carrying the current for them too! The wire is tiny not the normal size wires on the rest of the bike.your probably right it’s been damaged somehow but no sign of it on outer sheath. Happy thanksgiving 👌
 
Now that you mention it, the plastic covering on wires can change colour when stretched and strands breaking - that's the more likely reason.
 
Maybe this can help someone else I had a problem with no neutral light and Tacho not working I spent hours checking and cleaning connections in the wiring loom but just couldn’t find the fault I removed the whole console unit cleaning all the little screws and connections but still nothing so tried using a multimeter to check continuity of the wires from the connection plugs to the screws in the console and eventually discovered no continuity on the brown wire ! I gave it a little pull and the brown wire came out see pic a broken wire in the small loom from the little console that holds the temp tacho and neutral light engine lights etc at the faux tank, the little brown wire that supplies power to them was broken half way down inside the loom, I had to cut the black loom open and soldered a new bit of wire in and everything is working properly now I’ve attached a photo of the culprit below View attachment 86775View attachment 86775
 
Wow. I have the exact same issue and can't wait to dig in and see if this is whats wrong. Did you have issue with your rear brake light not working too?
No brake light is fine just broken wire in the console loom
 
Maybe this can help someone else I had a problem with no neutral light and Tacho not working I spent hours checking and cleaning connections in the wiring loom but just couldn’t find the fault I removed the whole console unit cleaning all the little screws and connections but still nothing so tried using a multimeter to check continuity of the wires from the connection plugs to the screws in the console and eventually discovered no continuity on the brown wire ! I gave it a little pull and the brown wire came out see pic a broken wire in the small loom from the little console that holds the temp tacho and neutral light engine lights etc at the faux tank, the little brown wire that supplies power to them was broken half way down inside the loom, I had to cut the black loom open and soldered a new bit of wire in and everything is working properly now I’ve attached a photo of the culprit below View attachment 86775View attachment 86775
Hey there! I have a similar problem as of yesterday. My neutral light, turn lights(both on the console and turn lights in general), rev gauge, temp gauge and braking lights stopped working. Only my high beam and Oil/Fuel lights work. Any idea as to why? Bike runs as good as she has run since I bought her less than a month ago.
 
Can we assume you have a wiring diagram?
Can we assume that your horn doesn't work as well?
Can we assume that you have checked the signal fuse?
If that is OK then you are looking for a break in the brown (power) lead that supplies the components that are not working.
 
Can we assume you have a wiring diagram?
Can we assume that your horn doesn't work as well?
Can we assume that you have checked the signal fuse?
If that is OK then you are looking for a break in the brown (power) lead that supplies the components that are not working.
Oh yes, I forgot to add that the horn stopped working also. Didn't add it since it happened like 4 days before this happened. I checked the fuses that are beside the coolant reserve but I don't see anything out of the ordinary.

What do you mean with the wiring diagram?
 
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1985-'89 USA

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1990-2003 USA


What year is your bike? What other than being stock has been done to it? Consider adding that info in your signature line or below your screen name. It saves us all time trying to assist you.

More help for you, and for any 'newbies' reading the thread.

https://dn790009.ca.archive.org/0/i...ice-manual/yamahavmaxvmx12-service-manual.pdf
https://www.vmaxforum.net/threads/new-vmax-owner-faqs-new-members-please-read.21240/This is courtesy of our long-time member RaWarrior who isn't a VMax owner now, but whose time spent writing it is the gift which keeps on giving. If you don't know these VMax facts, start familiarizing yourself with the bike's vital signs.
 
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View attachment 92271
1985-'89 USA

View attachment 92272
1990-2003 USA


What year is your bike? What other than being stock has been done to it? Consider adding that info in your signature line or below your screen name. It saves us all time trying to assist you.

More help for you, and for any 'newbies' reading the thread.

https://dn790009.ca.archive.org/0/i...ice-manual/yamahavmaxvmx12-service-manual.pdf
https://www.vmaxforum.net/threads/new-vmax-owner-faqs-new-members-please-read.21240/This is courtesy of our long-time member RaWarrior who isn't a VMax owner now, but whose time spent writing it is the gift which keeps on giving. If you don't know these VMax facts, start familiarizing yourself with the bike's vital signs.
Yes sorry. She's a 99' and I'm her 4th owner. The bike passed from an Uncle to a Father then to a Son. Now she's mine. Other than adding a Voltage reader and attempting to change the signal lights to LED she didn't came with anything else done to the electronics.
 

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Oh yes, I forgot to add that the horn stopped working also. Didn't add it since it happened like 4 days before this happened. I checked the fuses that are beside the coolant reserve but I don't see anything out of the ordinary.

What do you mean with the wiring diagram?
Without a wiring diagram you may find the fault but it will take a lot more time and involve a lot of unnecessary effort and guesswork.

By reading the diagram you can identify the components that have stopped working and therefore what is common the common factor that can affect them.
In this case it's the brown (+12 v) wire.
My question about the horn wasn't a stab in the dark but based on what the diagram suggests i.e. they all have a common feed.

If you don't have one go and get a multi-meter; it doesn't have to be an expensive one and starting at the battery side of the fuse check that you have +12 v.
Now check the other side of the fuse. If you don't have 12 v then its the fuse or the fuse holder (see Rule 3 below). If that is OK then there is a break in the wire up stream of the fuse.
From the diagram that Mr Medic has supplied you can see that the brown wire splits in several places to feed the non-working components. If the break was after the first split then the brake lights would still work. As they don't then any break is before that point.

You have now narrowed down the part of the loom that you need to check and should find the problem relatively quickly.

First rule of diagnosis: Don't guess
Second rule: Establish the facts
Third rule: Check the basics e.g. is the fuse still good/ do I have fuel/ have I de-activated the immobiliser (don't ask :oops:)?
Fourth rule: Work through the problem in a logical manner.
Fifth rule: If you don't know ask.
 
So, silly me😅. Since the signal fuse is a 10a I just checked the 10a and saw they were ok. Turns out the previous owner had the fuse setup as 15a, 15a, 10a and 10a. The second 15a was blown but I never checked and when I did I didn't see clearly last night. Bought fuses and I put a 10a in the socket and it worked well(apart from the horn, that thing's dead) but as soon as I turned the bike on everything was dead. Tried a 15a, which is the one it had originally and it survived.

Am I dealing with an overcharge on board or a short circuit somewhere?

I have the fuses layout as 10a, 15a, 15a and 10a. Following the diagram as much as I can.
 
The fuses should be 10A, 10A 15A (headlight) & 10A. It's a bad idea to put in a bigger fuse as they are there to protect the wiring. The higher rated fuse may not blow and the next thing you find out is that you have to deal with a melted loom.

Most likely a short circuit - and the clue is that the horn causes the problem.
If the horn works with 12 v across the terminals then the problem lies somewhere between where the loom splits to the temp indicator, tacho and neutral light. Can't be more specific that that.
 
The fuses should be 10A, 10A 15A (headlight) & 10A. It's a bad idea to put in a bigger fuse as they are there to protect the wiring. The higher rated fuse may not blow and the next thing you find out is that you have to deal with a melted loom.

Most likely a short circuit - and the clue is that the horn causes the problem.
If the horn works with 12 v across the terminals then the problem lies somewhere between where the loom splits to the temp indicator, tacho and neutral light. Can't be more specific that that.
Well, I had to ride a bit and the fuse(15a) blew up withing a minute. While on the highway she started losing power until it died. Had to cycle a few times and it died after riding a bit at 2nd gear and full throttling she never passed 35 miles and then she died. After a couple of minutes she rode like nothing.

Voltage never went below 11V so I don't think it's that. What I did change was the first fuse that uses a 10a but it had a 15a so I corrected it. Since that is the ignition fuse does it have anything to do with it?

Also for some reason the clutch started grabbing way to soon and now hitting gears is hard. Fluid seems ok.

Also, I think that I am damaging the original purpose of this thread 😅. I'm new here so let me know if there is another place more suited for this topic of mine😅
 
About the clutch, you have several things to check:

Bleed the clutch (air in the line)

Failed slave cyl.

Failed master cyl.

Use the search function for info. to fix the issues.

A reverse bleed is what I consider to be the easiest way to bleed the system. Hint: search that term.

You can order a slave cyl rebuild kit (#29 below) from Yamaha as you can order a clutch master cyl rebuild kit (#2 on the master cyl & mirror picture).

https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/yam/50045c10f8700209bc7942f8/clutch
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Push Lever Seal Kit

26H-W0098-00-00

Retail Price: $47.99

Your Price: $36.18
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/p/yamaha/26h-w0098-00-00/-push-lever-seal-kit
Cylinder Kit, Master (Clutch)

2KW-W0099-00-00

Retail Price: $50.99

Your Price: $42.22

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Be aware that if the bore of either the clutch master cyl or the clutch slave cyl is badly pitted, the replacement of the rebuild kit pieces probably will fail to solve the leakage. In that case, you need the complete assembly (#1 for the clutch master cyl; #27 for the clutch slave cyl)

A thread on replacing the entire slave cyl and doing a reverse bleed procedure:

https://www.vmaxforum.net/threads/clutch-slave-cylinder-replacement.45011/
 
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I'm happy to share the little knowledge I have and people are free to ignore it but if that is the case I think I may be wasting my time.

You have a bike that keeps blowing a fuse yet you continue to ride it which is likely to cause more damage.
You get advice on checks you can make but don't seem to take any notice.
If you are seeing 11v then there is something seriously wrong.

STOP RIDING IT AND FIX THE PROBLEM!

Frustrated of Cumbria. 😖
 
I'm happy to share the little knowledge I have and people are free to ignore it but if that is the case I think I may be wasting my time.

You have a bike that keeps blowing a fuse yet you continue to ride it which is likely to cause more damage.
You get advice on checks you can make but don't seem to take any notice.
If you are seeing 11v then there is something seriously wrong.

STOP RIDING IT AND FIX THE PROBLEM!

Frustrated of Cumbria. 😖
Sorry you feel that way Max, I am taking all of this help to heart. My car got hit pretty bad and it was getting fixed so the bike was my only option to go to work. Those things happened on my way to work so there's that.

I'm currently bleeding the clutch and there is some air coming out. Most likely the problem.

This is my first bike so all of this is my first time when it comes to fixing and maintaining a bike that was neglected for 2 years.
 
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