2014 Yamaha FJR1300 ES Bad Dash LCD Burned Display

[Fred W]

I simply show you what I already said - here.

And I'm not looking for help, there's nothing anyone can do. I'm simply informing everyone so if it happens to you, you have more info.

I thought you were looking for help understanding how LCDs sometimes darken temporarily when left in direct sunlight.

I guess you must be an electronics engineer or something and already know everything there is to know about LCDs.

For those not quite so knowledgeable, here's a link that explains some attributes of Outdoor Readable LCD displays. The one of interest for this discussion is excerpted below

13. What is LCD Clearing Point before goes into Isotropic State?Clearing Point - The temperature at which the liquid crystal fluid changes from a nematic into an isotropic state. In practice, a positive image LCD will turn totally black at this temperature and will therefore be unreadable. Because the clearing point is different for every fluid type, ask for design assistance from your supplier if high temperature operation is critical in your application.

Also, for most cases, both TN, HTN and STN utilize the phase known as nematic for display purpose. Within this phase, the liquid crystal has a "rod shape" exists within the solution which has fast response and has excellent electro-optic properties. This phase, however, only exists within a limited temperature range. The higher end of this temperature range is known as clearing point, above which, the liquid crystal lost its birefrigerance properties and cannot bend the light path anymore. Thus the polarizer will then be the only factor which affect incoming and out coming light. When the LCD is cooled down to below its clearing point, the display should be working again. The temperature for the clearing point varies greatly from material to material and you should contact our engineers regarding what you have. Normally a safe margin should be used to avoid clearing point when designing the display.

Any of that sound familiar?

 

[Ignacio]

Pout much?
Watch my vid, I go through all the internet theories

Nothing to do with the bezel or windshield.

I don't think that's very helpful.

Your video seems 20 seconds of useful information crammed packed into into 5 and a half minutes of viewing torture. Repeating internet theories in a sarcastic voice, but not sharing facts to refute them doesn't really help much either in my opinion.

The bike position, ambient temperature, sun position, direct observations, etc. are helpful though.

I refuse to click on his external video links.

His link is to his website...which then embeds YouTube. Your choice on whether to wade through it directly or not

.

 

[bigjohnsd]

He posts some informative videos, both here and on the Facebook group as well as the other FJR forum.

Like several others I find them informative but they are sometimes a little long. 2# in a 5# sack?

Everyone has their warts and foibles. Some don't care for me either, it makes the world go around. His bid on the Laam Seat was excellent.

 

[Fred W]

I followed Ignacios link to the YouTube video and sat through all 5 minutes of it.

I believe that this just a case of the right hand, LCD "information" display screen getting too warm from sitting in the direct sunlight, which, as I already posted, is a known characteristic of all LCD displays to varying degrees. I do not think that replacing it will change the symptoms.

Perhaps someone else who has a 3rd gen and is likewise in a sunny, warm Floriduh-like location can attempt to reproduce the darkening display phenomenon by parking the bike for a couple of hours with the sun shining directly onto the dash in an 80+ degrees ambient temp. My guess is that you will see the exact same situation.

If you think about it, the space between the outer clear bezel and the LCD screen inside is a perfect little greenhouse, ripe for the collection of solar heat. It would not be too much to imagine that space getting hot enough to cause the LCD to exceed the clearing point threshold. If you happened to have an IR thermometer gun you might be able to determine the temp of the screen when this happens.

I have an IR thermometer gun, and would do it in the name of science, but our ambient temps are currently running in the low 60's, going lower tonight I hear, only low to mid 50's tomorrow.

 

[wheatonFJR]

If that's the case, then it is a poor design, as they should know the environment the FJR operates in and design accordingly for the ranges of normal operating conditions.

 

[Fred W]

I see your point. But remember that this doesn't happen during operation, only when parked in the hot sun. And then again, maybe we shouldn't be parking our bikes out in direct sunlight in the tropical regions without a bike cover?

It certainly is not a critical, recall worthy crisis anyway, since the screen returns to normal operation in only a few minutes once the heat is alleviated.

Maybe we will find that putting a cheap, clear UV filtering membrane (like a cell phone protector?) over the outside bezel eliminates the problem entirely for those tropical operators who insist on parking the bike in the sun at noon time, Which incidentally was already suggested by that internet rumor monger, ionbeam. But, what does he know about it? He's just an electronic design engineer.

 

[flyfisher]

I left my FJR in the sun all day in Montana for 5 weeks, enough to cook the right side saddle bag emblem off, and it didn't affect the LCD screen at all. Maybe his is defective. Temps were 100+ at times. Sounds like warranty will replace. Good luck......ff

 

[Fred W]

Remember though, it isn't a cumulative effect, and (unlike your saddle bag emblem) it isn't permanent. If it was 120 degrees for 5 weeks it wouldn't matter as long as it had cooled off later on. Plus I'd be willing to wager the direct sunlight situation may be key.

But you got me thinking... maybe we should instigate a recall on the faulty non heat resistant saddle bag emblems?

edit - Then again, maybe losing those fake chromium plated plastic monstrosities is a "feature"?

I'd have preferred some nice black rubber rub strips like on the prior gens. That way you leave a nice stripe down the side of the cars that get too close (right Dave?)

edit 2 - ionbeam and I were typing the same sentiment about the side strips at the same time. Those are not Yamaha's finest styling decision, IMO.

 

[ionbeam]

I left my FJR in the sun all day in Montana for 5 weeks, enough to cook the right side saddle bag emblem off...Temps were 100+ at times...

I dunno fly, by my numbers you are 44.0° and the OP with his LCD issue is only 28.1° so it sure seems like his sunshine is a whole lot stronger than your sunshine. Err, that would be latitude degrees.

...But you got me thinking... maybe we should instigate a recall on the faulty non heat resistant saddle bag emblems?

I dunno, some people would consider the self removing emblems a 'feature' and pay extra for it. It saves a whole lot of work

 

[Kaelaria]

I'm from the Detroit area. The sun intensity up north is nothing at all like it is down here. Yes of course the heat from the sun hitting it like it did caused the problem, that was obviously the point. But the other point is, it's not supposed to happen. If it wasn't another 2-3 week downtime I would test the new one as soon as I get it back but I just don't feel like risking it, at least not until the end of the warranty period.

 

[Fred W]

I'm from the Detroit area.

That explains some. You're in Bust'aNut's home land.

Just kidding!!

The sun intensity up north is nothing at all like it is down here. Yes of course the heat from the sun hitting it like it did caused the problem, that was obviously the point. But the other point is, it's not supposed to happen. If it wasn't another 2-3 week downtime I would test the new one as soon as I get it back but I just don't feel like risking it, at least not until the end of the warranty period.

Well, see... that's where all of these good forum folks can help you, if you'll just let them (us). There are plenty of other 3rd gen owners in Florida, and other deep southern states. I'm sure that someone can reproduce your experiment and then we will know for sure if it is a design issue (as I suspect) or a singular fault. And you'll know whether to pursue a gauge replacement, or not.

Or alternatively, then we can all start working on a field solution for a problem that you may have been so unlucky as to have been the first one to notice.

This kind of thing has happened repeatedly over the years. On relatively small-unit-production widgets, like motorcycles, there are bound to be a few little design issues that slip through the cracks. That's the whole beauty part of discussing these bikes here on this forum full of nothing but FJR owners and lovers.

There are many folks here with more experience than either of us have in the little intricacies that we want to know and learn about can contribute. Not like when you just broadcast a video and say: "This is how it is, Nobody can help."

When we assume... well, you know the old saying...

 

[Kaelaria]

No one can help...with my case. If someone wants to try it out, please be my guest...just know what you are risking as far as downtime if you then want it replaced.

 

[flyfisher]

I dunno fly, by my numbers you are 44.0° and the OP with his LCD issue is only 28.1° so it sure seems like his sunshine is a whole lot stronger than your sunshine. Err, that would be latitude degrees.....Ah yes, but doesn altitude and less attenuation from the thin air negate this? Inquiring mind, and all that.

ff

 

[Fred W]

No one can help...with my case.

Fantastic.

 

[flyfisher]

And Fred, to address the much more serious and widespread issue of the defective chrome strip (

) I like to think of it as Mamma Yamma's tribute to the big iron of the 70's. She tried. and failed.. My dealer happily replaced it to the tune of $58 under the warranty. You'd think they'd just get another sticker. ff

 

[ionbeam]

...Ah yes, but doesn altitude and less attenuation from the thin air negate this? Inquiring mind, and all that.

ff

Ahh, now you are fishing....

With only 1,000 feet difference it won't make up for the angle of the sun.

Since the OP has declared his situation helpless I guess it's time to stick a fork in it, it's done. For posterior posterity we have the symptoms, the video, the discussion, a meltdown and the white flag. It's a wrap

 

[flyfisher]

Ahh, now you are fishing....

With only 1,000 feet difference it won't make up for the angle of the sun I had no idea Florudah was that far above sea level....In Montana where I was was it was 7200 feet above sea level. That's what I was getting at. And yeah, stick a fork in it, it's done. ff

 

[mcatrophy]

Altitude - attitude - too much of either seems to raise temperatures.

I still vote for the sun glancing off the curved windscreen landing on the display. In the video, the sun starts slightly behind the bike, almost in line with the screen (hence the line shadow on the ground). Later, unseen in the video, the sun will get a bit lower, if so, it would reflect a bit further back - right on the affected area.

Meanwhile, it's 11C (52F) here. Not much chance of overheating anything.

 

[Kaelaria]

Nope. It travels right to left in the video - my driveway. The first time it did it was at the AIMExpo in the parking lot facing the same direction. The 2nd time at my friend's office, same direction.

 

[mcatrophy]

Nope. It travels right to left in the video - my driveway. The first time it did it was at the AIMExpo in the parking lot facing the same direction. The 2nd time at my friend's office, same direction.

Sounds like as it got lower and to the left it would reflect further back and to the right. Trouble is, we've seen quite a number of owners who've had their displays with bubbles in their dials caused by such focused sunshine.
From what you've said, I don't think you observed what happened during the time you left the bike and came back 3 hours later. Perhaps you should set up a camera to take a time-lapse shot every few minutes during that period not shown in your video. You could then prove you were right, that there was no focusing occurring. Because, if there was, you're going to get the same effect on your new display.

Incidently, will your odometer mileage be lost? It's normally held in the meter unit, not in the engine computer.