2014 Yamaha FJR1300 ES Bad Dash LCD Burned Display

[Kaelaria]

I tracked the sun by moving the bike every 30 min to make sure it was straight on for maximum effect, I also showed that and mentioned it. And yes the mileage starts over at zero unfortunately. I was hoping it could be reprogrammed but no.

Again, the point is, no matter what the display is shaped like, it should withstand sitting outside in the sun.

 

[ionbeam]

Again, the point is, no matter what the display is shaped like, it should withstand sitting outside in the sun.

Where did you see a post that doesn't agree with this?

 

[Kaelaria]

All the people suggest not to park it in the sun, to use a cover, a film, etc. You should be able to park it any way you like and not have to do a darn thing.

 

[mcatrophy]

"I also showed that and mentioned it." Sorry, lost that in the somewhat excessive commentary.

 

[Just Krusen]

FWIW I live further south than Kaelaria and have survived 2 Florida summers without a problem. My bike has sat out many times for several hours at all times of day without the dash darkening. This does not mean it won't happen tomorrow. I have over 25,000 miles on my 2013 so it is out a lot. I never cover it during stops.

My 2011 Concours was out a lot also in the 18,000 miles that I owned it. But one day while at Bike October Fest in Daytona I came back to a black darkened screen after it sat out for about 2 hours. It only did it that one time. It cleared up after about 10 minutes of riding and never happened again.

 

[Rider]

And yes the mileage starts over at zero unfortunately.

So it's not just the LCD display.

Forget I ever suggested a UV scratch resistant film. I guess that sort of fix could be akin to suggesting fix-a-flat to fix a leaking tire rim. There is probably already (as already mentioned) a UV resistive lens for the display anyway. I might investigate a dash shelf anyway - I've been known to toss a towel or actual dash cover on my car, to delay the inevitable cracking.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Without strong scientific proof, no one here will be able to convince me that Florida sun is any more intense than NM, AZ, Nevada, or South TX during the summer. The sun beats down around here.

I have gotten onto my bike in 95 degree heat and the dash has said it's 107 because of the pavement. My FJR has never had an LCD problem. Where's Don when we need him? Skooter? Who's the short guy in TX?

11 years, hundreds of thousands of miles, and no complaints until now? I say, fluke, bad display, or just somehow weird luck. I guess I didn't know that Kaleria moved the bike around so it constantly faced the sun.

That's not a good test. That doesn't happen real world. Maybe the purposeful extended exposure brought out a flaw that only occurs .00001% of the time. It somehow happened to you at a bike show, in a hot parking lot, and then you forced a reoccurrance. Now you're saying your dash is defective, when it could have been your test.

We need southern GENIII owners to try this.

 

[Kaelaria]

OK let me spell it out again for those that choose not to watch the video for the full info then make assumptions.

It first happened naturally in a parking lot. Nothing special about it, relatively cool day, literally thousands of other bikes there too. The next day, again, in a regular parking lot. Not moved, nothing special. The next day, just to get proof for the dealer, I did the test. I tracked the sun because of a very short window of direct sunlight through my trees, not to influence the test. The result was the same as if it were in either of the open parking lots.

The point of it being a one off (now a two off) was made, since yes, the sun is very intense in our southern states and we would be seeing a TON of people with the issue in many states - I said that.

 

[RossKean]

I bet a product like this...

https://wot.motortrend.com/3ms-window-films-block-heat-uv-rays-dark-tint-77391.html

would make a big difference. Reflects IR and UV light but should not absorb enough visible to noticeably dim the display. Reflecting (not absorbing) the IR is the key. Getting rid of the UV might be good for protecting plastics or paint but won't do much for heat buildup.

 

[Fred W]

Until some other 3rd gen owners try to reproduce this we will not know if these two reports are isolated, or if they will all do that. That seems to be the first question that should be answered. Even though the OP doesn't want our help, it is of interest to all 3rd gen owners to know if this sort of thing can happen.

Even if it does turns out that all 3rd gens have this characteristic, I don't really see where this is such a serious problem. Should it happen? No, probably not. It appears that the center LCD doesn't under the same conditions, nor have any earlier generation displays ever shown that "feature".

Is Yamaha likely to modify the design if we bring this to their attention? I sure doubt that.

It goes away on its own when you ride the bike and it cools off.

It doesn't happen when you are actually riding, only when it is parked.

It is only the Info Display that darkens temporarily, not the center speedometer display.

It could be avoided by not parking in the sun for extended periods without some sort of shading for the display.

 

[ionbeam]

The information display is custom made for Yamaha by a company that specializes in LCD displays, this is the way the world works. Yamaha may not have provided the manufacturer with complete or correct design specifications. The manufacturer may have built the displays wrong or may have used improper materials. To get price breaks, this kind of custom part is usually ordered in large quantities. Volume parts typically get 100% tested for function but may only get an AQL inspection (a small sample rate) for all aspects of performance. Big runs (lots of parts) are typically broken down into production batches of manageable size so there can be variation from batch to batch.

If it is a design issue, all the displays will have at least some level of sunstroke. If it is a manufacturing or materials issue at least one whole batch will have sunstroke. If a worker was distracted and not fully engaged in their role in production there maybe a small number of displays made that suffer sunstroke, but it would have to be so low that it escapes the quality control inspection plan. If it is a design issue, there is no test that would detect sunstroke because it was designed that way which inadvertently makes it acceptable so there wouldn't be any sunstroke 'failures'. If it is a batch problem in manufacturing the batch would have to escape notice from quality control which is unlikely. If it is a random issue in manufacturing, and the rate is very low it is possible to be missed by QC.

Right now it looks like it is a random anomaly that is able to sneak past quality control. Yamaha will have purchased enough units to complete the anticipated production run and a few extra for fallout. It is common for a manufacturer like Yamaha to take delivery of parts on a 'as needed' basis so it is unlikely that there are many parts in inventory. Yamaha does an assessment of the likely need for parts and only invests small order amounts in parts that are unlikely to need replacement. Yamaha will advise dealers of parts that probably will be replaced regularly so the dealer can stock shelves appropriately.

It's no surprise that a replacement display is hard to get. Since there are so few reported sunstroke displays it appears to be a rare problem, so the likelihood of someone getting a second bad part is very unlikely. [Except for Bramfrank, he has had to replace every bad part at least twice before it works for him. Don't park too close to his FJR.] If it turns out that there really is a problem with the information display Yamaha will stock good replacement parts. Yamaha will have traceability to determine if all or some FJRs have sunstroke displays and will be able to track them by VIN. There may be a recall (highly unlikely) or dealers may be authorized to replace the displays at no cost to the owner, even after the warranty has run out. Yamaha has done the authorized to replace program on several FJR parts on both Gen I and Gen II FJRs without actually doing a recall. It's only painful for the first few people that discover the problem. Like the unfortunate schmuck that found the Gen I TPS fails and also discovered the CCT can fail to do its job leading to >$2,000 in repairs. A year after the TPS was replaced at the owners expense, after the owner broke it open to autopsy the part Yamaha still took back the broken bits and reimbursed him for the part. Once Yamaha realized there were issues with some parts Yamaha then stocked the replacement parts and gave dealers specific replacement work instructions.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Somehow I just feel better knowing Alan is on our side, backstopping all these issues.

 

[Fred W]

Somehow I just feel better knowing Alan is on our side, backstopping being the first to have all these issues.

Phyxt that for you, Mark.

Yeah, we don't even know if Yamaha has a design spec for heat tolerance of their LCD displays, never mind whether they test for direct sunlight heat development with them installed in the bezel.

Obviously, this display is a new, 3rd gen part, so prior gens don't really apply. But I just checked and the part number for the meter assembly is different for the 2014 ES than for the 2013 and 2104 A models. There is a possibility that the darkening LCDs are limited to the ES models, or as ionbeam mentioned, some subset of the ES models.

I'm not so sure whether there is a low percentage of the display units that are affected, or that the conditions for occurrence are specific enough that a low number of people have reproduced them. It may be that the OP was lucky enough to have parked his bike at the exact angle to the sun that causes the problem.

Until we have more data we will never know. I would certainly not jump to conclusions and go have my display replaced (screwing up the odometer reading) until I had more information. The dealership was already made aware of the problem, so if there is an eventual fix it would be under warranty.

 

[mcatrophy]

...But I just checked and the part number for the meter assembly is different for the 2014 ES than for the 2013 and 2104 A models. There is a possibility that the darkening LCDs are limited to the ES models, or as ionbeam mentioned, some subset of the ES models...

Probably simply a firmware difference because of the ES features that need controlling.

I would guess that my AS (includes YCC_S and ES) is different again.

Of course, it's always possible that different batches were given the different firmware.

 

[Bounce]

Honda's had that problem for a while too. Their LCD displays (and gauge faces) can mess up with the southwestern summer sun banks off the inside of the windshield and focuses on the instrument. The gauges got replaced. I don't remember about the LCDs. In the end, it was hard (impossible?) for them to find something that wouldn't do it again when faced with the temps involved. It was easier to toss a small towel over the dash than deal with even free replacement (due to the inconvenience of shop time).

That was one of the reasons I got my first Tour King half cover. Tossing a half cover over the bike also resolves a host of other issues.

 

[AKjitsu]

Here in southern Arizona we have about as much god-awful sunlight as exists on the planet. Seriously. It will kill you dead if you don't exercise some precautions. I've never paid the slightest attention to sunlight angle or used a cover when parking my 2013 and I don't think Don or any of the other Gen III AZ owners have either. And nary a reported problem. The OP got that rare **** component. Period.

 

[Fred W]

I doubt it. I'd be more inclined to believe that a series of these bikes got **** components. Or maybe all 2014ES got bad bad screens. I've never heard of an LCD going bad like that. It was either manufactured that way or it was not. Like I said earlier, it is a characteristic of all LCD displays to go black. at varying temperatures. This is unlikely to be a 1 off failure, IMO.

We'll see.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

I am a bit confused about the irritation some of you are expressing toward the OP. He reported the issue to us and to his dealer. He did not seem to be asking for help, he just wanted to inform us of this problem. Or am I missing something?

I lack the knowledge of Fred W and ionbeam to help diagnose the problem. I am too lazy to try and help if I did understand the problem. But I don't think that the OP asked for that anyway.

I am even more upset about ordering a new ES than ever. First it was soft paint. Then it was weak mirror mounts. Now the dash does not work. What a POS. I am going to start shopping for a Prius.

 

[Kaelaria]

3rd person with it now, another guy just contacted me - he's in my area. His VIN is a couple hundred beyond mine.

 

[Ignacio]

3rd person with it now, another guy just contacted me - he's in my area. His VIN is a couple hundred beyond mine.

So, have you encouraged those three people to sign up on this forum to share technical details and/or register a complaint with NHTSA?