Glove box lid jammed

[Pepperell]

Obviously the malfunctioning lid is just a harbinger of bad things to come! Better unload that turkey before that happens. I'll give you $100 for your FJR, even though it is a GEN II.

 

[majicmaker]

Obviously the malfunctioning lid is just a harbinger of bad things to come! Better unload that turkey before that happens. I'll give you $100 for your FJR, even though it is a GEN II.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: You are such a Giver!!

 

[RadioHowie]

Ya know...... my glove box worked great for 7 years and 225,000 miles on my first FJR. For my current one, I had issues at 60 or 70k miles.

Mine made it to 66,000 miles before it bit the big one. Took it apart to try to figure out the problem/design....when I took it apart, a bunch of greasy, tiny pieces of plastic fell out. No way I could figure out how it worked or how to fix it.

I tried the velcro thing, hated it, and bit the bullet and ordered a new one. After much playing with the bad one, I couldn't figure out any way to fix it. Parts of the latching mechanism were just worn. I think because of people 'improperly' trying to forcibly open it without the solenoid activated causing damage, that just gets worse with time and use.

I haven't tried the velcro thing. I'm just a lazy **** who'd rather drive around with the lid flapping in the breeze. DOES make a nice drink-holder, though!

 

[kaitsdad]

Be Creative and use some well placed Velcro!

Gunny.

 

[kamal]

Obviously the malfunctioning lid is just a harbinger of bad things to come! Better unload that turkey before that happens. I'll give you $100 for your FJR, even though it is a GEN II.

You, of all people, should know it's a Gen 1!

Thanks for the offer, but I wouldn't want to burden you with a 'time bomb'.

I'm retired, so always looking for stuff to fix - I think I've found my 'nirvana'.

Al

 

[Constant Mesh]

Don't believe an engineer spent much time designing the lid latching mechanism. The design of the Gen II latch is more bizarre. The solenoid is powered whenever the ignition is switched on. That's a constant drain of 7+ watts. Goofy.

When you close the lid with the solenoid powered down you are likely damaging the latch mechanism.

It seems the engineers lost their interest in conserving power when the Gen II was on the drawing board. "Hey, we have 100 more watts to play with. How can we use that extra power?"

Maybe an "always on" glove box solenoid and brake light relay. Hey, why don't we add a license plate light?

 

[kamal]

Don't believe an engineer spent much time designing the lid latching mechanism. The design of the Gen II latch is more bizarre. The solenoid is powered whenever the ignition is switched on. That's a constant drain of 7+ watts. Goofy.

When you close the lid with the solenoid powered down you are likely damaging the latch mechanism.

Mine, like yours, is a Gen 1. It had a solenoid to allow opening the lid only when powered. Was yours, like mine is now, removed?

Al

 

[Constant Mesh]

No, my solenoid release is still intact. Still works fine. I always close the lid when the solenoid is powered.

 

[Jeroen - NL]

Inspired by the previous posts I decided to try and fix my glovebox latch. The locking mechanism was keeping the lid closed perfectly on my bike. And the button opens it like it should but it didn't lock on powerdown. Although I realise that the plastic lock can be forced open in a second I just can't stand it when something doesn't work and I don't know why.

I removed the panels A, B, C and D. I didn't feel like undoing the connectors on panel A so I left that hanging on a piece of rope tied to the handlebar.

After loosening a lot of bolts on the fairing I had enough space to move the interior panel that covers the glovebox. Now I was able to remove the 2 bolts holding the electromagnetic lock (solenoid) and the metal cover plate. After disconnecting the connector from the solenoid I could remove it.

I tried moving the pin that is moved by the solenoid by hand and seemed to be stuck. After a few attempts (and a few sprays of WD40 I was able to remove it. The pin was covered in rust. Inside the solenoid housing a little spring pushes out the pin, so when not powered the pin is in the 'out' position. When powered the solenoid is an electromagnet and this pulls in the pin. In the latch mechanism another spring pushed out the latch (forcing it to follow the pin that is retracted) and thus locking the latch when not powered.

After polishing it with a piece of cloth I lubed it with some more WD40 and put it back together. I connected it to the connector, so I could test it and it works perfectly now.

And just because it's cool to see:

https://youtu.be/GRzu3n6rZxU

And now a question: the solenoid gets hot when powered. Is that normal?

 

[Constant Mesh]

It's consuming 7+ watts of power when it's on. No doubt it does get very warm.

On the GenII's it's powered continuously (whenever the ignition is switched on). Conserving power wasn't high on the priority list I guess.

After studying the mechanism is it obvious why the latch closes easier when the solenoid is powered? Mine seems to close much easier with the solenoid powered. It seems that I'm forcing the mechanism if it's not powered.

 

[Jeroen - NL]

After studying the mechanism is it obvious why the latch closes easier when the solenoid is powered? Mine seems to close much easier with the solenoid powered. It seems that I'm forcing the mechanism if it's not powered.

Yup, I think closing the latch with the solenoid powered (so power on and gear in Neutral) is healthier for the mechanisme. I didn't remove the latch button, so not 100% sure on that, but judging by what I could see I'd say keep it powered when closing.

 

[Bungie]

Mine works flawlessly sometimes. Other times, It'll make me bonkers trying to get it open.

Come to think of it, I haven't used it since I got my Wynpro kickstand foot. No more diving in the glovebox for the puck!

... wonder if it still works?

 

[bluesdog]

Don't believe an engineer spent much time designing the lid latching mechanism. The design of the Gen II latch is more bizarre. The solenoid is powered whenever the ignition is switched on. That's a constant drain of 7+ watts. Goofy...

Goofy indeed! :blink:

I wonder if it would be possible to install a little unobtrusive switch somewhere that could be used to power the solenoid perhaps independently of the ignition circuit?

 

[twistedcricket]

Yep....Major League Hosed, as in "the wife just caught you jerking off to pictures of Regis Philbin" hosed. Spend the $120 for a new glove box, or tape the suckah shut, like I did.

I'm really just posting because RadioHowie's comment made me laugh...

 

[Jeroen - NL]

I wonder if it would be possible to install a little unobtrusive switch somewhere that could be used to power the solenoid perhaps independently of the ignition circuit?

On Gen I (what I have (2003) the solenoid enables the openbutton when powered. So switching it off would be pointless, since you wouldn't be able to open your glovebox at all.

On Gen II, as I understand from previous posters, it is possible and it would make more sense. The solenoid has 2 wires, pos and neg, so placing a switch between one of them would enable you to disable the solenoid. In the inside of the cowling just next to the hole where the plastic thingie goes that connects the panel C en D together there is another hole. Imho a switch could easily installed there and the front fork would (just) miss it when steering.

 

[maddad]

Just had mine finally break. Solenoid assembly is pretty rugged and wasn't the problem. Solenoid from what I can see is only power on when the bike is neutral with switch on. Otherwise it would open when the bike is off or battery removed. Maybe it does.

The part that I think typically breaks is the plastic piece that actually slides onto the latch of the cover to hold it down. It's sort of in the shape of a T with an angled edge. When you press down to open the latch, it pushes on the angled edge to pull back the slide from the latch. It is a pretty small piece of plastic and gets a fair bit of grunge in it. It is simply a bad design. The plastic is small enough that even if you were able to glue this back together, it would never hold.

A 3D scanner and 3D printer would be cool to fix this type of thing.

 

[vtwinn]

Have to drag up an old post since the battery died or main fuse blew.

how do you get the glove box open with no power????

stranded on the road now.

TIA

 

[RadioHowie]

Have to drag up an old post since the battery died or main fuse blew.how do you get the glove box open with no power????

stranded on the road now.

TIA

That's what happens when you put your keys in the glovebox.

 

[vtwinn]

Got it home, hate to put it on the truck, but at least I was only 5 miles from home.

I'm trying to search the manual for a clue on how to get to the fuse box without breaking the lid?

 

[RadioHowie]

Wait...What???

You had to truck it home? You really DID put the keys in there, didn't you?

Not a safe place...you can get a fingernail under the edge of the lid and pop it right open, even with the mechanism busted.

Been there...done that.

And the fuse block ain't under the lid...on your Gen I, it's just aft, outside the glove box.

Just force it open...you ain't gonna break it...it's already busted!

Welcome to the Busted *** Glove Box Club!