Date: 29-03-24  Time: 11:42 am

Author Topic: Opening FZ6 Fazer instrument cluster  (Read 5106 times)

Grahamm

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Opening FZ6 Fazer instrument cluster
« on: 15 June 2019, 06:50:26 pm »
The speedo/ revcounter display on my FZ6 SA (S1 ABS European model) has been flickering for a while, but now it's almost completely faded out when idling and it flickers at higher speeds.

If I am running eg 70mph, however, the display works almost fine.

I've found a thread on a Turkish site where someone had the same sort of problem and took one apart (see google translate link):

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.motosiklet.net%2Fforum%2Fmt-atolye-teknik-servis%2F172785-motosiklet-kadran-digital-gosterge-km-h-ekran-tamiri.html

The images aren't there, but they are on a different forum's thread here:
https://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-electrical/57385-s1-fz6-cluster-inside-electronics.html

Aparently the whole thing is glued together and they separated the parts with a Dremel (rotary tool) which  don't really want to do if I don't have to!

Does anyone have any suggestions on a better way to get access or am I just going to have to cut it open?



Grahamm

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Re: Opening FZ6 Fazer instrument cluster
« Reply #1 on: 15 June 2019, 06:52:29 pm »
PS I've taken the instruments out and tried using a multimeter to check the connectivity, but I've not had much luck.
According to the wiring diagram in the Haynes manual, the black and white wire going into the cluster is the ground / negative, but I've tried using both the "diode" setting and resistance settings on my multimeter without being able to get a reading... :(

Grahamm

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Re: Opening FZ6 Fazer instrument cluster
« Reply #2 on: 16 June 2019, 08:35:01 pm »
Ok, I've finally found what I think was the cause of the instrument LCDs flickering on my FZ6 because, after spending ages taking the front of the bike apart, and testing the instrument cluster, as I was putting it all back together this wire came out of the plug!

It's the black and white one which is the earth (ground) connection, so it would affect everything else on the instrument display.

I've only got about 1 1/2" (4cm) to play with, so I'm thinking the best thing to do would be to strip the end back and put a bullet connector on the end.

I'd then get another piece of wire, put the other half of the bullet connector onto that before soldering or crimping the free end to the connector in the plug.

Does this sound sensible and the best way to proceed?

agricola

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Re: Opening FZ6 Fazer instrument cluster
« Reply #3 on: 19 June 2019, 09:28:22 pm »
Sounds like a plan

Grahamm

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Re: Opening FZ6 Fazer instrument cluster
« Reply #4 on: 20 June 2019, 10:36:27 pm »
Well I finally found time get around to working on this, although I decided to do a quick job with a bit of solder before crimping as it's easier to remove solder if it didn't work!

Before this, though, I'd had to remove two of the "pins" in the connector because another of the wires had come loose and the pins were covered in verdigris :(

I tried using WD-40 Contact Cleaner on them, but it didn't really shift it, so eventually I ended up soaking them in a saucer of vinegar and then giving them a go-over with a wire brush attachment on a Dremel which cleaned them up nicely.

Unfortunately the pins have the wires crimped to them with the style of crimp that's a sort of "m" shape, with two sections that fold over (and which are a bugger to open up again), so I just soldered a new piece of wire to each of them.

I then had a bugger of a job trying to solder the new wire to the old one, but managed a bit of a bodge with a big lump of solder...!

Except, after this, although things had improved a little and the warning lights were working ok, the display was still missing a lot of segments or they flickered.

So I've taken the instrument cluster off again and I'm going to have to try to open it up with the cutter on the Dremel.

Unfortunately that thread I've found (see link above) with pictures doesn't say where the person who did it actually cut or how the two parts sit together, so I'm going to have to find a part that's away from the internal circuit board and cut a slot that will hopefully give me a clue.

Then I'll very carefully try to take it apart, at least they give good advice on how to clean it up and, hopefully it will work again without my needing to replace the whole unit as second hand ones come in around the £130 mark (and read the wrong mileage!)

Just for extra laughs, the MOT is due on Monday, although I don't need to ride the bike regularly at the moment and I store it off the road, so there's no massive rush to sort it...

Grahamm

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Re: Opening FZ6 Fazer instrument cluster
« Reply #5 on: 23 June 2019, 11:03:52 pm »
Just to finish off this thread if someone else comes across it from a search.

The broken wire was *one* of the causes of the flickering, but there was also a problem with the LCD screen not making proper contact in the instrument cluster..

So here's how I suggest you can do it (NB this is only my comments, I make no guarantees or promises, so PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!)

Firstly remove the cluster from the bike. You'll need to take off the windscreen, mirrors and fairing (inners and main fairing).


Note that there's a stupidly tiny bit of plastic at the front of the fairing between the top and bottom section which will break (as I found) if you aren't very careful :( )

You may also need to remove the section that holds the headlights to get at the screws behind the instrument cluster.

Also unclip the connectors at the left front of the bike that go to the wiring on the instruments and headlamps and the ones behind the instrument cluster.

These clips can be a bugger to get loose if they've not been taken apart for years. The rectangular one has a clip on the top which needs to be pressed down so you can wiggle them apart, but the more rounded one with the "tubes" for the wires has a clip that has to be lifted *up* to disengage it.

Then gently wiggle the parts and, eventually, they'll separate, but try very hard *not* to pull on the wires as you risk them coming off the internal pins (which is probably what caused the loose wire problem I mentioned in an earlier post!)

Once you have the instrument cluster free, using a junior hacksaw, cut a slot 3mm from the back edge. This will enable you to remove the back whilst reducing the risk of damaging the circuit board inside.

You can use a Dremel or other rotary cutter which might be quicker, but the thickness of the cutting blade may make it more difficult to reassemble the cluster as you'll lose much more material between the sections and has a greater risk of error.

Start cutting on the side of the select/ reset buttons as there is more space between the plastic and the circuit board and this will give you more leeway to get used to the feeling and make mistakes!

The casing is approximately 3mm deep, so cut carefully until you can see through to the inside (use a thin slip of paper to carefully check that you've made it through), then slowly extend the cut around the circumference of the cluster.

I found it helpful to put a flat-blade screwdriver a couple of millimeters into the slot and very gently twist it so I could see how far the cut had actually got and expand it very slightly to make cutting a bit easier.

Take care when you get to the two "corners" on the side with the instrument lights as the circuit board is close to the case here. You need to check you're no more than 3mm from the back edge of the cluster prevent the risk of damaging it.

Once you have completed the cut, it will be possible to separate the two halves and then slowly manoeuvre them so you can straighten the wires from the connectors.

The pictures in the link from the earlier post show the wires coming out of the back of the cluster, but not the back section which appears to have been removed entirely. It is possible to gently turn the back section to get to the securing screws (which are numbered) and remove them to get the LCD section out.


Once you've done that, plug it back into the bike and try pressing at the corners to see if the flickering starts or stopped. I found that if I put a thin piece of plastic from a milk carton under one corner, it stopped the display vibrating and (mostly) fixed the problem.

If you want to go further and remove the blob of sealant and take the whole things apart, you can, but I didn't go that far.

I sealed the unit back up with electrical tape aroung the sections where I cut it until I can think of a better way to keep it together which doesn't involve gluing it again!

Hope this helps :thumbup
« Last Edit: 23 June 2019, 11:08:31 pm by Grahamm »

Grahamm

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Re: Opening FZ6 Fazer instrument cluster
« Reply #6 on: 23 June 2019, 11:13:28 pm »
PS To fix the broken wire, I took the pin from out of the connector and (rather than try to uncrimp the wire) I just soldered another wire about 1.5" long onto the connector.

I then stripped about 5mm off the end of that wire and also 5mm off the end of the wire from the loom and crimped a spade connector and its counterpart onto the ends before wrapping the whole thing with electrical tape.

If I'd had some dielectric grease, I'd have added some of that to the new connections and into the plug connectors to keep them from getting corroded again.

But that's for another day...!
« Last Edit: 23 June 2019, 11:14:44 pm by Grahamm »

Grahamm

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Re: Opening FZ6 Fazer instrument cluster
« Reply #7 on: 21 June 2020, 10:52:14 pm »
It's been almost a year since I posted in this thread last, but I wanted to update it.

My bodge fix of using a bit of plastic milk carton to shim the LCD display worked for a while, but it started to work loose and the display began to flicker again.

So, since I'm doing a whole lot of other work during the Lockdown, I decided to have another look at this.

Firstly I found that, to remove the rubber "plug" that holds the wires that go into the back of the instrument cluster, it was a simple matter of using a flat bladed screwdriver to gently press down on the edge of it and squeeze it towards the centre and you can then start to push it under the edge of the hole that's cut on the back of the cluster.

Once you've done that, you can slip the wires and plastic connectors through the back of the cluster and get it out of the way entirely which makes access a lot easier.

Having done that, and having taken out the numbered screws which hold the circuit board to the front of the cluster, I connected it back on to the wires and started pressing around the edges to find where it would give a steady display again.

Looking at the back of the circuit board I could see assorted mounting clips (arrowed) which are basically just metal "hooks" (sort of) which, when twisted, hold the circuit board and display together.

Apparently the display is not permanently connected or soldered to the circuit board, it's just an "induction coupling", ie it relies on two parts being pressed together and, presumably, over time, the "hooks" had come a little loose so it wasn't pressing firmly enough.

I gave the hooks a gentle tweak with pliers and now the display seems to be working fine again :thumbup

I would re-iterate my warning from above, that this seemed to work for me, but if you do this and it all goes horribly wrong, please don't blame me :)