LED Instrument display missing digits

[Hottoysonwheels]

The instrument display on my '06 ST has several missing characters. For example the top half of the numbers on the temperature reading are missing, the bottom half of the time of day and the middle two bars of the fuel indicator are also missing.

It seems that the digital display has gone bad. Does anyone know the possible cause of this issue? I suspected it may be water or condensation got into the back of the display. My local Stealer said a new digital display is about a thousand bucks (Ouch!!).

Does anyone know if this can be repaired or are there refurbished units in the market? If so, can you please provide the web link or contact information?


Thanks!!

 

[ST_Jim]

I've never seen the LCD panel out before. sounds like one of the com lines is out. Might be a pin connection bad, might be a zebra (conductive rubber) strip with out enough pressure to make contact, or it might be a defect inside the glass itself. I don't think its very likely to be repairable, but I'd look at it before I parted with a K-buck...

What year is you bike? If it under three years since it was initially delivered it should be under warranty, even if you aren't the original owner. Or if theres an extended warranty it goes out to seven years.

***EDIT***

OK I see it was an '06, which unless you took delivery late is most likely out of warranty.

 

[Blrfl]

It seems that the digital display has gone bad. Does anyone know the possible cause of this issue?

Could be any number of things, but the two most likely are loss of contact somewhere because of failed solder joints (not real likely on surface-mount devices) or a stress-induced hairline crack in the printed circuit board. It's also possible but not real likely that one of the LCD drivers has burned out. Other than the connector to the wiring harness, which wouldn't likely cause your problem, I think everything on the instrument panel is soldered on. (It's been awhile since I've seen a dash panel, but that's my recollection.)

PC boards in automotive applications usually have a conformal coating applied during production, so I'd rule out moisture unless there were visible hints that it was very damp in there.

I suspected it may be water or condensation got into the back of the display. My local Stealer said a new digital display is about a thousand bucks (Ouch!!).

Does anyone know if this can be repaired or are there refurbished units in the market? If so, can you please provide the web link or contact information?

The part runs about $700 new and isn't difficult to put in. Unless it's something obvious, diagnosing a board like that isn't impossible, but it is difficult and repairs can be iffy depending on the problem. For a replacement, you might try a salvage yard. I'm not sure what the impact on your odometer will be.

Also, you have the option of asking your STealer to go to bat for you with Honda and ask if they'll cover it out of warranty. (Or you can call Honda yourself, but one of their dealers might have more sway.) The dash is designed to last the life of the bike, and this is a rare failure that could well have been a latent manufacturing defect.

--Mark

 

[Hound]

Hopefully it's easily fixed or the STealer will sort it out - but if it comes to the worst, there's an eBay trader in the UK who has an 06 complete instrument panel and "Buy It Now" is pretty reasonable at ?100 ($158) plus shipping. He also has an 02 and an 04; for some reason the 02 panel is ?150 but the 04 is also ?100.

 

[pdfruth]

....Might be a pin connection bad, might be a zebra (conductive rubber) strip with out enough pressure to make contact, or it might be a defect inside the glass itself.

I agree with ST_Jim here.
Although not on the ST, I've run into this same problem on other custom LCD display panels before (and successfully repaired the problem too).
In a couple cases, I've found that the circuit board traces, to which the zebra strip needs to conform, had not been properly tinned (or was otherwise chemically contaminated). Thus the copper pads eventually oxidized badly enough to introduce sufficiently high enough resistance to prevent segments in the LCD panel from energizing.
Bottom line, in the cases i've seen, it was due to a manufacturing defect. I was able to disassemble the unit, and "tune" up the circuit board traces. Restoring the display to proper operation.

Like Jim says, I'd be taking the instrument panel apart, for a look-see, before parting with a K-buck.... unless, of course, you can get a replacement under warranty.

 

[ST_Jim]

I'm guessing it's most likely a problem around the LCD glass itself, in which case you might be able to get a salvage unit and replace the glass, without replacing the whole board. This may save the mileage info on the odometer, so you won't have to fill out any DMV paperwork on the replacement...

So has anyone here done the display backlight swap? Someone should have a better idea of what lcd glass connection method is used on the 1300...

 

[nm6r]

So has anyone here done the display backlight swap? Someone should have a better idea of what lcd glass connection method is used on the 1300...

It's been a few years but I did take mine apart with the thought I would want to change the backlight LEDs and/or change the polarization of the glass. I can't recall enough to give details but I can say it was easy enough to disassemble and reassemble successfully.

Ray

 

[ST_Jim]

And if you can't deal with soldering little electronic parts around the display I would suggest giving http://www.bluegauges.com/ a call or e-mail. Looks like they have some experience fixing display clusters that have been damaged. They might even have some spare parts, although that might be more likely with a GSXR than an ST.

 

[Hottoysonwheels]

Thanks for the all the very informative responses. I am hoping to find good used instrument panel in Ebay or the salvage yard (thank for the suggestion and the I'll definitely look into the one available in e-bay) and if I can take it off the ST my self would be a huge bonus. Best learning experience I had as a teenager is to go on the salvage yard on a given Saturday just to take things apart. I recently ordered a service manual and will do the surgery as soon as I get the manual. Thanks again for everyone's insight and information.

 

[paneuro]

any update on this?

 

[T_C]

One update.. the odometer mileage is stored in the bike main computer, replacing dash (display) does not affect it.

 

[mlheck]

If you are resurrecting this post, I will add the information that the LCD panel is connected to the control board by 2 zebra strips.

The first pic is of the back side of the LCD panel.

The second pic is the light diffuser that goes between the strips. The whole thing is held to the circuit board by a metal frame the has bend tabs that insert through slots in the board.

 

[gblack4156]

Any updates on the missing digits, characters, on the led display? I have a 2007 ST-1300, and have lost the middle two gas gauge fuel level indicators, and the bottom half of the numbers directly beneath. Thanks.

 

[SupraSabre]

Check this out, might give you some ideas:

Speedometer repair