'98 instrument cluster malfunctioning?

Hi, Not a major problem but the trip counters and the clock on my 1998 R1 seem to reset themsleves every time I turn the ignition off. Just wondered if anyone else had encountered this problem. Presumably they're shot and I need to get another set off ebay? thanks, Cadman

Sounds like a bad connection or at the battery terminals,or in the main plug at the front...inspect!

Originally posted by martinc Sounds like a bad connection or at the battery terminals,or in the main plug at the front...inspect! Will do martin, thanks. The odometer is fine, will that retain it's memory even if there is a dodgy connection? Andy

Yes. A loose connection at the battery,corrosion in the front main plug or even a dead cell battery will make the tripmeters and clock reset. No loss of overall mileage though.

Originally posted by CADMAN Will do martin, thanks. The odometer is fine, will that retain it's memory even if there is a dodgy connection? Andy Odometer is stored in the cluster itself...has a powersupply incase the main system does not work. That's why you can change clusters and have a different mileage bikes....asshats liek to do this with high mileage bikes....they buy a cluster with lower mileage listed and say that's what the bike has.

Andy, I have the same problem with my 99, did you get it sorted ?? Colin.

I have a 98 R1 also, and i experience the shut down or "blinking out" of the cluster when i hit my front brakes, horn, signals, or high beam lights...just spent damn near $700 (including new tires and new battery) to have the charging system checked, i'm frustrated cause they still can't pin point the problem...forgot to mention that i bought a new cluster too...same problem...HELP!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by macattacks2000 I have a 98 R1 also, and i experience the shut down or "blinking out" of the cluster when i hit my front brakes, horn, signals, or high beam lights...just spent damn near $700 (including new tires and new battery) to have the charging system checked, i'm frustrated cause they still can't pin point the problem...forgot to mention that i bought a new cluster too...same problem...HELP!!!!!!!!!! Must be in the main wiring then...perhaps a bad ground on the engine?

Possibly a bad ground, or a bad battery. This is a fairly common sign in cars when the battery is starting to fail. Change battery with new one and see what happens. Check grounds and terminals for corrosion.

I haven't had chance to sort it out yet but I have had the seat off and there is loads of furry clag on the battery terminals. I'll let you know what happens when I clean 'em / grease 'em up. What grease? or do I use vaseline (petroleum jelly) ? - seem to remember that being the stuff to use ? Cadman

Originally posted by CADMAN I haven't had chance to sort it out yet but I have had the seat off and there is loads of furry clag on the battery terminals. I'll let you know what happens when I clean 'em / grease 'em up. What grease? or do I use vaseline (petroleum jelly) ? - seem to remember that being the stuff to use ? Cadman A battery has to be squeaky-clean to operate normally; The petroleum jelly thing is not advisable as it will run everywhere when ever so slightly heated. Clean the battery tray dry too. (windex) Some dust on the battery added with ambient moisture will slowly but surely drain the power from it.

Originally posted by martinc A battery has to be squeaky-clean to operate normally; The petroleum jelly thing is not advisable as it will run everywhere when ever so slightly heated. Clean the battery tray dry too. (windex) Some dust on the battery added with ambient moisture will slowly but surely drain the power from it. Thanks martin, so no grease, nothing on the terminals then? just clean them?

Clean and dry terminals is the best method. They make a battery spray that works, but it can be messy and doesn't do all that much. Just clean it and dry it, then make sure battery is full of fluid and charge it fully.

Originally posted by Fire2722 Clean and dry terminals is the best method. They make a battery spray that works, but it can be messy and doesn't do all that much. Just clean it and dry it, then make sure battery is full of fluid and charge it fully. how the hell do you fill a sealed battery?:confused:

If it is a sealed one then you cant fill it. I am still used to the ones that you can unscrew the caps and fil them

Originally posted by CADMAN Thanks martin, so no grease, nothing on the terminals then? just clean them? Yep,if some corrosion was on the terminals,use a wire brush,wd-40,contact cleaner,etc...whatever you have,but keep it dry. Usually that green or white crap is from acid and loose connectors though...inspect it carefully.

OK, update time.......... Cleaned the terminals (which had grease/vaseline/whatever on them), fitted new freshly charged battery that I happen to have (no idea wether battery in-situ was original or whatever so thought I might as well use the new one I had spare). Terminals are clean and tight, clock still resets to 1:00 Forgot about the front connector so I'll look at that next. andy

Check on the left side, under the carbon fiber panel, their is a harness, their is a red/green wire in their, that looks like it controls the power to the clock and stuff.. Make sure this is not corroded...

Hi had the same problem with my 98 R1, there was a broken connector inside the connector block under the left hand infill panel check there also the headlights some times went on and off and that was the same connector block. Does anyone know why my tacho would flick to zero when i crank the throttle open it doesn't do it until 8000rpm??????????

Probably a disconnected plug like fuel sensor (green) or remove exup servo motor?

here's your issue.... This was off my 99 R1, under the left panel by the clip-on... http://asim.meadowvale.net/r1/pic1.JPG http://asim.meadowvale.net/r1/pic2.JPG Thjs appears to be the main +12v wire providing power to the front-end (headlights/gauge cluster).

Originally posted by CADMAN Thanks martin, so no grease, nothing on the terminals then? just clean them? dielectric grease is used to protect the connections from corroding :beer

Originally posted by mavspire here's your issue.... This was off my 99 R1, under the left panel by the clip-on... http://asim.meadowvale.net/r1/pic1.JPG http://asim.meadowvale.net/r1/pic2.JPG Thjs appears to be the main +12v wire providing power to the front-end (headlights/gauge cluster). :iamwithst This should be a sticky for older bikes as I have had problems with that same connector. Already had to bypass it once..

I finally licked my cluster problem. It was my voltage regulator all along. After putting another voltage regulator on my 98 R1, I haven't had any more issues. She runs like a top!!!!!!!!!!!! CADMAN, if that is a pic of your bike, I have it's twin in my garage...

To make sure your battery posts AND cables are clean, I do this. Using a stiff metal brissle brush, (I perfer a battery post cleaner) brush. I scrub until the battery post is shiney, I do the same for the cable. Then, I coat the connection, where the cable and terminal come together, with Die-electric grease.

Originally posted by oddbod Hi had the same problem with my 98 R1, there was a broken connector inside the connector block under the left hand infill panel check there also the headlights some times went on and off and that was the same connector block. Does anyone know why my tacho would flick to zero when i crank the throttle open it doesn't do it until 8000rpm?????????? Today I have had the same thing happen to me (1998 R1). Heading home and giving the bike some welly the rev counter needle fell to zero, bounced around then went back up to about 8000rpm - bit disconcerting when you are travelling at well over 100mph. This has been the first run for the bike in about a month. Battery just recharged - automatic charger indicates that its in good condition i.e. holding charge well. This erratic behaviour happened once before after starting the bike but not at high revs. Again did not last for long. Any solution/answer gratefully received Regards

Hi Yes i had the same problem on my 99 R1 and found one of the wires in the big white connector block on the left hand side had corroded. Cut the wires from either side of the connector block and joined them with spade terminals and everything is fine now. It is just the back up wire, like the memory wire for a car radio.I joined them up with spade terminals so that if I take the light unit off then I can just pull them apart Hope this helps mickr1:thumbup

:iamwithst If it happened only once don't panic. If the bike is old you will probably find the white connector block is full of green corrosion. Be careful if you open it not to break any pins !!

Many thanks!

mogeredmax, when the needle flicks from zero then to 8000 revs it normally means there is a plug disconnected.I know my 99 does it if the fuel sender isnt connected.

in response to your battery connections di-electric grease is the product to use on your battery terminals and and any other connections that are prone to moisture ,not much is reqiured just a thin film is sufficient ,it is a better conductor than other greases and lubes and will prevent any further corrosion hopes this helps you ,product sold in any automotive parts supply store

in response to your battery connections di-electric grease is the product to use on your battery terminals and and any other connections that are prone to moisture ,not much is reqiured just a thin film is sufficient ,it is a better conductor than other greases and lubes and will prevent any further corrosion hopes this helps you ,product sold in any automotive parts supply store Thanks got a spray can of dielectric silicon grease from my mate at a garage so done all the terminals i could get to

see thread i started http://www.r1-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196242 Finally managed to lick my one (after 1000000000000 swear words and many grey hairs and lotsa money thrown at new battery, stator. etc etc ...must i really go on?? . anyways have a look unde the tank where your regulator connector block earths and see couple of corroded wires, fix em and away you go. she's ALIVE again!!!!!!!!!!!! '98 rules!!!!!!!

Congratulationd!

I have the same problem. Usually it resets after pressing front brakes or turning off engine, but not always. Sometimes engine can be kept off for few days and counters aren't being reset. Did you find a real solution that helps everybody who has this problem?

I have the same problem but I think I know what is causing it. As others have said on here, make sure you check the white connector block under the left hand front infill panel. On initial inspection of mine, here is what it looked like: http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~meenie1/bike/yzfr1/electrical/IMG_5503.jpg I then set about cleaning it and discovered this problem! :eek: http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~meenie1/bike/yzfr1/electrical/IMG_5504.jpg Its that dreaded red and green wire people are talking about on this thread! I just cut it at either end and wired in a new piece of link wire and away it went again. Seems that the white connector is a big failure on the old R1's, the tangs in the block are very fragile when they have been furred up. I may look at a way of replacing the block altogether at some point to eliminate a single point failure again. Any suggestions? :)

:yesnod :thumbup That's exactly it. With hind site if filled with dialetric grease would be much better. I was going to get my wiring loom replaced (not too expensive) untill Volvo Woman lept :eek:

One other thing that should be checked (probably first to save pulling apart the white connector unnecessarily) is that under the seat, check the fuse box! There are 4 fuses in a box, labeled Headlight, Cool (or Fan), Ignition & Back up. "Back up" is the fuse (7.5A) that goes to the cluster to keep the trip counter reading and also the time correct.. The wire in the white connector block (under the front left hand infill panel) is coloured predominantly RED with GREEN line on it. Notice in the pictures, this is the rear of that fuse block. I had a cut/burning on one of the terminals. I had to cut and remake the connection on this block. Hope this helps some people! :)

another problem plug is the white 4 pin plug under the same left hand side infill panel. it has a thick brown and a thick red wire, and 2 thin wires going in and out of it. the thick wire terminals inside the plug also get the green corrosion thing too.

Another thing you may want to check is the relays found between in the nose behind the headlights. One is for the Hi-beam and one for the low. I had the blinking dash syndrome and my battery was draining down. When I cut on the Hi beams, the dash would blink or go out totally. I found the low-beam relay was broken and was shorting out on the frame. To make matters worse; the relay touched the frame so many times that the connection was force in the on position. When I cut on the hi-beam, the hi and low beams were on at the same time, killing the battery and burning wires thoughout the harness. I replaced the relay, repaired any burnt wires/plugs, and we're good. BTW Radio Shack sells two, three, four, and six prong plugs. They work great.

My bike is having the same type of problem. everytime i switch my lights to hi beam the gague cluster lights flicker for a min, go to zero and then reset themself. if i unplug one head light the problem goes away. i also found a burnt wire in the main wire connecter on the left infill pannel that i bypased. I dont know if my problem if a voltage regulator or maybe a headlight relay. the battery seems to be charging fine also. any help would be appreciated Garett

This is happening with the bike on or off. i pulled the front ferring off and both relays appear to be in good shape. i also pulled the hi lo beam switch off and there was no corrosion of any sort in there. im really stumped on this one

i have a 98 R1, i found the problem to be the voltage regulator, once replaced haven't had any problems...

Well i looked at my voltage regulator today and there is a burnt wire in the lower left position, when i cut on my hi beams the dash goes out then resets to zero and then comes back on this will do it wil the bike off or running but only within the first coupple min after i have started it. if i unplug my headlights the problem goes away and i can switch to hi beam without any dash lights going out. i have also noted that the ground on the front side of the big white connector and the power wire on the ingnition side of the other smaller white connector are getting very warm. Im stumped is it the regulator or the relay's?

i'm thinking it's your regulator, man....i experienced the exact same problem, except my bike would cut totally out and not start...NO JUICE...i bought at least 4 new batteries, you know the cost of those things...and it was finally figured out that the regulator was the problem, once it was changed...no problemo...

Haha alright man, i went out and ordered one it should be here sometime next week. I definatly hope its the problem but ill keep you posted. thanks for the help

i'm thinking it's your regulator, man....i experienced the exact same problem, except my bike would cut totally out and not start...NO JUICE...i bought at least 4 new batteries, you know the cost of those things...and it was finally figured out that the regulator was the problem, once it was changed...no problemo... This looks to be the way forward - I have the exact same issue with the dash blanking out and then resetting itself when hitting the high low beam switch and the flasher switch - so I've gone from easiest fix first which is the white block connector on the headlight loom (pin had oxidation so went to clean and sure enough it was rotten and fell off - so cut wires from both blocks and bypassed - no luck) next I checkede the loom for earthing issue's - none there. Next I replaced both headlight relays - still no joy. I called my local Yammy service centre and he reckoned to check the charging rate with the bike running - this is done by setting your multi-meter (or also called a voltmetre in some circles) to DC, the charging system should be running between 14.5v and 14.7v - mine was running at 14.05v this denotes a buggered regulator / rectifier and requires changing (this is my next purchase). On a side note: I noticed that the connector between the reg/rec and the stator was burnt on the reg/rec side - the guy at the yammy centre said that this was normal on our age bikes (I'm guess it just the sheer heat that is generated by the reg/rec). anyways hope this helps someone out there. Laters Deacs

God, this has gone on a bit!!! Time it was closed me thinks! By the way MartinC, vaseline on the terminals is a good thing provided that they are clean to start with. It prevents them corroding. Also, check the big connector block under the left infill panel. The pins corrode easily as they are very small. repair any damaged ones and clean the rest. Then smear vaseline all over the inside of the block to keep water out. Right, that should do the trick, close this thread it's out of control!! lol

Sounds like the back up fuse has gone -that will cause the trips to reset after power has been shut off!