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Repairing LCD screen

18844 Views 25 Replies 18 Participants Last post by  xracer, 
PaulST4s
So, the backlight on my LCD went out last fall. I just picked up a new one on eBay, and I'd like to see if I can get the old one fixed. Has anyone taken theirs apart? There are 3 screws on the back which I removed, but it didn't want to come apart easily, and I didn't want to break it.
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Turbo
PaulST4s said:
So, the backlight on my LCD went out last fall. I just picked up a new one on eBay, and I'd like to see if I can get the old one fixed. Has anyone taken theirs apart? There are 3 screws on the back which I removed, but it didn't want to come apart easily, and I didn't want to break it.
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There's no bulb in the LCD display to replace. It's electro-luminescent. One it goes out, you just replace the unit like you've done and junk the old one.
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stryder
Turbo said:
There's no bulb in the LCD display to replace. It's electro-luminescent. One it goes out, you just replace the unit like you've done and junk the old one.
Click to expand...

Do pre-04 St instrument pod's have electro luminescence, or bulbs?
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D
i am on my second one, the ST got caught in a nasty storm a couple years back.. the thing was shot after that
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Turbo
stryder said:
Do pre-04 St instrument pod's have electro luminescence, or bulbs?
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Do you mean the speedo and tach? To be honest, I'm not positive but I expect they use bulbs. I think only the LCD panel is electro-luminescent.
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grimah1w
2002 ST4s LDC Screen partial failure

Finished a ride in east Tennessee, last 30+ miles in torrential rain. :confused: Now my LCD screen only partially functions, temp displays as does time but the fuel portion is only partially functioning. Even with a full tank of gas;)
Any recommendations??? Disassemble and hair dryer? What is the cost of a new one?

THANKS!
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JohnBoy
Where do you folks think the water is getting into these units?

I had this happen to me once and it took about 6 months before the moisture disappeared altogether.

My guess is the water is getting in on the bottom of the face between the screen and the trim.

Maybe silicone?
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Turbo
JohnBoy said:
Where do you folks think the water is getting into these units?

I had this happen to me once and it took about 6 months before the moisture disappeared altogether.

My guess is the water is getting in on the bottom of the face between the screen and the trim.

Maybe silicone?
Click to expand...
That would be the likely place! If water pools anywhere, it's at the bottom of the display. Sealing around the trim-display interface with silicone might be a good idea.

Personally, I've never had a problem with my LCD. It gets soaked regularly and so far, no moisture has found a way in. :eek:
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stryder
Buddy of mine with a MTS, same instrument pod, had moisture in his after riding through a torrential rain fall, and when he got home, pulled it, pried it open, (there appears to be pry spots) applied some type of silicone sealer, fitted it back together and states it's been water tight since. A member of this site from England stated in another thread his dealer did much the same thing and called it "the fix." I've ridden in heavy rain once, but only for about 20 minutes and mine stayed water tight, but does condense moisture if experiencing rapid temp changes. I'm going to take a look at mine and if I can pry it apart, seal it with silicone.
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Turbo
stryder said:
Buddy of mine with a MTS, same instrument pod, had moisture in his after riding through a torrential rain fall, and when he got home, pulled it, pried it open, (there appears to be pry spots) applied some type of silicone sealer, fitted it back together and states it's been water tight since. A member of this site from England stated in another thread his dealer did much the same thing and called it "the fix." I've ridden in heavy rain once, but only for about 20 minutes and mine stayed water tight, but does condense moisture if experiencing rapid temp changes. I'm going to take a look at mine and if I can pry it apart, seal it with silicone.
Click to expand...
Just a small point, but we have been talking about the 2002 ST LCD display here. It's not the same as the 2005 instrument pod. The 2002 instrument cluster consists of 2 round analog gauges with the LCD unit mounted below them.

Luckily, if necessary, the 2002 LCD display can be replaced independently of the tack and speedo. However, if you want to get into the LCD unit, I believe you need a dremel tool and a steady hand! I believe it's a sealed unit. Can be done though. I've read reports of others who have gotten into their old-style LCD units. :D
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grimah1w
2
Repair of LCD display (module) ST4s (2002)

Grim here, successfully repaired mine after I saw moisture inside the window, then noticed the display failing. Here is link to my web site where I detail the process.
http://www.ducati-st4s.gotdns.com/Maintenance%20and%20Issues.htm#5issue

FYI I think the rubber grommet on the back side of the module where the electrical pigtail passes through is where the water is entering.

Process took a few hours, kind of a pain but not too difficult. For now a photo of the corrosion I found on the circuit card.

You should try it before spending the cash on a replacement. Good luck!

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MarkST
grimah1w said:
Grim here, successfully repaired mine after I saw moisture inside the window, then noticed the display failing. Here is link to my web site where I detail the process.
http://www.ducati-st4s.gotdns.com/M...sues.htm#5issue
You should try it before spending the cash on a replacement. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Excellent post Grim. This has given me the inspiration to prise mine apart and see if I can get it working again - my LCD is totally dead.
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thelumox
i had a little haze in mine for a few days, but it has dried up. guess i'll be gooping up that cap behind the unit soon. thanks for the post vinnie.
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grimah1w
Updated Link to Repair of LCD Water Intrusion Fix

Maintenance and Issues
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M
Just curious if there is an updated link- the one we have here no longer works.

Thanks,

Tom
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grimah1w
Maintenance and Issues
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Ascalon
Just to add, I had the same problem when I got my 4s first.

I had to wire in a shunt between two of the display legs to restore full functionality, but even so, there was some corrosion on the PCB and it affects the temperature read out.

The display is fine, but the temp over reads significantly. For example, when the fan kicks in, the temp displayed could be as high as 110.

The higher the reading the further it appears to be out, suggesting that the corrosion has increased the resistance of the circuits that interpret the signal from the sensor.

In town with ambient temperatures of anything more than 15c, I regularly see the 120c flashing warning, but when I thought my bike was going to melt, I went and had the diagnostic hooked up and the codes read.

There were no temperature warnings at all and the guy (Bologne trained) was able to turn the fan on and off as normal via the ECU.

It turns out that the even swapping the sensors made no difference.

He explained it by saying that the little gubbins in the ECU that takes the electrical signal from the coolant temp sensor and turns it into a signal to be read is vastly more accurate than the one in the LCD display. He said they were unreliable at best. The water ingress seems to have exacerbated the problem. His advice was ignore it.

Now, I do have a manual fan switch wired in, but the ECU says it’s all OK, so hey- ho.

Just another bit of context for you.

A
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P
Another similar question...
I took my '98 ST2 in to get the belts/valves/TPS service done. I trailered it there (no way to get home otherwise <g>...), and when I went to pick it up yesterday I found that the glass on my LCD screen (fuel gauge/temp/time) has a series of cracks radiating up from a ding near the bottom - looks like it got hit by a stone while driving the bike over to the shop. Can I remove it from the instrument cluster and replace the glass, or is it a replace the whole unit deal? If so, am I likely to find the LCD unit without having to buy a whole instrument cluster?
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tonered
The glass is part of the outer bezel. The LCD is separate. The gap between the glass and bezel was letting water seep by on mine, so I imagine that you should be able to pop it out and get a new piece in there and spend sometime sealing up the entire bezel:
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/40-sport-touring/75809-lcd-craziness.html

Have a good one.
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Stick
Ascalon said:
Just to add, I had the same problem when I got my 4s first.

I had to wire in a shunt between two of the display legs to restore full functionality, but even so, there was some corrosion on the PCB and it affects the temperature read out.

The display is fine, but the temp over reads significantly. For example, when the fan kicks in, the temp displayed could be as high as 110.

The higher the reading the further it appears to be out, suggesting that the corrosion has increased the resistance of the circuits that interpret the signal from the sensor.

In town with ambient temperatures of anything more than 15c, I regularly see the 120c flashing warning, but when I thought my bike was going to melt, I went and had the diagnostic hooked up and the codes read.

There were no temperature warnings at all and the guy (Bologne trained) was able to turn the fan on and off as normal via the ECU.

It turns out that the even swapping the sensors made no difference.

He explained it by saying that the little gubbins in the ECU that takes the electrical signal from the coolant temp sensor and turns it into a signal to be read is vastly more accurate than the one in the LCD display. He said they were unreliable at best. The water ingress seems to have exacerbated the problem. His advice was ignore it.

A
Click to expand...
FWIW, BOTH senders went bad on my 1998 ST2. These were the first items that I replaced on my ST4s, when I bought it. The readout is absolutely believable. And I've verified it using an optical pyrometer.

I recommend replacing these with affordable Bosch or NAPA units.

Also note that it's not uncommon for the fan to switch on at "above boiling". 220 F is not uncommon, and there's nothing wrong with it functioning there. You have (hopefully) a pressurized system that can flow coolant at temps above boiling.
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