2015 LCD gauge darkens in the sun

[Shovelhead]

I understand it's cooler in the shade.
I just think that the direct sunlight is what's causing the screen to flake out.
As they say, it is what it is, but I'd be curious to see if the screen did the same in the shade or shut up in a shed @ over 100°.

Feller would have to conduct a science project and use a temp probe or something, or simply cover it when in the direct sun maybe.

 

[JRE]

Same thing will happen. Leave a device with an LCD screen in the trunk of a car in the hot sun for awhile. Been there done that.

 

[RCinNC]

I read about LCD screens after this happened to me, and the symptoms of the darkened screen are pretty much what happens when it gets too hot. I recall reading a figure somewhere of 130 degrees can affect an LCD screen, but I could be wrong. In any event, I don't think it happens just from sitting in the sun, though; I believe it happens then the sun passes through the windscreen at just the right angle to focus it right on the instrument cluster. That's why it doesn't happen every single time the bike is in the sun, because it depends on where the sun is and how your bike is oriented towards it. Some V-Stroms had this same sort of issue, when the sun would shine through the windscreen at just the right angle and it would actually warp the plastic over the instrument cluster.

The best fix is to keep a rag or something in your side cases, and throw it over the windscreen if you're parking in bright sunlight. Don't just put it over the instrument cluster, since that won't keep it from getting too hot if the sunlight it being amped up by the windscreen. I live in NC where we have a lot of hot sunny days, and this has happened to me only once, so it's definitely not just the sunlight shining down on the bike.

 

[Shovelhead]

sunlight, heat, or both, I don't discount what y'all say about the LCD and heat, I ain't studied it. But I do know this --

first time mine did it, the sun was straight on hammering it from the direction of of the seat, not the windshield.

Why does only the right side display do it and not the big screen on the left? I really would like to know.

If they going to build bikes with LCD digital gadgets they should build em to be able to work when it's hot, and or when the sun is in the sky. Did they not think these things would be outdoors under those conditions?

 

[RCinNC]

Were you watching it when it happened? I'm not trying to sound like a contrarian jerk, I only mean that the sun may have been in a different position when the damage was done than it was when you came back to the bike to discover it. It has to be more than just the sun beating down on the screen; if it wasn't, then I think we'd be hearing about this from riders all over the southwest, or else it would be happening repeatedly to those of us who've experienced it already. North Carolina isn't like Tucson but the sun gets pretty hot here in the summer, yet I've only experienced the problem one time.

I don't know why it happens, but I think it's something more than just heat or sunlight under regular conditions.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I did a radio review for WBW a number of years ago and that LCD also discolored in the sun after the weather warmed up. One of the people writing a response also mentioned it.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-radio/jensen-jhd910-radio/


I looked into it and talked with an electronics engineer at an avionics company and learned that it is totally normal for LCD displays.

 

[14s10]

Just noticed mine did this after sitting in the direct sun for an an hour. Only right side display. Hoping there isn't any risk of permanent damage? I'm not worried about it if it goes right back to normal after a little while like it did. Just doesn't seem like it should happen, and stranger it only happens on the right screen. Mines a 14 non-Es btw.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RCinNC]

I wouldn't worry about it. It happened to mine around a year ago, and it's never happened again. The gauge cleared up on its own, and it functions normally.

 

[Jeff Milleman]

Down here in sunny S, Fla my 15 es has darkened a few times on long rides but comes back to normal as It cools off or out of the direct sun light.