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Clock Problems !!!!

4K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  Engenia 
#1 ·
Hi all

Sorry ... new to this forum & already crying out for help!

Just a follow on : Had a full 1st service plus a Gemel Thatcham approved alarm fitted ( as supplied & recommended by Benelli Uk ! ) at Streffords, Worcester & drove the bike home. As this was my 1st real ride I loved every inch of it! I purchased the bike Sunday, dropped the bike of at Streffords Monday then picked it up Thursday ... to give you an idea. Previous owner had done 900 miles & had briefly washed the bike once so I decided to 'get in there' & clean her up to my telling standards. Three washes & a bottle of Croma polish & she's gleaming now.

Ok ... plugged her into my Optimate 3 charge system .. all Ok. Next day & fully charged, weather dry enough for a ride so unplugged charger, pressed Gemel alarm button on remote & inserted the key. Turned the key and ...... No digi read out on the dial's !!!!!!!
I had engine management light & green nuteral light plus all the wurring noises from the back but NO digi read out ( mph, oil etc ) MMMMM ... now what!
Pressed the start button & engine fired up no probs but still NO digi read out.
Turned the key on off, pressed the Gemel over & over tried everything but to no avail !!! Little peed off now ...pressed the engine on off cut switch & hey presto ... digi works now.
Did all the above over & over again but to get the digi working I have to press the Gemel, turn the key then flick the red engine cut switch on & off & then the digi comes on. The digi read out had re-set itself & as I use the Optimate 3 charger I know that a flat battery is NOT a problem here. Also the digi read out is 'missing' some parts of the read out ie : 966 miles has the bottoms of the 66 missing & various other parts of the readout are the same!

Sooooo .... is this the clock's Knackered or is it the clocks & the engine kill switch? I can't for the life of me understand WHY it allows the read out to come on by playing with the kill switch when the kill switch, if left alone on initaily turning the key on, will allow the engine to start but will not not display the read out!!!

I have contacted both Beneli Uk & Streffords ( Nathan here has put an order in for a new set of clocks as he says this is a common problem ... only problem is he has dissapeared off down to Newquay on a lads week away so I will have to wait til he is back of hols to try to resolve this problem!! )

Has anyone else had this problem & if so was it resolved by fitting new clocks ? Did they also need to fit a new engine kill switch?

It's now 03.43 in the morning so please excuse my woffling but I am tired & a little peed of with my new bike ... sure you all understand!

Any replies on the above greatly received ..... Thanks, Mark
 
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#2 ·
Hi Mark - Welcome

I personally havnt had any clock problems - but from what you describe I gather it could be the clocks - but it sounds more like something that may have gone wrong when wiring the alarm.
I am not saying they havent wired it correctly, but a previous bike of mine had a similar problem and basically what had happend was 2 wires were 'shorting' against each other - which fried the LCD display

If they are replacing the clocks then I would ask them to double check the wiring for the alarm and around the loom

Or maybe cos its 6.33am I am just waffling too ! :rolling: :rolling:

Off now on a diving expedition so wont be around for a few days - no doubt Engenia, Lawrie, Lloyd, Rusty etc may well post the probable cause on here and make me look like a numpty !!

Good luck

Kurt
 
#3 ·
Welcome to the forum,

most likeley to be the clocks....I'm on my third set on my 2006 RS.
First set the indicator idiot light was intermittent, second set the temp gauge didn't work and fuel gauge read full all the time.

Third set seems ok so far...I'll keep my fingers crossed.

There is some talk that the original manufacturers of the clocks have gone bust so a firm has been comissioned to refurbish clock sets with new circuit boards etc,...these seem to be reliable.

Dave H
 
#4 ·
Hi Mark, welcome to the forum mate.
I think that the give-away here is :-
the digi read out is 'missing' some parts of the read out ie : 966 miles has the bottoms of the 66 missing & various other parts of the readout are the same!
There's not a lot you can do from outside the dash that will cause this. I suspect there's a connection to the lcd that's "dry". Sometimes it makes contact, sometimes not. A slight bump here or there, and away it goes. Ask your friendly Benelli dealer for a replacement.

It is curious that the problem only showed up after the alarm was fitted, but it can probably be attributed to a dry joint. It just wasn't acting up until the installer stared poking & prodding.

Certainly, if you short +12V to some of the wires leading to the dash, you'll fry parts of it, but that would be terminal, not intermittent.

Check the installer's work anyway. Be a good engineer, and don't trust anyone but yourself. Even then, expect to make a mistake!
 
#5 ·
Hi Mark, Sorry to hear that you are having electrical problems:bawl:

I doubt it has anything to do with the fitment of the alarm as the Gemel is a plug-in unit on this bike so the fitter would not have had to cut into the loom.

I'd go with Engenia and say that it's a duff set of clocks but I'm also curious as to why pressing the cut switch should temporarily resolve the issue.:confused: :confused: :confused:

Be interested to hear if a new set of clocks resolves the problem.
 
#6 ·
reply

Thanks all for your rapid response to the clock problem.:bow:
Had a few hr's of nice, sunny dry weather today so went out to start the beast .... did what I said re the kill switch ... bike was a total b*****d to start! Back fired twice, then luckily started so took the risk & rode to Gloucester .... digi worked in parts but the temp gauge was still, rev's were OK!
Went to start the bike over there & it was a total bugger again, this time more worked on the digi & the temp gauge worked. Stopped it at another bike shop only for the dials to appear Ok but still took a few attempts to start. Rode back to Hereford a total distance of about 60miles, parked bike up then tried to re-start .... this time fired up 1st time & clocks appear back to normal. Did another 80 miles ( addictive riding these bikes, Eh! LOL !!! ) stopping a few times & all seems Ok.

My question to you all is I cleaned the bike 3 times yesterday using a normal water hose ( NOT pressure ) & did not go over the top with water near the dials or controls. Does it / is it possible that these bikes don't like water? Plenty of experience washing bikes so I am well aware not to soak the bike .... or is it still a possibility it may be problem with clocks / kill switch?
I did spray WD40 around the kill switch at 04.30 this morning by the way!:confused:

Another 'woffle' session over ... be interested to here your thought's on this.
Thanks in advance:clap:
Mark
 
#7 ·
My question to you all is I cleaned the bike 3 times yesterday
c'mon Mark, you need to get out more!!!:rolling:

I know it sounds too much of a co-incidence but I'm wondering if the running/starting problems are not associated with the clocks issue.:confused::confused::confused:

It's just a thought but could it be that you have the now well documented 'stick coil' problem which has been exacerbated (Al, that means made worse:)) with washing the bike?
 
#8 ·
Reply

Hi Laurence ... yeah I know .... getting out more .... but with a mad 8 yr old son .... full time work for the wife 'n' I ....black labby to walk ..... time is short!!

'Stick -coil' problem .... don't know whay your on about & never heard of it !!!!
Could you please explain a little on this problem & what too look out for / avoid?
Still think there may be a wee problem with my clocks though so will get them changed ASAP.

Cheers
Mark
 
#9 ·
The Tornado's have ignition coils that are mounted directly onto the top of the spark plugs.

There has been quite a number of these that have developed faults as they have not been sealed sufficiently. Often it is the center coil that goes which is due to water being flung up from the front wheel.

The problem can be resolved by replacing the stick coil and sealing the new one with silicon to stop water ingress.

Don't get me wrong Mark, it may be something completely different but as I said earlier it was just a thought when you stated that it happened after the repeated washing.

If the bike is reluctant to start and then runs rougher than normal, check to see that the exhaust down pipes are all getting hot. If one is cold/cooler than the other two, then it just might be your stick coil for that particular cylinder.
 
#10 ·
Reply

Thanks Laurence.... think this may have been the starting problem! Luckily, because of the mileage done yesterday, I believe the heat etc from the engine has self solved the starting problem ... at least it started Ok today. To clean the bike now I will use as little water as possible & a good chammy:) Still ot sure about the clocks,though! Will get them changed over as I think the problem earlier may occur again only next time it may be out of warranty!!!!
Cheers
Mark
 
#11 ·
I think this is where my problems with my bike started.... using the hose to rinse off after a washing it. I've always used a bucket and poured water over it before, so it could have been the extra water and that it was under pressure that screwed up my coils/plugs!:doh:
 
#12 ·
Clocks story..

Hey Speedyone...

My '05 bike destroyed its clocks - everything on the LCD stopped working at around 2,500 miles old (- can't actually remember if the Tacho and Temp gauge did too!) (Quick peek inside revealed burnt-out components on the pcb)

New clocks eventually fitted under warranty, latest revision, they are currently ok at 1700 miles old, BUT.....a particularly wet ride on the Isle of Man resulted in them spending a whole day asking me to choose between MPH or KPH. Wouldn't allow me to select either option. It all cured itself after about 24 (rain-free) hours.
Maybe these instruments are a bit, er, water-sensitive? That's my excuse for not washing the bike too often!

Good luck
Neil
 
#14 ·
Clock Problems



Hi Mark.

I only had my bike 6 days when I ran into problems with the clocks (temp gauge) was reading in the top of the red but fans were running (but still very worried). Solution replacement set of clocks. You will find other threads about different revisions of clocks you should insist that your dealer gets the latest/correct one. The one thing that would bother me is that if you say you had not had the bike very longer how thorough was the PDI before you picked it up. There also lots of other recall work the you need to check has been carried (more threads available) I would also check that this has been (you should also not be charged for this).

If you are in any doubt speak to Benelli UK or Rusty Russ at Benetts who will give you all the help you need.

I hope this helps

NickPTre900:
 
#15 ·
:doh:

Thanks for the reply nickp.
Still waiting on Streffords to get back to me re clocks. Will leave til next Monday then contact them again ( Make that Tuesday ... bank hol Monday! )
Clocks seem to have settled a wee bit now, temp gauge still a little concern so will still push to have them changed over.

You mention other problems relating to recalls .... any chance someone can list the various recalls we should be looking for & how can we confirm these have been carried out .

My one real concern is a spring ( not sure what spring but it's in the engine!!!!! ) that sounds like it needs replacing as a recall ( read about it somewhere! ) how much is this of a worry & what should we be looking out for?

Cheers all
Mark
 
#16 ·
any chance someone can list the various recalls we should be looking for & how can we confirm these have been carried out .
My one real concern is a spring ( not sure what spring but it's in the engine!!!!! ) that sounds like it needs replacing as a recall ( read about it somewhere! ) how much is this of a worry & what should we be looking out for?
Hi Mark, only a couple of recalls. From memory:-
1. Clutch basket (original gauge was too light and fell apart)
2. intermediate gear on the back of the clutch basket (was only 6mm and didn't mesh properly. It is now 8mm. To check it's done, you have to remove the clutch basket)
3. Clutch command lever - now steel, painted black (on mine)
4. dash temp gauge unreliable, and clock/trip resets too easily (not strictly a recall, but was replaced on request)
5. The Alternator gear was locked in place with Loctite on the bolt threads, which could come unstuck. It now has a lock washer.

#2 came with an upgraded clutch basket, making #1 redundant

The spring you refer to is possibly the cam chain adjuster spring. Benelli haven't mentioned it, BUT, it's a VERY good idea to measure the adjuster depth and the spring length, to confirm that it is still working properly. In older engines, the installed spring lengths varied. I've documented what I know about it under Serious Stuff, here. There have been a couple of cam chain failures which have never been explained by the factory, but I believe (in at least one case) to be due to the adjuster. It's not a problem if you know what the state of your engine is.
Hope this helps.
Errol
 
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