My clock stops when the ignition is off. Anyone else?

[R12RnHouston]

I'm having an odd malfunction in my clock. When the ignition is shut off, the clock stops. Got to work yesterday morning at 7:40 am. When I hoped on my bike for the ride home at the end of the day, the clock read 7:48 am! It's been doing this for about a week (yet no other electrical issues). I fear it's symptomatic of a bigger problem. Before I call the dealer, any similar experience with you folks?

[dbrick]

I've not experienced that, nor heard of anyone else's bike with that particular malfunction.

My first thought was a battery going bad, or a bad connection or connections at one of the battery cables. But that would likely also manifest as difficulty starting the motor; doesn't sound like you have that.

Have you tried using the time reset button to cycle through the clock's functions, to see if the behavior changes?

[R12RnHouston]

Thanks for the reply, David. Battery is fairly new and no starting issues. I've also reset the clock several times. I will try a hard reboot by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery and check the terminals.

[R12RnHouston]

Well it worked for about 48 hours and is now back to malfunctioning.

[deilenberger]

Next thing to try is R&R every connector - in the hopes that one is loose or making poor contact. The one in particular I'd look at are the ones going to the ZFE module - which is located under the tank. Think of the ZFE as the switching-center of the bike. It turns things on/off in response to signal inputs.

I'd have to look at the wiring diagram, but in all likelihood the instrument cluster gets it's power from the ZFE, which must provide two sources of power to the cluster - a "maintenance power" and a "running power" - the maintenance power is what keeps things like the clock going when the power to the rest of the bike is off. I do know that if the battery is disconnected - two settings are lost on the cluster (which must be powered by the maintenance power supply) - the clock and the trip meter.

So - question - is the trip meter also resetting when the clock resets? That would lead me to believe there is a problem in the maintenance power source.

If not - the problem is likely internal to the cluster. The really odd thing to me - the clock isn't resetting - it's simply stopping running. VERY odd..

[R12RnHouston]

Thanks for the reply, Don.

The trip meters do not reset, but oddly if one or the other is selected when I shut of the ignition and pull the key, it has toggled to the odometer when I reverse those steps.

Also, as a twist, I just walked out and turned on the ignition, and the clock has been running since I got to work this morning (about 4.5 hours ago). So it seems the power loss or whatever is going on is intermittent for now. It's little more than a nucence, but I do use the clock frequently when I ride.

[dbrick]

The trip meters do not reset, but oddly if one or the other is selected when I shut of the ignition and pull the key, it has toggled to the odometer when I reverse those steps.

I don't have access to my bike today, but I'm pretty sure this behavior is normal...or at least my bike's always done it. Rather like the info panel defaulting to display the miles-to-empty number on startup when the tank's getting towards empty.

BTW, your other correspondent here is Don, not Dale.

[R12RnHouston]

The trip meters do not reset, but oddly if one or the other is selected when I shut of the ignition and pull the key, it has toggled to the odometer when I reverse those steps.

I don't have access to my bike today, but I'm pretty sure this behavior is normal...or at least my bike's always done it. Rather like the info panel defaulting to display the miles-to-empty number on startup when the tank's getting towards empty.

BTW, your other correspondent here is Don, not Dale.

Mine always defaults at start up to the selections made at shut down.

Apologies, Don. I do know your name, and blame my blunder on age.

[deilenberger]

Both of mine always defaulted to whatever was displayed at shutoff. The only thing that self-toggles is the temperature display shows up if the temperature is below about 40F.. I guess to tell you it's below 40F (like I wouldn't realize that before my heated gear kicks in.)

[deilenberger]

Given your symptoms - if it was me (and I am somewhat experienced in electronic tech stuff) - I'd be pulling the instrument cluster, disassembling it and looking for anything odd - like corroded or loose connectors between components, or burned components, or bulging capacitors. It might be just the action of disconnecting it from the harness and reconnecting it might fix whatever is going on. Stranger things have happened on BMWs.

[R12RnHouston]

Given your symptoms - if it was me (and I am somewhat experienced in electronic tech stuff) - I'd be pulling the instrument cluster, disassembling it and looking for anything odd - like corroded or loose connectors between components, or burned components, or bulging capacitors. It might be just the action of disconnecting it from the harness and reconnecting it might fix whatever is going on. Stranger things have happened on BMWs.

Thanks for the reply, Don. I'm planning to wade into it when I get back from a planed trip coming up. Spoke to the service manager at the dealer this morning and was told the only course they could recommend would be replacing the cluster (and that it was not something they would troubleshoot).

[eperker]

I had intermittent issues when starting my bike where it seemed like it was about to die and my clock would reset to noon. At some point, I got a brake failure warning and then my bike wouldn't turn on at all. It was just a slightly loose battery connection. So, on the off chance that it is this simple and you haven't check it already, try giving your battery connectors a good turn of the screw.

[R12RnHouston]

I had intermittent issues when starting my bike where it seemed like it was about to die and my clock would reset to noon. At some point, I got a brake failure warning and then my bike wouldn't turn on at all. It was just a slightly loose battery connection. So, on the off chance that it is this simple and you haven't check it already, try giving your battery connectors a good turn of the screw.

Thanks, and good tip. I just returned from a week long trip. One night the temperature dipped below freezing, and the following morning the battery was dead as a doornail.

When I got home I replaced the battery with a new one but to no avail. The problem is still there.

[8ball]

Yeah! Ijust replaced my battery and now loosing memory on clock, avg fuel mileage dte and ave speed!! Reset several times but only takes a few minutes to reset to default. tested connector, verified unswitched voltage to connector and did gs911 tests and fault read, all tests good no fault code! Called dealer and he has no clue. Every time I turn ignition on the cluster does the "just connected the battery seguence" then goes thru the normal calibration boot and works normally.

[8ball]

Yeah I have an 07that started this after changing battery..testing puts the the tbl in the gauge console..no suitable solutions at this time otherr
than replacement OOps ..reposted as I thought 1st post got lost, admin delay.

[R12RnHouston]

Well, I finally began to dig into the instrument cluster and troubleshoot this issue. My plan was to start by unplugging the connector and cleaning the contacts. Problem is I can't even get the back cover off of the instrument cluster. Seems to be attached in three places and I see rubber grommets at the points of attachment, but after a few gentle tugs and even light prying with a screw driver nothing budges. I'm afraid I'm going to damage or break $omething.

Forum searches and my Haynes manual provide no clues.

Has anyone ever removed this cover.

[R12RnHouston]

A little more gentle probing and I got it. I was looking for something hard and it's easy...

At the bottom of the cover there is a tab, push it in with a screw driver and simply pull the bottom of the cover back, up, and off.



Here is the tab...



Easy access to the connector and clips that must be removed to pull the instrument cluster...



Wish me luck.

[deilenberger]

Interesting. There seems to be a tie-wrap on the right side of the cluster (left side in photo..) If it's holding any wires associated with the cluster that's the first place I'd look. BMW if infamous for over-tightening tie-wraps, eventually damaging the wire it's holding in place. If it isn't holding a wire - what is it doing there?

[R12RnHouston]

Interesting. There seems to be a tie-wrap on the right side of the cluster (left side in photo..) If it's holding any wires associated with the cluster that's the first place I'd look. BMW if infamous for over-tightening tie-wraps, eventually damaging the wire it's holding in place. If it isn't holding a wire - what is it doing there?

That one, Don, and two others I've clipped away in the photo (you can see their evidence as clean spots on the control cable at 12 and 3). They are all coming off and being replaced with care not to over-tighten.

[8ball]

I'm still investigating this, now need to open the cluster. removed all the screws holding the bezel but no joy. If anyone has removed or changed their bezel what's the trick to remove it?