[pcmacnerd]

I recently bought a Dynojet Power Vision for my 16 VRSCF. Great tuner and I really liked the ability to have more gauges available for things like gear indicator, engine temp, etc... I made a bracket to keep it mounted all the time. However, when I'm riding the gauges occasionally just stop displaying data and I have to switch to a different gauge cluster then back again to get them to start working. I contacted Dynojet Research Inc. about it and unfortunately it was a horrible experience. They basically told me they have had multiple people report the problem, they can't reproduce it, they have no idea how to fix it and that most customers end up resolving it themselves then closed the issue. They think it has to do with RF interference in the wire. The troubling thing is that they asked NO questions and offered NO suggestions on how to maybe fix the problem. Horrible customer support. Just wanted to put this out there for those considering the product. I would still recommend it as a product but the customer support is extremely lacking.

So I guess I'm on my own with this issue, anyone have any suggestions? I don't have the wire running by any aftermarket electronics or the spark wires which seems to be the most common place for the issue. The wire runs from the port behind the right side cover up to the handlebars. It does go next to the headlight wires but I don't know how to prevent that...

 

[stever975]

...
...when I'm riding the gauges occasionally just stop displaying data and I have to switch to a different gauge cluster then back again to get them to start working. I contacted Dynojet Research Inc. about it and unfortunately it was a horrible experience. They basically told me they have had multiple people report the problem, they can't reproduce it, they have no idea how to fix it and that most customers end up resolving it themselves then closed the issue. They think it has to do with RF interference in the wire. ...
...

So I guess I'm on my own with this issue, anyone have any suggestions?...

I'd guess there's a problem with the diagnostic interface cable or the terminal connections at either end. Looking at the "Quick Start Installation Guide" I see this is a molded cable with a Deutsch 4-pin connector on one end and a Molex 8-pin (with a molded cover for the Power Vision ports attached) on the other end.

The signal feed on the Harley datalink is VPW (= variable pulse width) and looks like this:

The data is encoded in the square wave voltage pulses. The height of the voltage pulses can vary quite a bit without loss of important signal pulse width. This makes the signal fairly immune to inductive noise but molded wire connectors can have problems with the wire and/or connections to the terminals.

I'd be tempted to make my own cable using CAT6 or CAT7 cable. These cables have 4 twisted pairs with lots of shielding. (You only need 3 wires so 2 twisted pair cable would work but CAT6 and CAT7 cables are easy to find.) You'd need to test with an ohm meter to find out which of the 8 Molex terminals are used for the 3 active Deutsch connections:

1: not used
2: ground
3: VPW datalink signal
4: 12 VDC​

I'd use one twisted pair for the datalink VPW signal and ground wires and another pair for the 12 VDC wire (it doesn't matter which of the two wires are used). The other 2 twisted pairs aren't used. Connect the cable shielding conductor to the ground wire (pin #2) from the Deutsch connector only (leave this unconnected on the Molex connector end).

It's a lot of screwing around with wires and connectors (and it may not fix the problem if the fault is inside the Power Vision) but it's the only thing I can suggest. Connectors are available from various sources. Here's the Deutsch and Molex on Amazon.

 

[pcmacnerd]

I'd guess there's a problem with the diagnostic interface cable or the terminal connections at either end. Looking at the "Quick Start Installation Guide" I see this is a molded cable with a Deutsch 4-pin connector on one end and a Molex 8-pin (with a molded cover for the Power Vision ports attached) on the other end.



The signal feed on the Harley datalink is VPW (= variable pulse width) and looks like this:

The data is encoded in the square wave voltage pulses. The height of the voltage pulses can vary quite a bit without loss of important signal pulse width. This makes the signal fairly immune to inductive noise but molded wire connectors can have problems with the wire and/or connections to the terminals.



I'd be tempted to make my own cable using CAT6 or CAT7 cable. These cables have 4 twisted pairs with lots of shielding. (You only need 3 wires so 2 twisted pair cable would work but CAT6 and CAT7 cables are easy to find.) You'd need to test with an ohm meter to find out which of the 8 Molex terminals are used for the 3 active Deutsch connections:

1: not used

2: ground

3: VPW datalink signal

4: 12 VDC​

I'd use one twisted pair for the datalink VPW signal and ground wires and another pair for the 12 VDC wire (it doesn't matter which of the two wires are used). The other 2 twisted pairs aren't used. Connect the cable shielding conductor to the ground wire (pin #2) from the Deutsch connector only (leave this unconnected on the Molex connector end).



It's a lot of screwing around with wires and connectors (and it may not fix the problem if the fault is inside the Power Vision) but it's the only thing I can suggest. Connectors are available from various sources. Here's the Deutsch and Molex on Amazon.

Thanks for the suggestion, I might give this a try. Does the cat 5/6 cable provide better shielding since it’s a twisted pair? I see others are suggesting using a copper cable shielding and grounding it to the frame?


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[freudie1]

It's more likely a cold solder joint issue OR the issue I had (memory corruption).

To fix the issue I had (wouldn't boot up) I was advised to try sticking it in the freezer for a few hours, load the recovery firmware (I believe I posted all this info on this forum, if not call their support department and ask for the recovery mode instructions for the PV).

After about 2 hours in a deep freeze, loading recovery fw, loading current fw, it works reliably.

Sounds like "Yeah right", but it completely cured the symptoms I had which incidentally sound like yours in some regards (i.e. before the won't boot issue I would have intermittent data timeouts also).

Disclosure: I work with J1850 VPW on the daily (and for years). I don't think I've seen a cable flaw on these bike yet be the cause.

 

[stever975]

Thanks for the suggestion, I might give this a try. Does the cat 5/6 cable provide better shielding since it’s a twisted pair? I see others are suggesting using a copper cable shielding and grounding it to the frame?...
...

CAT 5e/6/7 cables all have twisted pairs (the twist is tighter as the CAT number increases reducing cross-talk), then each pair has a foil shield, and then there's an overall shield. Twisting the pairs reduces inter cable cross-talk and the shielding further reduces this as well as reducing externally derived noise. When hooking up a cable shield it's important to only connect it on one end (this prevents ground loops) and it's best to pick the end that more directly connects to ground.

 

[freudie1]

Thanks for the suggestion, I might give this a try. Does the cat 5/6 cable provide better shielding since it’s a twisted pair? I see others are suggesting using a copper cable shielding and grounding it to the frame?


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Not the issue. There is not that much electrical interference on these bikes that would necessitate extensive shielding/grounding efforts (I have a virtual electronics lab in my shop sitting next to the bike and have zero interference issues on top of the bike's own electronics).

You either have a bad PV unit/hardware OR you need to do the freezer/recovery procedure I wrote about.

 

[pcmacnerd]

Not the issue. There is not that much electrical interference on these bikes that would necessitate extensive shielding/grounding efforts (I have a virtual electronics lab in my shop sitting next to the bike and have zero interference issues on top of the bike's own electronics).

You either have a bad PV unit/hardware OR you need to do the freezer/recovery procedure I wrote about.

This seems pretty straight forward and worth a try. I found these instructions on fuelmoto is this the procedure you followed? https://university.fuelmotousa.com/hc/en-us/articles/218924067-Power-Vision-Running-a-Full-Recovery

 

[freudie1]

This seems pretty straight forward and worth a try. I found these instructions on fuelmoto is this the procedure you followed? https://university.fuelmotousa.com/hc/en-us/articles/218924067-Power-Vision-Running-a-Full-Recovery

Read here. I post the whole story and procedure:

http://www.1130cc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=410538&highlight=powervision+freezer

 

[pcmacnerd]

Read here. I post the whole story and procedure:



http://www.1130cc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=410538&highlight=powervision+freezer

So I did the reset per your instructions. I didn’t need to put it in the freezer as the reset took on the first try. Went out for a 30 min ride and no issue. I’m cautiously optimistic that this is going to work. Hopefully I can get out on a longer ride tomorrow and report back.


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[pcmacnerd]

Unfortunately the reset did not fix the problem. Had it happen three times on my way to lunch today. Man this is frustrating.


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[pcmacnerd]

So I tried shortening the wiring harness and added tinned copper shielding grounded to the frame. Issue still happens. At this point I guess I need to try and go back to Dynojet but i'm not looking forward to that.

 

[freudie1]

Unfortunately the reset did not fix the problem. Had it happen three times on my way to lunch today. Man this is frustrating.


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Captain Obvious time:

Did you ALSO update the firmware to the latest version after you did the reset procedure?

I imagine you did, but I'm trying to figure this out for you. It's completely possible you have a dead unit. The amount of vibration and weather take a toll on things like this. MAYBE Dynojet will give you a mercy purchase (i.e. drastically reduced cost).

It's worth it in the end as the PV is a fantastic device/gauge unit (well when it works that is of course).

 

[pcmacnerd]

Captain Obvious time:

Did you ALSO update the firmware to the latest version after you did the reset procedure?

I imagine you did, but I'm trying to figure this out for you. It's completely possible you have a dead unit. The amount of vibration and weather take a toll on things like this. MAYBE Dynojet will give you a mercy purchase (i.e. drastically reduced cost).

It's worth it in the end as the PV is a fantastic device/gauge unit (well when it works that is of course).

Thanks for the reply, yes i did upgrade the firmware again. They should still cover it since I've only had it a few weeks now and it hasn't been in any rain or seen much vibration.

 

[rbabos]

Thanks for the reply, yes i did upgrade the firmware again. They should still cover it since I've only had it a few weeks now and it hasn't been in any rain or seen much vibration.

It should have a one year warranty from time of purchase. Time to call customer service and see if you can get a replacement. The problems you are experiencing should not be happening unless the unit is defective in some way. Bought mine in 2013 and not a single glitch.
Ron