Hi guys,

I've got an 1997 CBRXX and i've got a bit of a bad earth situation going on in the dash.

All of my dash lights work perfectly fine up until i have mu headlamp on and then use an indicator. With the headlamp off, the indicators don't affect the dash in any way. but with the headlamp on all of the lights on the dash dim and flicker on and off as the indicators flash.

Has anyone come across this before with their CBRXX?

Yes mate!
Clean up the 2 plugs behind the instruments panel very well and do the same for the left and right hand controls!
Use some emery paper (go easy and use a fine one) on the contacts and plenty of contact cleaner.
Should be easy to do, once you get the front cowl off.
Good luck man!

haha... superlightshowbird

*ahem* sorry for that, but it was too funny when i tried to imagine that ^^
and no, i had never any dashlight issues, but we have a few good men here who know a lot about electro-problems.

did you dis- and reconnect the dashboard wiring?

from austria - and try to post something like an introduction in the intro-section.

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edit: elvetosts post wasn´t online when i started my own reply - but basically it´s the same.
clean your connectors

I agree what these guys said, only you don't need to take the whole front cowl off to gain access, I've had my '97 dash off several times by only removing the windscreen and the little plastic panels that surround the dash, it's a pretty straight forward task. I think there's just either 2 or 3 little nuts on the back side of the dash that hold it to the frame.

Originally Posted by elvetost

Yes mate!
Clean up the 2 plugs behind the instruments panel very well and do the same for the left and right hand controls!
Use some emery paper (go easy and use a fine one) on the contacts and plenty of contact cleaner.
Should be easy to do, once you get the front cowl off.
Good luck man!

A little more detail so you know why chris is suggesting this..

The starter button has alot of power running through it for ancilliary systems like headlights, lights and other things.. when you press the start button all these go off so that the is more power for cranking the engine. It has been found that over time on some blackbirds that this contact does not make the connection that it should when you release the starter and this in turn causes problems for the devices that are powered through this circuit.

I only suggested taking the front cowl off, as in bikes with corrosion at the terminals, I'd certainly like to have a good look at all the plugs.
And it makes your life much easier to do the actual cleaning too!

Thanks for the suggestions. I've already had the cluster out and cleaned up the contacts. that said, I haven't cleaned up the contacts for the left and right controls, so I'll give that a go.

My only concern is that the PCB on the back of the cluster is quite corroded, so I'm just hoping its not that.

If it were the PCB then I would guess that the problem would happen all the time...

You wanna check the pcb out, where the 2 plugs go in on it.
You may find that the copper print of the pcb has worn (mine was) inside the "plug".
Keep us posted on how you are doing man!

What did you do? did you replace the PCB? If so, where did you get one from?

Well, to begin with, I repaired mine!
The latter on, I found a pcb on ebay that was mint and got it for like 10quid or so..
Mine was damaged on the bit that the plug pins, make contact with the pcb. Repaired with some tiny wires soldered on the back..
Come to think of it, I still have the repaired one in hand. Its yours if you need it man!
Just have a look and post some pics up too.
Good luck buddy!

Fixed it! I had 2 broken tracks on the pcb where the plugs join the pcb. One broken track on each plug. Nightmare!

I did the same, I just joined 2 wires to the back of the board and traced them to the back of the plugs.

elvetost - Thanks for the offer and the advise. You're a legend.

Although its fixed, I'll keep my eye out on ebay for a new pcb. Wonder if you can buy them from a main dealer? I'll check that out too.

I've got working dash lights and everything!

Hehe!
No worries man, glad you got it fixed!
Get in touch with Partsguy (Al) over here, or try david silver spares man. They both should get it for you.
I think that it is part of the lower plastic casing though (part. number 37103-MAT-D01) and they are about 80 quid...
Trust me, your repair, if done well, will last for much longer than it takes you to down them quid on beer down the pub man!