Adjusting lcd brightness

[SK_in_AB]

My screen seems very dim in bright light. I tried pressing the adjust button but it does nothing until i hild it long enough to activate the clock adjust. Am I doing something wrong?   06 RT

[lkraus]

Just use several short presses of the button.  Each short press changes the brightness by one level.

As you found, press and hold for more than 2 seconds adjusts the clock.

[dirtrider]

8 hours ago, SK_in_AB said:

My screen seems very dim in bright light. I tried pressing the adjust button but it does nothing until i hild it long enough to activate the clock adjust. Am I doing something wrong?   06 RT

Morning  Stephen

 

Adjusting the LCD backlight intensity seldom helps the hexhead dash be more visible in bright sunlight. That lack of dash visibility is, & has been, a BIG problem with the 1200 hexhead dash since day one. They are not that good in bright sunlight to begin with & the hot sun makes it them even weaker. It's not a backlight issue it is an LCD issue.  

 

Adjusting the backlight can help in the dark (at night) but in the bright sun not so much. 

[SK_in_AB]

Ok. I actually noticed it is very readable with the sun behind me.  I wonder if rigging up a small led light ( bicycle headlight perhaps) to shine on the lcd from by the ignition switch would help?   I’ll try it out next time I’m In bright daylight

[dirtrider]

9 hours ago, SK_in_AB said:

Ok. I actually noticed it is very readable with the sun behind me.  I wonder if rigging up a small led light ( bicycle headlight perhaps) to shine on the lcd from by the ignition switch would help?   I’ll try it out next time I’m In bright daylight

Morning SK_in_AB

 

I don't know if you can find them in the archives (since the updated web site most real old posts can't be found with the search function) but back in the 2005/2006 hexhead era we had a number of threads on the dash not being usable in the sun with a number of things tried by riders, like added external lighting like you suggested, or added shading hoods, or deeper gauge surrounds (like the 1200 camhead).

 

One of the problems with adding a light behind the dash is the reflection on the clear gauge cover that you can then get. 

 

There were (maybe still are) aftermarket gauge surrounds, or adding camhead or K bike dash surrounds, etc.

 

Personally I just use my GPS for speedometer (more accurate anyhow) then wait until I get the sun lighting right to read the darn dash. 

 

Part of the problem is also from the sun's heat, just the sun heating the dash LCD's causes them to get considerably dimmer.   

 

At one time I thought about adding a small air duct & blower fan to blow cool air on-in my hexhead dash electronics to cool the LCD's but by the time I got around to that I had just learned to live with the weak washed out dash & use my GPS.  

 

Here is one of the old threads, be sure to scroll to top of thread____       https://www.bmwsporttouring.com/topic/42451-brightness-of-multi-function-display-on-09-1200rt/#comment-467710

 

[eisenwal]

I think the real solution to this LCD problem is for BMW or after-market to come out with a TFT unit to replace the LCD. It hasn't happend yet, and proabably won't. Still, one can dream.

[dirtrider]

4 minutes ago, eisenwal said:

I think the real solution to this LCD problem is for BMW or after-market to come out with a TFT unit to replace the LCD. It hasn't happend yet, and proabably won't. Still, one can dream.

Afternoon eisenwal

 

You probably don't want to hold you breath waiting for this one. The stock LCD dash is about $1,500.00 (plus programming in), not many would spend that (or probably more yet due to probably also needing an interface update) to update an older 1200RT to TFT.

 

BMW won't even acknowledge a much more needed throttle cam improvement & that is a safety issue not an inconvenience. 

 

Cheaper to just use a good transreflective GPS for speed indication then don't worry about needing to see the dash unless the yellow or red warning on the dash lights up (at least you can see that) .  

[Doctor T]

Not sure if yours is the same but my panel adjusts itself. In the sunlight the panel it gets brighter and at night it dims. This also happends to the main clock led bulbs. This confused me after i rebuilt the clockback lights. I will add that i can still adjust the brightness of the clocks by pushing button 1.

[dirtrider]

36 minutes ago, Doctor T said:

Not sure if yours is the same but my panel adjusts itself. In the sunlight the panel it gets brighter and at night it dims. This also happends to the main clock led bulbs. This confused me after i rebuilt the clockback lights. I will add that i can still adjust the brightness of the clocks by pushing button 1.

Afternoon  Doctor T

 

There is a light sensor on the dash area (bottom of speedometer dial) to dim the dash at night.   It shouldn't get any brighter, it just dims from normal at night or in very low ambient light conditions. 

[nimibank]

On 7/14/2022 at 4:10 PM, dirtrider said:

Morning SK_in_AB

 

I don't know if you can find them in the archives (since the updated web site most real old posts can't be found with the search function) but back in the 2005/2006 hexhead era we had a number of threads on the dash not being usable in the sun with a number of things tried by riders, like added external lighting like you suggested, or added shading hoods, or deeper gauge surrounds (like the 1200 camhead).

 

One of the problems with adding a light behind the dash is the reflection on the clear gauge cover that you can then get. 

 

There were (maybe still are) aftermarket gauge surrounds, or adding camhead or K bike dash surrounds, etc.

 

Personally I just use my GPS for speedometer (more accurate anyhow) then wait until I get the sun lighting right to read the darn dash. 

 

Part of the problem is also from the sun's heat, just the sun heating the dash LCD's causes them to get considerably dimmer.   

 

At one time I thought about adding a small air duct & blower fan to blow cool air on-in my hexhead dash electronics to cool the LCD's but by the time I got around to that I had just learned to live with the weak washed out dash & use my GPS.  

 

Here is one of the old threads, be sure to scroll to top of thread____       https://www.bmwsporttouring.com/topic/42451-brightness-of-multi-function-display-on-09-1200rt/#comment-467710

 

Well Said mate 

[pwillikers]

Vehicle: '11 R12RT

 

This bicycle headlight (which emits white light in spite of what one may infer from the red lens) is just the right size, placement and angle to effectively illuminate the LCD while not causing a reflection into my eyes.  However, it is just not bright enough to make a discernible difference in readability of the LCD in bright sunlight, particularly bright sunlight reflected off my high-viz jacket onto the LCD.  A light source would have to be many times brighter than this for any chance at success.