Strange "Snowflake" display

[dclinton]

Has anybody ever seen this strange display before:

I have a 2020 DCT Tour. This display has occurred several times recently; typically when I am stopped, and in DCT mode. When the "snowflakes" appear the bike will only operate in 1st gear. I have to shut down and restart for normal operations to resume. It's at the dealership now. They said they had never seen this before. Thanks.

[WingAdmin]

Those "snowflakes" are just what happens when ALL the elements of the LCD display are actuated. The fact that those are controlled by a computer module, and that when it occurs, your bike refuses to shift, leads me to believe there is an issue with one of the computers in the bike.

[dclinton]

That makes sense. No word from the dealership (or Honda) yet. Will let you know what they conclude. Thanks.

[dclinton]

I talked with the dealership technician today. He said the the clutch was failing, and had to be rebuilt. I pick the bike up next week. I do a lot of slow speed maneuvering, and that's typically all in 1st gear. 95% of my street riding though, is in automatic mode. Can you think of any questions I should ask when I retrieve it? Thanks.

[WingAdmin]

I talked with the dealership technician today. He said the the clutch was failing, and had to be rebuilt. I pick the bike up next week. I do a lot of slow speed maneuvering, and that's typically all in 1st gear. 95% of my street riding though, is in automatic mode. Can you think of any questions I should ask when I retrieve it? Thanks.

I would definitely ask them to describe what a failing clutch had to do with the display malfunctioning!

[dclinton]

Okay; I picked-up my bike yesterday. The technician said they, nor Honda could satisfactorily explain with certainly what the "snowflakes" display represented. The technician speculated that since the clutch was going out, maybe that had something to do with it. They rebuilt the clutch under warranty. Since the display was beginning to occur fairly often, I should know within the next several days whether there was a causal relationship. Only driving will tell if rebuilding the clutch in fact, resolved the issue. I'll provide what I hope to be a final update within the next week.

[GoldWing808]

I saw this display the other day when I was suffering a low amperage battery issue. Enough volts to turn on but that’s it. I also have been told that when that happens (not in your situation), it’s time to initialize the clutch (many good videos of that on YouTube, takes about 1-2 minutes. I did that myself today.

[dclinton]

Hello.

I have driven my bike several hundred miles since the repair; and have not had a repeat of the "snowflakes" events; which had been occurring every time I took the mc out. I'm satisfied that rebuilding the clutch resolved the issue. My speculation is that one of the onboard sensors picked-up the failing clutch, and the result was the warning displays I received. Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions.

[JerryOfAZ]

I have a similar problem with my 2018 DCT. When the RPMs exceed 4000, the snowflakes along with two other lights flash. That stays until I turn off the ignition and re-start. It has lasted for quite some time. I even switched to trike and the problem remains the same.

[dclinton]

My clutch on my 2020 DCT Tour was rebuilt about 2 months ago (under warranty) , and I have had no "snowflake" problems since - - -- until yesterday. It only happened once, and I have not been able to replicate it yet. I'm not absolutely certain, but it seems this problem has something to do with downshifting. Going to get it into the dealer again to address this issue. I'm beginning to believe the DCT may have some clutch issues when running in manual mode.

[dclinton]

Attempted to start-up bike the other day: "snowflakes" displayed briefly, then everything went blank. It would not start at all. Nor would the saddle bags compartment or trunk open. This definitely seems that the throttle was a symptom, not the underlying problem. Anyway the dealership won't be looking at it until the middle of August. Bummer ...... Hopefully this time we get to the root; I'll let you know the outcome.

[dclinton]

Upon advice from the Cruiseman, i checked my battery, and found that it was running at about 70%. I purchased and installed a new battery, and it started right up! Because it didn't exhibit bad battery signs that I'm familiar with, I'm Still not certain that was the main problem, and not just another symptom. So it will still be going to the dealer for an examination. Will update you with a final status. Thanks.

[MikeB]

Upon advice from the Cruiseman, i checked my battery, and found that it was running at about 70%. I purchased and installed a new battery, and it started right up! Because it didn't exhibit bad battery signs that I'm familiar with, I'm Still not certain that was the main problem, and not just another symptom. So it will still be going to the dealer for an examination. Will update you with a final status. Thanks.

If you have not done the DCT clutch initialization, you should at lest look at this You Tube Video. It shows the snowflakes you speak of.


   Never miss a video: Subscribe to the GoldwingDocs YouTube channel today!

[JerryOfAZ]

Our problem seems to be a little different than the others. I have checked everything seen on the other listings, Replaced the battery, do the clutch initialization monthly, and checked all sensors (ABSS, etc). My gear indicator shows and I get the snowflakes and my APS and brake lights blink. It stayed stat way until I turn off and re-start. I even switched to trike (with problem before and after). The only consistent symptom is that any time I exceed 4 grand on the tach, it comes on. On less frequent occasions, it happens even without taching to 4 grand (10% of the time).

[dclinton]

I've run the initialization a couple times. Will try the 4K tach tomorrow and see if that triggers something. Everything seemed normal today when I took it for a spin.

[JerryOfAZ]

Mine is slightly different though in that I get the snowflakes and my APS and brake lights blink. When I first bought the 2018 GoldWing DCT, it had no problem. It started at some point later.

[jinx]

Just worked on friend's 2020 DCT Tour with a similar problem. His was easy to find. He was installing a belly pan/engine guard and got careless. He pinched/cut a wire to one of the sensors on the lower front of the engine. I think it was the clutch oil pressure sensor. The display was similar, and the bike would not sift out of first gear. So you might want to check the sensors behind the lower cowl to see if it is loose.

[JerryOfAZ]

Thanks for the reply. I have checked every connector, several times, to no avail. The odd part is that the only way I can systematically check it is to run over 4 grand on the tach. It rarely (once in several hundred tries) happens in any other respect. I will keep your input in mind and double check the cables in that are more thoroughly. Thanks

[dclinton]

Since I changed the battery the "snowflake" display has not reappeared. From what I have read on this forum and from my personal observations over the last thousand or so miles, I'm convinced the display signified a problem with something electrical, but did not specifically point to the source. In my case the battery apparently was the source. I've had a technician look at it twice since replacing the battery, and no irregularities were found. So as far as I am concerned, problem solved, and I learned a little bit more about my bike in the process. Thanks for all the help and suggestions that eventually led me to a solution.

[BWL1957]

Another twist. I have the snowflakes blinking on my 2018 1800B MANUAL 6-speed. Bike runs great but have found no answers online nor from dealership on the phone.

[dclinton]

Okay; since the last post I decided to upgrade to a 2022 DCT Tour because the technician was involved in an accident while test driving my 2020. At that point I figured the bike was a jinx

Anyway, after about three weeks, and 1000 miles the new bike started exhibiting the same symptoms (snowflakes, etc) as the old one. In fact it went one step further - - - it stalled on me while idling. When I tried to start it back up it wouldn't start. I noticed that it would not shift into neutral, as is necessary for start-up. So I had to have it towed, but when the tow truck arrived, i pushed the bike a bit to get it situated for the tow truck, and decided to try it again; it started-up. Its been at the shop for about a month now, and I met with the technicians yesterday.

They said something has to do with the clutch, but they won't know until they do a complete tear down. The Honda representative instructed them to ask me what my driving style was. I'm sure that was to see if some type of abuse was involved. At least seventy percent of the time I ride, it is to and from destinations where I take slow-ride safety courses. The commonality between the 2020 that I had the same problem with, and this 2022 is the extensive slow riding at speeds less than 10-12 mph at rpm's of 1000 to 1200. I am wondering if the slow riding regimes is an issue with the DCT.

Any comments or similar experiences? Thanks.

[blupupher]

Okay; since the last post I decided to upgrade to a 2022 DCT Tour because the technician was involved in an accident while test driving my 2020. At that point I figured the bike was a jinx

Anyway, after about three weeks, and 1000 miles the new bike started exhibiting the same symptoms (snowflakes, etc) as the old one. In fact it went one step further - - - it stalled on me while idling. When I tried to start it back up it wouldn't start. I noticed that it would not shift into neutral, as is necessary for start-up. So I had to have it towed, but when the tow truck arrived, i pushed the bike a bit to get it situated for the tow truck, and decided to try it again; it started-up. Its been at the shop for about a month now, and I met with the technicians yesterday.

They said something has to do with the clutch, but they won't know until they do a complete tear down. The Honda representative instructed them to ask me what my driving style was. I'm sure that was to see if some type of abuse was involved. At least seventy percent of the time I ride, it is to and from destinations where I take slow-ride safety courses. The commonality between the 2020 that I had the same problem with, and this 2022 is the extensive slow riding at speeds less than 10-12 mph at rpm's of 1000 to 1200. I am wondering if the slow riding regimes is an issue with the DCT.

Any comments or similar experiences? Thanks.

Makes me wonder if there is an overheating issue that the DCT was just not designed for.

Kudos for doing low speed stuff on a DCT, I have heard it is tricky to get used to vs a standard clutch.

[bcoil]

The manual shows 4 snowflakes where the segments specify the words like TOUR, but I've never had it show up while riding, and hope I never do. Thanks for sharing the symptoms and repair info.

[dclinton]

Well, I finally got word back from the dealership that the clutch was burned out; and Honda was denying my claim for coverage under the warranty. So it looks like my claim has been denied for driving the bike slow too often - - - remarkable! I'll have to process this one. In the meantime I have filed an appeal with Honda Customer Relations. We'll see what happens.

[bcoil]

As the owner of a DCT, I can't imagine blaming the rider for riding too slow. If there is a heat issue in the clutch or shifter, there should be a caution indicator. I wonder if you (dclinton) would consider sharing the address of the Honda division where you sent your letter. I think I would like to join you in raising questions about whether the user should be blamed for a DCT failure, especially for practicing safe riding. Perhaps there are others who would like to write to Honda to question the decision not to stand behind their newest product. If anyone has a more influential course of action, I would love to hear about it.

Riding with fingers crossed I don't ever have that problem.