[xodus99]

Hi Bhpians!

I've had a rather peculiar issue and now as a last resort, using this forum to ask this question.

I have a 2019 TVS Apache RTR 200 4V BS4 Race Edition 2.0 motorcycle and the speedometer display has gone blank (again.) This had happened once in the first year of my bike ownership and the SVC replaced it under warranty.

The display screen only shows the backlight and nothing else - the text doesn't show up. The lights for ABS, Neutral, turn indicators and other lights on the console itself work fine. My bike doesn't have the Bluetooth connectivity option (SmartXonnect).



This has now happened for the second time and the SVC says they can't help me claim warranty, since I missed a scheduled service last year. (service needs to happen every 3 months according to their AMC contract.)
They're saying a new console may cost me 9k - subject to availability

Although I will be getting the wiring checked to know the root cause of this shorting at the SVC, 9k is too much for my pocket.

After searching online, I found a speedo console part (MUKUT) but that is for the Bluetooth model and doesn't fit my bike. Could you tell me what options I have to repair or replace the console? I live in Thane/Mumbai and would love to know a parts shop or chip-level repair to replace or repair this console.

Thanks a lot!

[A.B]

Hello, it's me. The red guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WxVF2n8xqg

I tried to get the same problem repaired recently (on Friday, February 24, 2023), and found a guy (in a motorcycle repair shop near CNG kit/food shops in the roadside market with all the car/bike repair shops that is located right after the "Bhikaji Cama Place" flyover in New Delhi when heading towards Safdarjung Hospital/AIIMS) who took it to a "meter repair guy" (RK Puram, Sector-1; apparently there are more than one "meter repair" shops there. I only found one on the internet).

When he called me after getting it checked, it sounded like he said that it can't be repaired. But after returning he was claiming that it can be repaired and the "meter guy" apparently temporarily repaired it and showed it to him (the board was fine and only the display is faulty apparently). He also had photos on his smartphone, but I didn't pay much attention to them.

Anyway, I told him that I didn't understand what he was saying on the phone and told him that of course, I wanted it repaired, and he claimed that the guy was asking for about 2000 rupees. Well, actually he said a higher price initially I think, but later reduced it to 2200. I had actually found the entire "speedometer assembly" or whatever it's called listed for less than 4000 rupees on a website. Although it was listed for the Apache RTR 160, it looked like the correct part. I needed one for RTR 200 BS4 ABS version, which is what it seemed like. It was being sold by a seller in "Karol Bagh, New Delhi". But I didn't buy it. Not only because of the cost but also because they made it "challenging" to find the correct part. I did not like the "challenge", no. Perhaps they thought I would immediately buy it after completing the "challenge" to find it in the first place. By the way, even my multi-function printer is dead now and replacing it will also cost about 4000 rupees (if replaced with "Canon MG2570s" for example). I am unable to enjoy printing emojis on sticky notes at this moment because of a dead printer.

Anyway, when this speedometer problem appeared, the motorcycle had engine problems too actually. The engine was malfunctioning and the speedometer also went dead in front of my eyes. I saw it come alive for a few seconds and then it went dead again. So I took the motorcycle to the service center the next day itself (had to use the choke and not use the throttle to take it there) but they didn't inform me that the motorcycle is supposed to have 5 years warranty. I assumed it was only 3. But then again, I have missed multiple services so they could have refused to replace it under warranty using that as an excuse. Not that I was expecting them to replace it under warranty anyway. I was expecting to have to pay for it.

But then, after making me wait for whole day, they returned the bike without them fixing or replacing the speedometer. When I went to collect the bike, all the items that are supposed to be on the display were "on" even with the engine off. One guy said, "must be due to water that entered when it was being washed...". I went to talk to the guy who had made the "job card" or whatever, and when I came back the display was blank again. And the same guy was like, "see, the problem is gone now...". Otherwise he was talking about removing the cable, which would have prevented the LED indicators from working also (which are working in my case too).

The guy who made the "job card" had put some other guy's phone number in it. And a different guy (his job was to ensure "customer satisfaction" or something; he was also telling me to take a test ride before leaving) was telling me to call this guy to find out why the speedometer wasn't replaced. Anyway, I managed to find the actual guy who made the "job card" and he was claiming that they didn't have the part in stock and that he had ordered the part. He was also claiming that he tried to call me about it but I didn't answer the phone, even though I was in the waiting room and he knew it. Anyway, I left the service center that day with faulty meter and haven't gone back again since. They actually themselves created appointment for me on 29 December 2022 and sent me text message but I didn't go.

Anyway, recently I went to a nearby Indian Oil petrol pump (coordinates - 28.5378758, 77.2900528) and this time I had decided to fill petrol worth 500 rupees. I told the guy who asked that I wanted 500 rupees worth of petrol and he also verbally confirmed the same. But then a different guy who was actually filling petrol, fills up random amount worth of petrol apparently, before I tell him also that I wanted 500 rupees worth of petrol. After which he sets the meter (of actual "petrol pump") to 500 rupees and fills 500 rupees worth of petrol. Then the guy who initially asked me how much petrol I wanted tries to charge me 662 rupees instead of 500. I didn't even notice initially and only noticed because the PayTM powered card machine was showing invalid PIN despite me entering correct PIN. I then ask him why he was trying to charge 662 rupees and he tells me it's because of the initial quantity of petrol that was filled before additional 500 rupees worth of petrol was filled. I asked him whether petrol was filled twice and he was claiming that was indeed the case. Anyway, I impatiently told him to go ahead and "tap" the card to charge the 662 rupees and only then he did so. 662 is supposed to be the same amount I am paying through Google Play store for mega.nz subscription, by the way (you know, to share my CCTV camera recordings. download them while you still can, because I will most likely be cancelling my subscription next month). They probably wanted me to know that they know who I am, and for whatever reason they couldn't verbally tell me something like, "hey, we know who you are. and also about your finances. we know everything, muahahahahaha..." (I mean, that's what they were trying to go for, yes?).

Anyway, so due to faulty meter I couldn't tell if any petrol was actually filled. Which is why I decided to try and get the faulty meter repaired again.

So in continuation of the above story, the guy asked for 2200 rupees and I agreed. He again goes to the "meter guy" and returns after making me wait even longer, and once again with faulty meter. I only realized that he didn't get it repaired after he installed it. I asked him about it and he said that something broke when the guy was trying to repair it. Sounded like he was talking about the flex cable on the display or something. I thought he was talking about the display in my speedometer, but he claimed that my speedometer is the same as it was before and it was the replacement part or whatever that the "meter guy" apparently broke, causing himself "financial loss" ("ghata ho gaya" or something along those lines, I heard him say).

Anyway, I then decided to ask him whether he knew about the existence of time machines in real life. Initially he pretended not to understand, so I asked him again and this time he seemed to understand what I was asking and was claiming that he had seen time machine in Bollywood movie "Krrish". Now I am thinking that I should have told him that "Krrish" movie is for little kids and should have shown him the "Calvin Klein" scene from the movie made for big kids ("Back to the Future").

At least he later did not pretend to not understand what I was saying about time machines and fixed future, including fixed future death days. And he also said that he wouldn't have been bothering with doing "naukri" (job) if he would have known his real future death day. I did ask him whether "death" was real according to him and he claimed that it was. I was also telling him that I can claim that "death" is also "moh maya" (illusion) like "time" is apparently. But he did not understand what I meant by "moh maya" or pretended not to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyYqyYAKGC0

He then calls the shop owner to talk to me and I got to tell the shop owner about the existence of time machines and other advanced tech (including mass surveillance tech capable of spying on you through your own eyes and ears and remote mind control tech; gave him my informative printout about it too, and even mentioned all the campaigns by banks and what not telling people not to scan random QR codes since it can lead to financial loss apparently. my printout has a QR code leading to an archived copy of a reddit post, for those who somehow do not know) in real life also.

Oh yeah, I told him I was the red guy also and even mentioned the devil horn brake light present in the TVS Apache RR 310. Showed him the back seat of my RTR 200 also which is supposed to look like a dog head, and even mentioned my dead doggo. I also mentioned to him that I am supposed to be the real life "Harry Potter" and showed him my "lightning shaped scar" (not sure if he saw. he had gone back inside the shop and I was showing from outside). But even though he claimed to have heard about the fictional "Harry Potter" character initially, it later seemed like he was only pretending to know. He did not know who "Dudley" was apparently.

Anyway, obviously, I didn't/couldn't get the meter repaired. And I was thinking that hopefully the "madams" in control know that if I wanted to check speed I could have used an android app (there are multiple apps for that!). Even though they are in "control", it's still possible that they do not know "everything" I was thinking. I mainly wanted to get it repaired for the fuel gauge. Somebody please inform the "madams".

So now I am wondering what to do. Should I try and get it repaired once again? I am unwilling to open it myself to see if it is just the flex cable that is loose or whatever. Even my Logitech G510 keyboard has dead display now and replacing the flex cable did not help sadly. I have learnt my lesson from it and some other recent incidents to not try and repair things. Otherwise they will continue to find more things for me to try and repair.

Here is a photo of my dead display for your enjoyment.

[A.B]

Ah, I didn't think my previous post would be approved in the first place when I noticed the "requires approval" message or whatever. You know, because my posts elsewhere on the internets are being prevented or "hidden" from the "public" (no doubt for my own good as I mentioned in a tweet. you know, so that they do not affect future relationships or job opportunities ). I commented on some quora.com answers recently for example, and they were never published sadly.

Anyway, I went out today again thinking about getting the meter checked. This time I was thinking about going directly to "RK Puram, Sector 1". Saw two meter repair shops there using google street view. One I had already found previously because they have their own website.

When I was outside though and had ridden a few kilometers, the meter magically started working again. I took photograph of the working meter as soon as I got the opportunity. Mainly because of the odometer reading, which can be considered my motorcycle riding XP. You know, kinda like there is such thing as XP in video games.

Here is the photograph I took at the time.



When I was close to the area ("RK Puram, Sector 1"), I noticed that the meter had stopped working again. Had been working for quite a while too, and I was even able to check the speed. I was planning on going to get a haircut first, but decided at that time to visit meter repair shops first. Shortly after I had decided this, the meter started working again. This time I took the opportunity to adjust the time and took more photographs.

Here is a photograph taken at that time.



So, I went to get the haircut first. But after that the meter continued to work, so I decided to skip the meter repair shops. And when I was sufficiently far from the area (I think), the meter went blank again and never came back on. I was kinda expecting this. So it appears to indeed be a case of possibly remotely disabled meter. You know, kinda like some cars can be disabled remotely in case of theft. But that is supposed to be a known feature, whereas this is more like a secret feature. I am thinking that maybe this kind of "feature" wouldn't have been possible with analog meters.

Oh yes, I saw some imgur.com posts recently which were possibly suggesting that this secret feature was being used because the motorcycle services are being treated as "subscription fees" for the motorcycle. Me not taking my motorcycle to be serviced was like me not paying "subscription fee", and that is why the meter was disabled.

Of course, I do not buy this "possible explanation". I still think it is mainly due to speed, which can be checked with smartyphone app also as I mentioned in previous post. But it tends to drain battery of smartyphone, which is why I do not bother.

Oh by the way, the USB charger on my motorcycle also appears to be missing (assuming one was present in the first place). I saw the feature mentioned in manual, but never tried to use it until recently. Which is when I noticed that it was missing entirely. I thought perhaps I was unable to locate it in the dark, but I checked again today in broad daylight and it is indeed missing.

Anyway, now I am thinking about going out again to see if any meter repair shops can do anything about the meter. As mentioned in previous post, the other day the guy was claiming that the meter repair shop had successfully repaired it and showed him. But you know, the "repair" may not have lasted.

Maybe it would be better to replace it with aftermarket meter I was even thinking. Saw some "universal" ones being sold on ebay.com. But even they will require wiring done from a meter shop. Assuming I ever receive the meter that I buy in the first place. But they may be available locally also (too bad I dunno where), since I saw a TVS motorcycle with what seemed like one of these universal meters. I checked TVS website to make sure that it was not just a new design, and it wasn't.

[A.B]

I finally went to "RK Puram, Sector 1" yesterday. Went to "Delhi Meter" first as can be seen in the left of this Google street view image - https://www.google.co.in/maps/@28.56...7i13312!8i6656 . But they just sent me to "Shoaib Meter Repairing" which can be seen on the right (it became a case of "illusion of choice"). They are the ones who have their own website which I had found previously on the internets. And they also turned out to be the place where the guy from the shop near "Bhikaji Cama Place" took my meter to.

The guy in the meter repair shop ("Shoaib Meter Repairing") claimed to remember repairing my meter and showed me the replacement display that he was going to use but ended up breaking the flex cable. I told him how my display had started working again and asked him to see if something was loose inside. Maybe try heating areas or whatever (I could see heat gun or whatever in his shop). But he refused saying that display is faulty and needs to be replaced and he did not have another replacement in stock. He did offer to order another display for me, but I told him that I wasn't willing to visit again and continued to insist that he open up the meter and see if any repairing can be done instead. But he also continued to refuse.

After which I started talking to him about time machines and what not also. I had nothing else to do so I stayed and chatted with him for a loooong time. He of course claimed that he didn't already know the things that I was telling him (about time machines and what not). He was even claiming that he didn't have working internets on his smartyphone and I simply did a "if you say so" instead of asking questions like "how do you use whatsapp then?" (the idea of asking such questions didn't come to my mind at the time anyway).

Others were sent to him so that I would occasionally get breaks from talking to him I guess. Like one guy came to him with a meter that he had repaired elsewhere apparently and only wanted some minor thing adjusted or something. I did let him know that I thought that the guy showed up because of me. Maybe the guy wanted me to ask him where he had gotten his meter repaired, but I didn't. I only continued to talk to the guy who was in the shop.

I was telling him about "tin foil hatters" before that guy showed up. Later I noticed aluminium foil rolls stacked in an odd manner above a jar in a grocery store that is visible behind his shop. I pointed this out to him too when I got the opportunity. And he at least seemed to be understand what I was saying. Part of the grocery store can be seen in the last photo in the gallery on the meter repair shop's website, by the way (www.shoaibmeterrepairing.com).

Anyway, told him lots of things and he "stayed in character" as best as he could it seemed to me. A younger fellow there who was hanging around "Delhi Meter" previously (the one who most likely directed me to go to "Shoaib Meter Repairing" instead), didn't put too much effort into "staying in character" and even used the word "real" at least once. He was once claiming that no one there understood "English" since the things I was showing/trying to show them on my smartyphone were in "English". Yet he was trying to tell me things using "English" sentences. He was trying to tell me to go away once, if I recall correctly. I was trying to show gameplay recording from the video game "South Park: The Stick of Truth" at the time he claimed that no one there understood "English". It was recording of my own gameplay, but similar recording can be be seen in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TszRuT3Lh5o

Oh, the guy who was in the shop took photos of my informative printout. I told him about my dead printer also and how I only have a few copies of the informative printout left now. That's how I started the conversation in the first place. Told him what was written on the first page of the printout since he claimed to not have read it before he took the photos.

Anyway, I once again left without getting my meter repaired. At the time I left, the guy in the shop had gone somewhere so I asked the younger fellow about ordering replacement display and he told me to talk to the shop guy, but I left without waiting for him to return. Another guy who showed up at the shop at that time asked me what that thing was that can be seen in the photos in my previous post. I just grabbed it and pointed it towards him and he was like "speaker?". This time round, I had paused my playlist and only I did most of the "speaking" when I was at the shop. Previously in the shop near "Bhikaji Cama Place", the playlist continued to play on loop at full volume while I waited. And eventually the battery ran out. With my playlist, the battery lasts for about 4 hours at least. I was thinking about charging the speaker and that is when I found out that the USB port on my bike was missing. I was thinking about future usage though, since I didn't have a charging cable at the time anyway.

Oh, I took photo of the display that the shop guy had (with the broken flex cable). Initially I did not understand in what way it was broken and the shop guy was also unable to explain. Even the younger fellow was unable to explain and was treating me like I looked stupid to him ("do I look stupid?" dialogue there is in the "red guy" video above). Later I watched a youtube video and realized that the cable is supposed to be a lot longer. They didn't have the other piece of the broken cable I guess, otherwise they could have showed that to me while explaining. I wonder if they threw it out, because I found youtube videos showing how to repair such broken flex cables. The guy did have soldering tools in his shop and even did some rapid soldering in front of me once when I was being chatty.

Here is a photo I took of the display with broken flex cable.

[Blackwing]

Originally Posted by A.B

Hello, it's me. The red guy.

Well I read your entire piece and can certainly feel your ordeal(literally), in fact you made sure of it. Anyway thanks for the hard work and the Michael Peña type story telling. Still perplexed from what I just read.