Another DCT stuck in gear

[Huskyteer 1,091]

Like another poster, this happened to me on Day 1 of a long trip - seems to be a pattern

I was on my way through Germany when I looked down and saw a flashing dash and no mode shown on the gear indicator. Couldn't change up or down, into D or S, or into manual. When I turned the ignition off and on the display showed 3, but I tried again and everything was normal.

We were lucky enough to spot a Honda dealer, so we went in and showed the mechanic the relevant page of the manual. He had a quick ride and reported there was nothing wrong with the clutch, and maybe my heated grips were drawing too much current. He didn't seem worried, so we went on our merry way.

The problem recurred a couple of times over the next two days. It seemed to me that it happened when I whacked the throttle open for an overtake, so I tried being a bit more gentle with it and had no more trouble. It did put me off a bit and make me ride more cautiously, but at least my holiday didn't end with a trip in a breakdown van.

The bike is overdue a service so maybe the computer needs a reboot?

[Guest Stephen S]

On the VW cars to which DCT (or DSG as they call it) is fitted, the early problems were related to overheating.  The manual still contains dire warnings that admonish "STOP and let it cool down".

 

So maybe you are right about it occurring after giving the engine some welly.

 

I have not had it happen to me - but I ride sedately and hardly ever on autobahnen.

[bazza 3,629]

rather than whack open the throttle use the down button -i think it's easier as you are opening the throttle anyway - but it drops it faster into the lower gear.

But your problem is slightly worrying -how many miles have you done?

[Huskyteer 1,091]

That's a good point - I try to change down before overtaking, but sometimes I get a bit overexcited and let the bike sort it out I've done 34,000 miles - not sure how many of the DCT NCs have got that far yet, so I may be a pioneer here!

[Mike5100 2,061]

That's a good point - I try to change down before overtaking, but sometimes I get a bit overexcited and let the bike sort it out I've done 34,000 miles - not sure how many of the DCT NCs have got that far yet, so I may be a pioneer here!

You may indeed Alice.  Let's hope your experience gets fed back to Honda.  Mind you they hve presumably got some VFR1200 machines with much more mileage than this.  Perhaps it's worth us checking those forums.

Mike

[bikerbampi 542]

I wonder if the fuse for the DCT is making poor contact occasionally?  I think it's the one on the bottom right in the fuse box.  Might be worth cleaning the contacts and changing the fuse. 

[suffolk58 2,286]

I think I'm the original poster you referred to Alice.

My DCT jammed in fifth, until the AA man and I rocked it back and forth, until we finally managed to persuade it to go back to neutral.

That was 2,000 miles ago, and (touch wood and crossing fingers) I've had no problems since (in any mode).

I had the bike checked out by my supplying dealer, and he said the computer showed no fault codes.

[Huskyteer 1,091]

Yes, I knew someone had had a similar issue, and yours was the post I found! I'll hope for a few trouble-free miles to build my confidence up again.

[dandemann8 776]

Although the DCT works for some I feel there's not enough technology about it's behavior yet and can't be 100% bulletproof untill it's development is mastered whether it be the NC, VFR etc. There's alot that go wrong and I'm guessing very costly so untill it's been bulletproofed than a manual all the way for me....

[Tex 36,817]

Yeah, but that's what they said in 1922 when Harold Willis designed the positive stop foot change..

Every generation needs it's pioneers - I'm proud to be one with the DCT

(You may remind me I said that when it all goes horribly wrong and costs me a fortune!)

Edited September 2, 2014 by Tex

[ste7ios 469]

100% bulletproof? It's impossible to achieve this with complex mechanical parts & lot of electronics. 99,9% maybe...

 

Do you want 99,99999% ? Wait for pure electric vehicles! No clutches / transmissions, super-simple motor... (but I can't say the same for energy storages based on chemistry [batteries]).

[dandemann8 776]

100% bulletproof? It's impossible to achieve this with complex mechanical parts & lot of electronics. 99,9% maybe...

 

Do you want 99,99999% ? Wait for pure electric vehicles! No clutches / transmissions, super-simple motor... (but I can't say the same for energy storages based on chemistry [batteries]).

The fact of the matter is I'm not prepared to use my hard earned cash on something that needs more development and time to fully understand the in's and out's of the DCT gearbox.....

[Mike5100 2,061]

There are plenty of Triumph Rocket 3's that get stuck in gear or pop out of gear and none of them have DCT gearboxes.

Mike

[dandemann8 776]

There are plenty of Triumph Rocket 3's that get stuck in gear or pop out of gear and none of them have DCT gearboxes.

Mike

Not at all surprised..........IT'S A TRIUMPH........!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited September 4, 2014 by dandemann8

[bazza 3,629]

Yeah, but that's what they said in 1922 when Harold Willis designed the positive stop foot change..

Every generation needs it's pioneers - I'm proud to be one with the DCT

DIDN'T REALISE YOU WERE THAT OLD1

(You may remind me I said that when it all goes horribly wrong and costs me a fortune!)

But yes Tex that was my only concern about buying an auto but figured Honda have been making auto cars since 70's (guess) so should know what they are doing!

[Huskyteer 1,091]

Happened again last night, while I was waiting at traffic lights on the South Circular in rush hour. I was very popular when I had to stop and start again with a queue of traffic behind me

 

So, the two circumstances seem to be: stationary in 1st, or under hard acceleration. I've also had one occasion where I turned on and couldn't get out of neutral, just got a click when I tried the switch.

 

Service booked for next week...

[Guest EasyTiger]

Something similar happened once after I ran over an obstacle in the road... (Cured by turning the ignition off and on again.)

I had a MotoGuzzi before that whose neutral vanished once the engine was warm.

I prefer the rare instance on the DCT to the everyday frustration of that particular manual..

[Huskyteer 1,091]

So far, turning it off and on again has returned everything to normal, at least. There are times when it's not fun having to do that, though!

[Huskyteer 1,091]

I had the 32,000 mile service done a couple of weeks ago (at 36k, oops, though I had changed the oil before my Czech trip). Honda of Bournemouth hooked my bike up to the computer and it threw a fault code (which I have written down somewhere...), so they reset everything. A week later I had two more instances of getting stuck in gear, so I popped back in for a quick test and the same fault code came up.

HoB want to keep the bike for a few days for extended testing, so I'm currently working up to a point where I can bear to be parted from my bike for up to a week, and then charged a lot of money for the privilege!

Edited October 15, 2014 by Huskyteer

[embee 7,288]

It'll be interesting to hear what the outcome is. I would put my money on electrical connectors, but that's a pure guess. Can you let us know what the fault code was and what it relates to? If there's anything in the way of preventive maintenance we can do it could save a lot of hassle.

[embee 7,288]

Just to add, when looking round my Integra I concluded that the gearshift actuator motor is a bit exposed to road crud and being just above the exhaust it will be getting rather hot. Now I know Honda will have done their work but I can't resist fiddling, so made an aluminium heatshield to fit between the actuator and exhaust. This pic shows it looking upwards from the rear.

 

[Huskyteer 1,091]

I wrote the code down but now I can't find it - I'll see if I can dig it out!

[Guest poyntzj]

Mine has done this today twice. Once on the way into work and once on the way home.

I have the one on the way to work on video. I can see it is in 5th and then at around 40 and going to 6th it goes to the horizontal flash

No movement of the throttle on my behalf.  I only noticed when I went to overtake and had next to no power.

On the way home, I came around a bend, saw the lights were red so closed throttle and saw it go.

Both cases it is a engine off and on again.

 

The bike has only just had a service as I had found the following two issues

Occasionally, in D, it would rev to the redline in first and look to do the same in second.  Alas, never on a road where  I could see what it was really doing

And then I could try to get it into D and the N light would be out and no gear selected or even an empty box with a D or a S.  I had that on video, but found when I moved the bike forwards it seems to select 1st and go

I has not been too bad since the service.

 

With today's fun and reading this tread, I suspect a gear sensor is knocked or failing.  However, no knocks or anything on my bike so could only be vibration that would cause that.

[Huskyteer 1,091]

Previously, turning the ignition off and on again fixed the problem, but a couple of weeks ago the bike dropped out of gear soon after setting off (flashing dash in gear indicator area of the dashboard) and the issue repeated itself no matter how often I stopped and started the engine.

 

I was going home from work before setting off on a fortnight's holiday, so I just said sod it and went. This morning, back to work, same issue. Bike is currently at my local mechanic's to see if fully charging the battery sorts it

[Huskyteer 1,091]

I see I never posted an update to this. New battery didn't solve the problem, so I've taken it to Dobles - awaiting news with crossed fingers.