SH__37 issue with the YCCS bikes

[Brodie]

​
The following posts are a cross posting from "the other sand box".
https://www.fjrforum.com/topic/177708-sh__37/
Since many of the smart fellows have migrated over here, I wish to provide them with the opportunity to chime in and add their collective knowledge to this issue.

*** FAIR WARNING ***
I get rather verbose for this first post, I plead for your forgiveness, and ask that you hang in there; it gets better after this.
=========================================================================================
Posted June 14, 2020

This is for the Yamaha Chip Controlled Shift (YCCS) model, aka the paddle shifter.

Some of us have been having an issue with these aging machines. They were only sold stateside between 2006 and 2009. Now that they are getting along in miles an issue has reared its ugly head. You could be driving for a while, having a nice ride, and all of the sudden the transmission fails to shift into the next gear. Or you could be slowing to a stoplight and the clutch fails to actuate and the bike lurches to a stop – engine stalled because it is still engaged to the rear wheel. You look down at the instrument cluster and see the dreaded yellow LED light lit with the fault code SH__37 showing. The bike will not shift into neutral, it will not start, and you are sitting at the front of a line of impatient drivers as you try to roll the bike out of their way – tough luck, you are still in gear and not rolling anywhere!

What in H3LL is going on, it was running fine just a moment ago.

What happened is that the YCCS Motor Control Unit (MCU) has detected a difference between line voltage and clutch actuator motor voltage, sufficient to throw the fault code SH__37. This MCU is constantly performing self checks as you drive. In this case you just shifted gears, or rolled to a stop, or tried to start the bike while in gear, and the clutch actuator was called upon to work the clutch. This clutch actuator lives just above the swing arm pivot toward the right side of center behind the engine. To service it requires you to drop the swing arm to gain access. The only service items available is a master cylinder rebuild kit, which also requires dropping the swing arm to get to it. Normally you never see it as it always performs its function when you hit the paddle shift. Hopefully you have been bleeding and/or changing the clutch fluid on a regular basis, but chances are it hasn't been done. The fluid sees engine heat, but not really hot brake caliper heat, so the DOT 3 fluid tends to last a bit longer.

Through the years I've been blessed with 3 different FJR AE (Advanced Edition) bikes. The first one I purchased new in November 2006, and put mile #1 on the clock. The nearly 4 years I owned that bike it shifted flawlessly - up to the point of impact at 88,744 miles. The second one was another '06 which had just under 9,000 miles on it when I got it. I'd say around my 3rd year of ownership it developed an occasional delayed shift from 2nd to 1st gear. Nothing dramatic, perhaps a quarter second delay from triggering the paddle, but noticeable. I ran that bike nearly 5 years, and toward the end the delay was becoming annoyingly regular. Bleeding the clutch fluid helped, but never eliminated the delay altogether.

I bought my current 2008 AE in February of 2015, with roughly 19,000 on the clock. To date it has traveled 99,149 miles. Early on it developed the delayed shift, just like my previous '06. This is the bike that threw the SH__37 fault code which gave me grief for the very first time. The first time it reared its ugly head was on my return trip from EOM at Maggie Valley NC, back in 2018. I ran my 50CC from Santa Cruiz to Jacksonville in under 48 hours, headed to Maggie Valley NC via Spring Hill FL, Tamed the Dragon (No big deal, we have plenty of roads that handily rival that here in the Golden State), and on my way home while passing through Gallup NM the SH__37 showed on the dash, and I was unable to shift gears. As I was heading west out of town with nearly a full tank, my quick calculations told me to slow down and head toward Flagstaff instead of Phoenix. I figured a U-Haul truck rental from Flagstaff would be a bit cheaper than from Gallup; and since I couldn't shift anyway, turning around and heading back to Gallup was out of the question. It was raining earlier, and the sky was clear ahead of me, and so long as I could keep running I figured that was my best bet. During that lonely ride on Interstate 40 out in the desert, being passed by way too many truckers as I was "conserving my gas" at 55mph. I had my friend, Victor (MajicMaker) on the SENA looking up what SH__37 entailed. I also talked to my new friend Gary (ghouse) some time along the way, I appreciated both of their company!

When I reached Flagstaff, I headed for the offramp with the Motel 6 just around the corner. Sure enough, just as I reached the end of the off ramp the traffic light turned red. Being in 5th gear and lugging the engine, I Performed a California Stop and managed to get it to the Motel 6 parking lot when it died and all forward motion ceased. To get the bike back into neutral, you need to grab hold of the shift linkage and shove it forward to down shift manually; repeat until neutral is reached and you can push the bike. Just for kicks, after getting it into neutral, while on center stand, I tried starting the bike, AND IT FIRED UP! The fault code had gone away while the key was in the off position, and the bike was alive and ready to go. A quick trip to the gas station across the street, and I was back on my way. I finished my trip several days later without issue.

The next time the fault code hit was about a year later on my commute to work. Light rain for about 10 minutes while getting through town, then another 8 minutes up on the freeway, then a couple more minutes on dry streets about a mile away from work, and it hit. I came to an abrupt stop, turned off the key, turned it back on and restarted the bike and got to work on time. Later that month I started servicing my electrical connectors. Back in summer of 2015, I had serviced all my connectors with ACF50, and it had washed away in several of the more exposed connectors. I am not impressed with that product for this application. My previous bikes I used Permatex Silicone Dielectric Tune Up Grease (the stuff you smear in your spark plug boots) to keep the contacts from reacting from the oxygen in the air we breathe. The ACF50 didn't stay put, where the grease will – I think I learned my lesson. I had got so far as the engine bay, and back to the rear of the bike, including all the various electronics and solenoids within the bowels of the beast. I also found what I thought was a smoking gun concerning the fault code. The shift actuator, the unit which actually rotates the shift drum thereby changing gears, had a crack on the plastic where the wires attach. It must have gotten wet from the rain and caused the fault code. Since it had dried out I got some epoxy and saturated the broken joint and waterproofed it once again. I did not get a chance to get to the connectors within the front body work on the bike by the time the SH__37 fault hit again.

This time I was on my way to Bill Mayer Saddles (BMS) in Ventura to have my 12 year old leather seat recovered. Back in 2007 Gregory had arranged a group buy, and this seat had graced all 3 of my FJRs. By my count it has nearly 200,000 miles on it by now, and the leather just started showing the fabric underneath in a deep crevasse. It was a Friday morning ride in this time, and I took a night off of work to make the trip. I had gone as far as Paso Robles, and needing to refuel, I got off the freeway to look for gas. Fault SH__37 hit before I could get to the gas station, and stopped me cold. No rain on this trip, however, the past 20 miles put me through fog and a lot of moisture. I was in Paso Robles for over five hours, and ended up calling BMS to let him know I couldn't make it. The goal was to get home. The fault was somewhat stubbornly intermittent, it had hit hard this time, but I was able to limp it to a gas station to fill the tank. Daylight came, I figured if it was moisture related perhaps it would dry out enough to let me ride home. after many attempts, and limping it through town, I finally got it to the northbound freeway onramp when it stopped me again. Another half hour later I was able to fire the bike, get it rolling onto the onramp, and somehow it let me get into 5th gear. I didn't stop until I reached my driveway here in Milpitas with a near empty gas tank, and the bloody SH__37 shining on my dash!

That weekend the front body work came off, including the headlight nacelle and the rest of the electrical connectors were serviced, including all the custom harnesses I had grafted in with all my farkles. The delayed shift seemed to be related to air in the hydraulic line, and would be much better after bleeding; but the improvement didn't last long. Somehow air was getting back into the hydraulics shortly after bleeding the system. So bit the bullet and ordered the master cylinder rebuild kit, the replacement slave cylinder, and new hydraulic hose between them for the clutch system, and 2 weeks later had them installed. New parts all around seemed to improve that issue, but it still happened occasionally. I also purchased a used shift actuator off of e-bay which had an intact plastic part where the wires attach. Since the repair seemed intact, the electric motor stayed in service.

Last Monday (June 8), on my way to work (graveyard shift), SH__37 stopped me again. This time about a mile away from my house. It was about 9:00 at night, and came up to a red light, between 2 cars when the bike stalled at the crosswalk with the yellow LED and SH__37 staring at me from the dash – how embarrassing! Here I am on this big powerful bike, between a couple of drivers on my regular commute route, and I have to wave them on around me. I was able to reach down and hand shift into neutral, and straddle-walk my bike to the curb and up the skateboard wheelchair ramp onto the sidewalk. About 40 minutes later I was able to limp it back home and take the truck to work, about 75 minutes late. And here it sits in my garage, on the battery tender.

 

Long read, I know, but this is the history behind my experience with this Advanced Edition model through the years. As these bikes age we learn more and more about them. This model is not that complex compared to the latest bikes since 2013, as there is a lot more electronics on the later models. Before you throw stones at the AE, know this, your bike is getting old too, and you too will have the opportunity to become intimately involved with its upkeep should you decide to hold on to it.

 

Moving forward, this is what I am doing ...
Since this latest occurrence happened with no moisture whatsoever in the forecast, I will rule that out. Since EVERY connector on the bike has been serviced with the tune up grease, and the wire harness all look intact, I will rule out the wiring. That leaves the components... The MCU, the shift actuator, and the clutch actuator. My hard copy service manual says the following for SH__37...



Since I checked the connectors, and I checked the wire harnesses, and ruled them both out, that leaves me with the third probable cause – Defective clutch or shift actuator motor.

Since the SH__37 fault happened 3 times out of 4 when the bike came to a stop, and the first time when riding through late evening rush hour traffic in Gallup NM, most likely when shifted from 4th to 5th, I will rule out the shift actuator. That leaves the clutch actuator suspect. I could rule in the MCU, but it seems to be doing just what it is programmed to do. If there were a problem with the MCU, I would think it would be either good or bad, but not intermittently faulty in the way the above history shows.

Therefore, this time around I will address the clutch actuator, which is what my next post will delve into.

 

Brodie



​

[Brodie]

​Posted June 14, 2020

My package arrived yesterday evening with the used e-bay clutch actuator. It was well packaged, and in good shape for a 12 year old, 93,000 mile component. I decided to gamble 200 some odd dollars in hopes of servicing it, and perhaps restoring the bike to like new performance from the Yamaha Chip Controlled Shift (YCCS) system. The pictures I am posting below are of this e-bay unit. I opted to leave the bike intact while I delve into this unit.

 

This is a screen shot of the PARTZILLA page for the 2008 FJR AE Clutch Actuator. As you can see, Yamaha is very proud of their product. This is why I chose to take the $200 e-bay gamble.



 

This view is the unit up-side-down, and with the master cylinder removed. I had already rebuilt the master cylinder earlier this year on my bike, and will probably just replace, or rebuild the electric motor on the unit that came with my bike. The cover plate is shown sitting in place, I had removed it before getting out my camera.



 

With the bottom cover plate removed, this shows the linkage in the parking position. The master cylinder in the released state. You can reach this on the bike with a 5mm box wrench, however, there is not enough room to swing the wrench without removing the swing arm. There is an undocumented method for bleeding the hydraulic clutch fluid using the ignition switch and brake lever. No need to remove the swing arm for that task.



 

This shows the linkage fully stroked in the working position. The master cylinder will have been depressed, and the clutch engaged. Looking at the way it is built, with that large coil spring, when fully assembled it appears that this spring will counteract the diaphragm clutch spring and provide an easy stroke for the electric motor and worm screw drive.



 

This shows the unit from the top side. The 'can' looking part is the electric motor. The large black component on top with the electrical connector is the rotary position sensor, which gives feedback to the MCU, thereby modulating the clutch pack. Being a worm drive with the backlash adjusted out, the electric motor turns the actuator cam, but the worm holds it in position.



 

This is showing the actuator with the motor removed. It's all gasketed and kept isolated from the elements. The dirt came from inside the motor brush area.



 

This shows the plastic piece where the wires attach. On the other side of the plastic are the brush retainers. This shaft spline fits into the worm drive chamber shown above. If you look close you can see the individual segments of the motor commutator.



 

This is the reverse side showing the brushes. Granted, they're not super long, but I have seen shorter on other used electrical motors.



 

Here they are aligned up the way they came apart. There is a bearing in the deep end of the can for the motor shaft to ride in. The other end of the motor shaft is supported by the worm screw components at the spline.



 

The windings all look good, no burn or overheating marks present. The commutator looks to be in OK shape, no build up between blocks, no smearing of copper bridging from block to block. There is a wear pattern from the brushes, but it measures less than .001 with the micrometer, yet you can definitely feel them with your finger nail.



 

Yet another view of the motor components.



 

This view shows the accumulated particulate inside the motor housing from 12 years of use.



 

From what I see, it could stand a thorough cleaning, perhaps a fresh set of brushes (if I can locate some), and maybe a drop of light oil on the bearing at the bottom of the can, but I don't see anything wrong with this unit. The big question I have is giving what I show so far, will this motor run for another 93,000 miles without causing a voltage drop to trigger the MCU fault SH__37, or will I need to bite the bullet and spend the $1,636.16 for a brand new unit in hopes of curing this fault code for good?

OK all you smart fellers out there, please chime in on this.

Thank you.

 

Brodie





​

[Brodie]

This was the quick response which followed my plea for help. Our friend, mcatrophy, from across the pond chimed in:

In total ignorance:

The summary for the error code ...



... suggests that the MCU is seeing a low voltage on one or other of the two actuator motors. Since you have checked all connections (though the bit of correlation between damp and the problem makes me suspicious of connectors), my simplistic mind suggests one of the units is drawing too much current.

As I know you are well aware, reasons for this include too much load on the motor (a mechanical issue), weak field magnet (unlikely with modern magnetic materials), or dirt (or nicely conductive brush dust) build-up in the commutator. With a motor armature in your hand, if the commutator segments have dirt between them, I would suggest you clean the commutator (brake cleaner and a stiff brush), reassemble and try it.

I say this without any knowledge of the difficulty of the job, also realising that this is still an intermittent problem, and unless you find a "smoking gun", you will never know it's fixed until you know it isn't fixed. If you see what I mean.

None of my YCC-S bikes (I'm on my fourth) have ever given this error, though I have had one or two strange ones. I have never done the miles that you have, maximum is about 32000 miles. So, as I said above, all this in total ignorance.

Good luck.

And my response later that evening:

​
Mac, thanks for the quick reply.

As I said on my second post, the pictures shown are from the new-to-me clutch actuator I had just purchased from e-bay. I obtained this one to see just what I am dealing with, never having seen the internals on one of these. I do not know the history on the unit other than the mileage of the 2008 donor bike @93,000 miles. The bike may have been performing flawlessly up to the time of scrapping. I have yet to pull the unit off of my personal machine to have a look at it.

Electrical motors are not my area of expertise, however, I am learning as I go. I could see how this electrical crud could cause some grief if it accumulates into the wrong places. If nothing else perhaps just a basic cleaning will do the trick.

I know just enough to be dangerous with this stuff, hence my desire to learn from the collective wisdom from the good people here on the forum. Thanks for the input, I'm all ears at this point.

 

Brodie



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[Brodie]

Posted today, July 5, 2020​

Here is the latest update on this project:

 

I have since serviced both the shift actuator and clutch actuators on my '08.

The shift actuator was easy to get to where it lives, next to the air filter access cover behind the left side panel:



 

The clutch actuator, which lives ahead of the swing arm was a bit harder to reach:



The good thing is that the clutch master cylinder will detach from the clutch actuator gear case without breaking into the hydraulics.



 

Both electric motors required servicing with this 12 year old bike hovering at 100,000 miles. Like the Ebay unit covered in a previous post, these motors also had a large accumulation of conductive brush dust fouling the commutator. The clutch actuator motor had sufficient length on the brushes to warrant putting back into service after cleaning up and reassembly, however, the shift actuator motor brushes were worn down too far to trust them. Fortunately I had purchased another Ebay shift actuator last summer, and its motor was considerably fresher. Since the actuator gear cases and sensors were tuned to this machine at the factory, I opted to just swap out the shift actuator electric motor, and reinstall them. Even though the proper service manual is available, I didn't relish the thought of having to re-tune a different set from another bike.

Here are the motors from both units.

The clutch actuator motor, which threw the fault code:



Notice the contaminants bridging across the copper blocks above.





 

The shift actuator motor:



Note that the motor shaft is a different length between these units and are not interchangeable.



Note the short worn out brushes above. The Ebay motor brushes were a bit longer.

 

My working theory is that the SH__37 fault code was caused by sufficient contamination on the motor commutator by this accumulated carbon dust, thereby lowering the voltage throughput of the motor; and the electronics detected it. Don't blame the "Black Box", it's just doing its job. Both electric motors were cleaned with spray brake cleaner applied to the rotor and brush disk. The motor casings have a bearing in the deep end, so I just wiped the dust out with some paper towels and Q Tips (cotton swabs). An Exacto knife blade has the proper thickness, and was used to scrape the accumulated/bridging particles from between the commutator blocks.





The copper commutator blocks were then polished with a piece of Scotchbrite abrasive pad, and followed up with another dousing of brake cleaner and compressed air. Even though spares were available from other motors, the brush springs decided to stick around and not explore the neither regions of my garage.

Since performing this electric motor servicing on both units several weeks ago, I have yet to get the dreded SH__37 fault code and resulting grief. Also interesting to note that, so far, I have yet to experience a delayed shift. Time will tell, but I think I have found the Smoking Gun for these YCCS issues.

 

We Shall See!

 

Brodie



​

[gixxerjasen]

Thanks so much for coming over here and sharing all of this. I've just read through it and now I have a pit in my stomach. Well, I'd just parked the FJR after my trip to Red Lodge thinking that I'd take her down for some much needed maintenance, looks like I might add some of this to the list to investigate. Good thing I have a backup bike. Please keep us up to date over here on your results.

Also, great idea on the rear stand you built, I might have to steal that idea.

[Brodie]

Jasen,
We paddle shifters gotta stick together!


As for the rear stand with ratchet straps, be careful using one. Draw a line from where the straps hook on up the rear sub frame, to the contact patch under the front tire. With the running gear gutted, do a quick mental calculation where center of mass resides. That’s why the front wheel is firmly secured.

The stand is assembled out of 1 1/4 galvanised water pipe. I stole that idea from someone else, years ago in that other sand box.

Hope this helps.

Brodie

[FJRPittsburgh]

Brodie,

Fantastic write up on the delayed shift problem and cure. At some point, I have to tear mine apart and duplicate your work. I may break down and buy the new component since I don't have enough experience to mess with the detailed inner workings of the actuator. If I replace that part, I'd be good for another 10 years I'm sure. I love the AE and don't want to get rid of it. Thanks again for your step by step documentation. Very well done sir!

[Brodie]

Jeff
Once you get the actuator on your workbench it’s just a couple of screws to open up the motor for service. I suggest servicing the shift actuator first, that’s the easy one to get at.

Tools…
Torx bit, Allen wrench, Exacto knife, Abrasive pad (or a strip of very fine sand paper), paper towel sheet, Q Tip, spray brake cleaner, and compressed or canned air (optional).

Just be careful with the brush springs, they may get away from you. Keep from getting brake cleaner in the bearings. Reassembly is easy because the motor housing is pinned to its mount.


Brodie

[HotRodZilla]

Jeff
Once you get the actuator on your workbench it’s just a couple of screws to open up the motor for service. I suggest servicing the shift actuator first, that’s the easy one to get at.

Tools…
Torx bit, Allen wrench, Exacto knife, Abrasive pad (or a strip of very fine sand paper), paper towel sheet, Q Tip, spray brake cleaner, and compressed or canned air (optional).

Just be careful with the brush springs, they may get away from you. Keep from getting brake cleaner in the bearings. Reassembly is easy because the motor housing is pinned to its mount.


Brodie

So, a part that functions somewhat like a stator and will have the same failures as a stator as it wears and gets dirty is a $1600 part? That's ridiculous. It is a limited use item that is essential for the bike to operate and has a limited life. Nice!

[Brodie]

So, a part the component to an assembly that functions somewhat like a stator starter motor and will have the same failures as a stator starter motor as it wears and gets dirty is a $1600 part? will cost you $1600 to replace the entire assembly? That's ridiculous. It is a limited use item that is essential for the bike to operate and has a limited life. Nice!

Fixed it for ya.

A stator lives in a oil bath and goes out from heat damage when too much current is demanded from it. It’s a different animal all together.


Brodie

[HotRodZilla]

So, a part the component to an assembly that functions somewhat like a stator starter motor and will have the same failures as a stator starter motor as it wears and gets dirty is a $1600 part? will cost you $1600 to replace the entire assembly? That's ridiculous. It is a limited use item that is essential for the bike to operate and has a limited life. Nice!

Fixed it for ya.

A stator lives in a oil bath and goes out from heat damage when too much current is demanded from it. It’s a different animal all together.


Brodie

Which is EXACTLY why I'd be FUBAR if I had an AE and got a SH-37 code. Sheesh!!

I knew it was one of the spinny electrical thingies on these here steel stallions.

[Brodie]

AJ
Since that’s the case...

Are you going to replace your starter motor with a kick starter?

Brodie

[gixxerjasen]

AJ
Since that’s the case...

Are you going to replace your starter motor with a kick starter?

Brodie

I've contemplated adding the kick starter kit to my DRZ, does that count?

[HotRodZilla]

AJ
Since that’s the case...

Are you going to replace your starter motor with a kick starter?

Brodie

No. I'd accidentally mount the kick starter to the stator and electrocute myself.

[gixxerjasen]

So, looking at the schematic, these things aren't even supposed to be serviced? I mean, I guess the motors don't operate a lot but not even brushes in the schematic to order for replacements?

[FJRPittsburgh]

Hey Brodie!

Thanks for the detailed info on the clutch and shift actuators. You're such a huge help. Worn brushes on the motors along with debris build up makes sense. I was thinking of ordering new actuators. I know it's a huge expense, but they would work for another 10 years. It's just a question of what specific parts to buy

Should I bite the bullet and spend over $3000 for both actuators? Cheaper than buying a new bike. What parts do you think I should purchase to make things right again? I only want to tear down this bike once and do the necessary repairs.

Thanks in advance for your reply.

[FJRPittsburgh]

So, looking at the schematic, these things aren't even supposed to be serviced? I mean, I guess the motors don't operate a lot but not even brushes in the schematic to order for replacements?

Yeah, the worn brushes are something you'd like to replace for sure.

[raYzerman]

I think I'd keep the new actuator money in pocket until needed, if ever needed.

[Brodie]

Jeff
I don’t know your bike’s mileage, but my bike is right at 100,000 miles, and you see what condition the actuator electric motors were in. The easily accessible shift actuator had more wear than the harder to get to clutch actuator. Its probably from spinning more revolutions per actuation.

I would suggest you go ahead and open it up to see what condition yours is in before spending the big dollars for a brand new assembly from Mama Yamaha. Perhaps the brushes still have a lot of life still in them, as well as the copper surfaces on the commutator. Clean out the dust, and use an Exacto knife blade to re-establish the gaps between the copper pads, and then polish them up with some really fine abrasive. That may be enough to do the job.

No use spending a lot of money if a simple servicing will do the trick; unless you’d rather spend all that loose change that’s burning a hole in your wallet.

Good luck with it.


Brodie

[Brodie]

If you open up a motor for service, here’s a trick for reassembly:

The white plastic spring retainers (for lack of a better word) are snapped in place. Remove, clean, and set them aside until you insert the reconditioned motor shaft through the cleaned black plastic brush retainer.


Then attach the spring to the retainer, and reinstall onto the black plastic brush retainer, with the motor shaft in place. Hold onto the motor shaft while you fit them back into the motor housing/bearing. That will save you some grief.

After you get the shift actuator back together and reinstalled in the bike, be sure to adjust the linkage so the 5mm hole In the actuator arm aligns With its corresponding 5mm blind hole in the actuator body. This picture shows it slightly off...


I made a tool, but it can just as easily be done visually.

Let us know how it turns out.


Brodie