REV COUNTER NOT WORKING - INTERMITTENTLY!

[b12bandit]

Hi from the UK.

Started my bike (2002 R1150R. 29k miles) up this morning. All was well until I lifted the bike off the sidestand. Then the instrument lights (neutral, turn signals, fuel warning etc) went out and the rev counter stopped working. Engine was still running and everything else was fine. All the lights and turn signals worked okay.

Whilst riding to work I noticed that if I turned the handlebars to the right and/or leaned the bike over to the right, the rev counter and all the instrument lights started working again!

Clearly, there is a chafed wire or loose connection somewhere. Problem is, my knowledge of auto electrics goes as far as a blown fuse. Anything more complicated than that and I'm stumped.

In order to locate the dodgy connection or broken wire do I HAVE to take the tank off or will it just be something in the instrument housing?

I really don't want to pay my local dealer £50 ($100) an hour to fix it for me.

Thanks in anticipation of your advice.

CHEERS

PETE WOOD aka b12bandit
SHEFFORD
BEDFORDSHIRE
ENGLAND

[NoRRmad]

it's probably the too-tight-ziptie problem, which is usually the headstock ties, which are reachable without removing the tank. Look for a break in the covering right under one of the zipties.

[boxermania]

+1 with NoRRmad

Locate the nylon zip ties, they can be seen with the handlebars at full lock, cut them off, carefully slice throught the wire bundle outer cover and Voila! you'll find a surprise or two. Repair the broken wire(s) retape and use some other means of securing the wire bundles other than nylon ties.

Good luck.

[b12bandit]

Thanks guys. I'll give it a try - very carefully! - in the morning.

[b12bandit]

Gave it a try. Made things worse!

I removed the zip ties as advised. Now the neutral light and rev counter won't work at all, whatever position the handlebars are in.

I'm assuming that the chafed wire has now completely broken. I took the headlight off and tried to see exactly which wire(s) might be causing the problem. Nightmare! The wires are very thin and all the warning lights and clocks seem to have at least one green wire.

So, where do I start? If I removed the perished/pinched outer sleeving which covers the bundle of wires, how on earth am I going to find the one tiny green wire (amongst dozens) which may/may not be causing the problem? How much of the sleeving do I need to remove? Right from the clocks all the way back underneath the fuel tank?

My bike's wiring had at least 4 zip ties in the area behind the headlight and going back under the tank. All were done up so tight that the sleeving has cracked where the ties were. Are all BMW's like this? The wiring seems pretty crude compared to Japanese bikes.

In 30+ years of riding, 25 motorcycles and counting, I've NEVER had an electrical problem with a Jap bike. Not so much as a blown bulb.I buy a BMW and I've now got an electrical fault which is way beyond my capability to repair.

I've got a horrible feeling this is going to be very expensive. Somebody please tell me I'm wrong.

[iowabeakster]

Sorry about the troubles...you are far from the first.

Here is where you start...the red arrows point where most of the wires have broken. Cut the sheathing there. I don't know how comfortable you are with splicing damaged wires. The truth may be that the insulation on a few of the wires has cracked and are short circuiting. You don't want to know the cost of replacing the harness at a dealer.

[CycleRob]

b12bandit,
Since everything goes off at once, it has to be the (brown) ground wire. Definitely broken where the Zipties killed the wires inside the harness. Your solution is to enlist a friend competent in things electrical that's willing to help or barter for his/her talents. Someone at ease with splicing and soldering wires. Do NOT use crimp connectors for the repairs. Use replacement wires of equal or larger diameter core. Show him/her exactly where the problem is and in a day or so it should be fixed. Your problem does not require a motorcycle mechanic.
BTW, turning the steering and causing a malfunction means the problem IS in one or both of the wire harnesses. Slit open the outer sheathing and the broken wires will be found. Just pull on each wire with about a 10" section between your fingers. The ones with the internal breaks will stretch like rubber.

.

[boxermania]

Don't panic, it's a bit tedious but doable and yes, you have found one of the engineered misuse of nylon zip ties. Plan your approach and do one bundle at a time. You have some experienced people watching over your back.

Keep us posted on the progress..........

[Arbee]

In 30+ years of riding, 25 motorcycles and counting, I've NEVER had an electrical problem with a Jap bike. Not so much as a blown bulb.I buy a BMW and I've now got an electrical fault which is way beyond my capability to repair.

I've got a horrible feeling this is going to be very expensive. Somebody please tell me I'm wrong.

BMW's reputation has been forged by the older BMW's, the later models will give you you more trouble than
the Japanese BIG 4, with a handle like bandit my guess is your last bike was an indestructible 1200 Bandit.

The benefit of the BMW is that they are easy to fix & maintain, (ABS excluded) sounds like all you need
is an electrical circuit and a friend smart enough to read a schematic.

[b12bandit]

Correct, I did have a 1200 bandit. Absolutely brilliant motorcycle.

However, we are where we are and, with increasing miles, I'm warming to the beemer. Just disappointed with the electrical problem.

I have a mate who is good with autoelectrics (police mechanic). With his assistance I'm sure we'll get it sorted.

[Arbee]

Just disappointed with the electrical problem.

The reliability of the Japanese electrics in one of the main reasons the English motorcycle
industries plummeted into oblivion, there a lot of quirky things about BMW's, but you dont
get to find out the truth until you own one.

[challey]

Don't panic - there really aren't that many wires that are likely chafed and broken - the one's in question will almost certainly be on the outside and in proximity to the wire tie. I think the suggestion that it is the ground (brown) wire is probably correct, though it is also likely that the insulation has at least been chafed through on other wires as well. As was suggested, soldering is the way to go, not crimp connectors. I would also recommend that you use shrink tubing after soldering rather than electrical tape.

On a different but related topic, this seems like a good time to thoroughly inspect the rest of your wire harness. Two specific areas you should look at are:
1) the loop that is gathered and wire-tied to the frame under the fuel tank and
2) the bend near the battery where the large-gauge primary wire makes a 90°upward bend to connect to the battery.
For (1), look closely at the top of the loop, which can rub against the bottom of the fuel tank and eventually short out one or more wires on the many unfused circuits on the R bikes. Even if there is no chaffing, I'd suggest either wrapping the harness with some tape or using some spiral wrap to provide more insulation. You may also want to put some insulation on the bottom of the tank. For (2), look carefully where the wire bends upward near the left rear corner of the battery tray. The wire often is actually bent into the sharp corner of the cutout on the tray and the insulation is easily abraded and pierced at that point.

You will need to pull off the fuel tank for this check but I guarantee you that it is worth the time and effort - a short in either of these areas will cause catastrophic failure. As iowabeakster says

You don't want to know the cost of replacing the harness at a dealer.

Hint: the number has at least 3 zeros after the first one, regardless of whether the currency is £'s €'s or $'s - don't ask how I know this.

Charlie

[b12bandit]

Folks,

Got the bike fixed. The problem was indeed broken wires. 4 of them. Apparently BMW STILL do this. They're having problems brand new (police) bikes because of zip ties being done up too tight.

My mate Stewart (police bike mechanic) stripped the outer sleeving. repaired the wires and fitted new, different, sleeving (looks like vacuum cleaner hose).

The rev counter and all instrument lights are now working properly.

Plus he did a quick service and oil change, AND two new tyres (tires).

Total? £270, which is approx $430?

Not bad I thought.