ABS/battery issue

[GForman]

coming home from a short overnight trip recently on my 2007 R1200R my ABS light (brake failure) came on. i stopped and turned the bike off, restarted it and the light went off. for the past few days i have not had this issue again, although the past few times i have hooked the bike up to the battery tender the light on the tender would not go to green. unhooked the connection to the bike and reconnecting it to the battery tender a couple of times solves the problem. also, when i start the bike the battery light stays on for a few seconds but does finally go off. reving the bike causes the battery light to go off quicker. on todays ride the ABS light (brake failure) came on and restarting the bike does nothing, the light comes back on and stays on. i hooked the bike up to my GS911 and read the fault codes. it shows intermittent power to ABS pump. i replaced the battery with a new Deka battery approx 3 months ago and just had the alt belt replaced by my local BMW dealer while the bike was there for some other work. after my ride today i checked the voltage on the battery and it read 13 + volts and after a 10-15 min cool down it read 12.6 volts. i am thinking of replacing the battery once again but can't seem to remember what the battery is, i believe it is an ETX14 but i am not sure. does anyone have any ideas what could be causing these problems?

[deilenberger]

While your battery may be marginal (a load test will tell you for sure) the ABS symptoms, including the GS-911 readout tells me it's the usual ABS module failure of the brushes on the ABS motor not making contact. Fixes are (1) disassemble it yourself and modify the brush holder a bit - there are writeups on the Interwebz on how to do that (2) remove the ABS module and send it off to ModuleMasters - who fixes it, warranties the repair for 5 year and doesn't charge a fortune to do it (3) bend over, remove wallet, visit your BMW dealer who will lighten your wallet to the tune of $1,000 or so to install a new ABS module.

The battery light never goes out immediately on startup, a few seconds is entirely normal (as is reving it..)

[GForman]

i'll take whats behind door # 2 Monty.....LOL

[jkhomes]

What a great board. Thanks Don, I will remember that.

[roger l]

I was looking on the internet last night about fixing the brushes on the ABS motor. Can the motor be removed from the ABS unit WITHOUT disconnecting the brake lines from the ABS unit? If so then you would not have to bled the brakes and the ABS unit to do the motor brush fix.

Thanks
Roger L

[dbrick]

I was looking on the internet last night about fixing the brushes on the ABS motor. Can the motor be removed from the ABS unit WITHOUT disconnecting the brake lines from the ABS unit? If so then you would not have to bled the brakes and the ABS unit to do the motor brush fix.

This rider http://www.i-bmw.com/showthread.php?t=41457 said he did it that way on an '07 KGT, which probably uses the same modulator.

[deilenberger]

I think to do the job correctly - it really should be removed. With the GS-911 there shouldn't be any problem bleeding the brakes and the modulator.

[dbrick]

I think to do the job correctly - it really should be removed.

Maybe if I keep asking about this job, I won't have to do it. <g>

What's better about having the motor+pump combo on the bench vs. having only the motor? The only distinction I see is that it might be easier to demount and remount the motor if one can hold the assembly in a vise or on the bench, rather than addressing it in situ. Is that what you're thinking of?

[deilenberger]

I think to do the job correctly - it really should be removed.

Maybe if I keep asking about this job, I won't have to do it. <g>

What's better about having the motor+pump combo on the bench vs. having only the motor? The only distinction I see is that it might be easier to demount and remount the motor if one can hold the assembly in a vise or on the bench, rather than addressing it in situ. Is that what you're thinking of?

The difficulty of removing, and safely reinstalling the motor into the actual modulator assembly is the big difference I can see. Peening over the aluminum to hold the motor in seems a bit marginal to me - I'd like to devise some sort of clamp (as is shown in one of the photos) to hold the motor in, or besides peening over the aluminum - use JBWeld on the mounting corner/ears. In the writeups about doing it - it was mentioned it was useful to have an "assistant" to press the motor into the modulator firmly as the aluminum is peened over. I'm guessing that's to compress the rubber gasket used between the motor and the mount. That might be difficult to impossible to do with the modulator on the bike.

In the past - I've found that trying to take shortcuts like this - doing a job with the part in place - often leads to a job that takes longer with less satisfactory results. If you have the GS911 it isn't a big deal to bleed the brake circuits.

Whatever you're comfortable with..

[roger l]

Thanks for the information on removing the ABS motor. It does not look like a simple remove (4) screws and have the motor off solution. Does anyone have a picture of a unit that has been repaired by Module Masters so see how they are re-attaching the motor? I have not had a problem with the ABS unit on my 2008 R1200R. I am just trying to get information so I will be ready if the unit has a problem.

Don:
Why do you need a GS-911 to bleed the ABS unit? Do you need to run the ABS motor to get the fluid thru? DOes the GS-911 have a function for this? Also I have changed the brake fluid and have bleed the system to get the new fluid thru. I did not use the GS-911 to do this. Is there a problem with doing the fluid change without the GS-911?

Thanks
Roger L

[dbrick]

The existence of a compressible gasket between the motor and the pump changes my mind; that'd push the do-it-in-place job over from "could be done" to "probably not a good idea." Thanks.

[deilenberger]

Thanks for the information on removing the ABS motor. It does not look like a simple remove (4) screws and have the motor off solution. Does anyone have a picture of a unit that has been repaired by Module Masters so see how they are re-attaching the motor? I have not had a problem with the ABS unit on my 2008 R1200R. I am just trying to get information so I will be ready if the unit has a problem.

Don:
Why do you need a GS-911 to bleed the ABS unit? Do you need to run the ABS motor to get the fluid thru? DOes the GS-911 have a function for this? Also I have changed the brake fluid and have bleed the system to get the new fluid thru. I did not use the GS-911 to do this. Is there a problem with doing the fluid change without the GS-911?

Thanks
Roger L

Hi Roger,

The GS-911 activates the ABS unit.. allows you to pump the fluid trapped in the modulator (or air) out. The current GS-911 software has this function built in. It seems to do a better job in getting a firm front lever than I was able to get without it.

Is there a problem doing it without the GS911 - dunno, but I'm guessing there will be some old fluid (and perhaps air) trapped in the modulator hydraulic circuits if it isn't used. I like that all out..

[celticus]

coming home from a short overnight trip recently on my 2007 R1200R my ABS light (brake failure) came on. i stopped and turned the bike off, restarted it and the light went off. for the past few days i have not had this issue again, although the past few times i have hooked the bike up to the battery tender the light on the tender would not go to green. unhooked the connection to the bike and reconnecting it to the battery tender a couple of times solves the problem. also, when i start the bike the battery light stays on for a few seconds but does finally go off. reving the bike causes the battery light to go off quicker. on todays ride the ABS light (brake failure) came on and restarting the bike does nothing, the light comes back on and stays on. i hooked the bike up to my GS911 and read the fault codes. it shows intermittent power to ABS pump. i replaced the battery with a new Deka battery approx 3 months ago and just had the alt belt replaced by my local BMW dealer while the bike was there for some other work. after my ride today i checked the voltage on the battery and it read 13 + volts and after a 10-15 min cool down it read 12.6 volts. i am thinking of replacing the battery once again but can't seem to remember what the battery is, i believe it is an ETX14 but i am not sure. does anyone have any ideas what could be causing these problems?

Send it to Module Masters. My BMW dealer wanted $2400 for parts and labor. Mine was just like yours. Send it to Module Masters.