BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Recently the light to the immediate left of the ABS light has started to illuminate. It will stay lit after rolling away and will stay lit until the engine is turned off. If I start again, it may or may not remain lit.
Reading the manual tells me that this light on might mean ABS malfunction--the brakes are working fine and the ABS light on the right extinguishes appropriately after rolling away--or tail or brake light malfunction--they are working fine also.

I have a BRAKE ! light installed, but it has been installed for months w/o problem, and, I recently attached the thermostat for my Gerbing vest directly to the battery per Gerbing instructions.

In short, all electrical devices are working properly and the bike is running fine, but that light may or may not go out when rolling.

It is ready to go in for the 12000 mi service. Any ideas on what may be causing this and would the onboard computer keep a record of what's happening and causing the light to remain lit?

Thanks

John

Mine started to do the same thing after I installed the BRAKE! tail light, but usually only on cold days I've never mentioned it to the shop when it's in for service and they have never informed me of any stored codes.

I have learned to ignore it. I hope that is prudent.

Let us know what you find out, if anything.

Interesting you notice it on cold days. It first occurred on mine on last week's trip to NC and Deal's Gap. It was cold. But, it wouldn't go on every time I started, but more like every 3rd or so.

If I find anything I will keep you posted.

John

The BRAKE! uses a capacitor (or resistor) to fool the Motronic into thinking the load is correct. Since one of the Motronic functions is to monitor tail and brake lights for burn outs, I'd guess the temperature is causing the BRAKE! module to change its load and thus the Motronic notes it as a burned out bulb.

So first, I'd simply remove the BRAKE! module and see if that corrects the problem.

But also, have you had the rear wheel off recently and this problem started after replacing it? Maybe the ABS sensor ring is mal-aligned on the hub? Not likely for the symptom you are experiencing, but possible.

I did have the rear (and the front) off recently for a tire change. The symptom appeared ~~250-300 mi after the change, and has been intermittant for the last 2k mi.

As I said--I don't notice anything adverse with the functioning or handling of the bike ands it will be going in fo the 12k service.

The BRAKE ! LED was a challenge to insert properly, I'd almost rather live with the light on the dash.

Can a mal-aligned sensor ring be seen? Wouldn't that likely be something that would not be intermittant?


BTW, this was my first trip to Deal's Gap. We stayed in Robbinsville; the colors were awesome, the roads terrific. My favorite road was Wayah Rd.

My formerly new Stradas have now been around the block a few times.

We road backroads from New Orleans to there and back. Other than the light, the R performed flawlessly and was comfortable for the ride.

MikeCam wrote:The BRAKE! uses a capacitor (or resistor) to fool the Motronic into thinking the load is correct. Since one of the Motronic functions is to monitor tail and brake lights for burn outs, I'd guess the temperature is causing the BRAKE! module to change its load and thus the Motronic notes it as a burned out bulb.

So first, I'd simply remove the BRAKE! module and see if that corrects the problem.

But also, have you had the rear wheel off recently and this problem started after replacing it? Maybe the ABS sensor ring is mal-aligned on the hub? Not likely for the symptom you are experiencing, but possible.

I like your temperature/resistance explanation as it makes intuitive sense, although I would not have thought the increased resistance on a cool morning would be sufficient to mimic a burned out bulb. But I am sure the motronic is waaaaay smarter than me (high praise, indeed). The problem started before the rear wheel ever came off, but I supposed sensor gremlins could still be the culprit.

Maybe I'll try a trial seperation the next time I get to tinkering and see what happens?