'Brake failure' warning light on.... Causes?

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I put this in another post - but its worth owners seeing here

dealers actually look at the brake fluid change intervals if it wasn't done they like to run the ABS motor till it fails pretending its your fault.... nice little earner with 1k profit if the owner pays for them to fix - with drive in drive out.

it should be noted the smile and cheery welcome at dealerships is part of a marketing and training initiative... they don't like you, they like your money in their pocket
 
The motor is staked to the ABS block. The stakes have to be chiselled off meaning the motor has to be refitted with short set screws or a strap over the top of the motor. If going the set screw route, be VERY careful where you drill the holes.
 
Bendy toy said:
The motor is staked to the ABS block. The stakes have to be chiselled off meaning the motor has to be refitted with short set screws or a strap over the top of the motor. If going the set screw route, be VERY careful where you drill the holes.
Click to expand...

Thanks bendy and everyone else.
Found out today that BMW do a product that `removes` the abs. Not physically removes it but makes the brake failure light go out and prevents the fault code from reappearing and invisible to the diagnostic reader. In the region of 200quid apparently. Anybody heard of this?. Haven't had chance to research it or speak to a dealer yet.
Cheers.
 
no legit dealer would offer this, it would have interesting legal implications to downgrade a bike so its more dangerous then when made
as there is likely a switch on the handlebar indicating the fitment of ABS - you will be in an interesting place re your insurance if you have an accident as its illegal to use a bike on a public road without this working, and if plod check the spec of the vehicle, it'll leave you'll liable to prosecution. Thirdly, it should also NOT pass an MOT


as you can resolve it for £250 guaranteed for life and the linked ABS2 brakes work very well, its seems rather silly not to have the better set up - when mine died the bike shouldn't have been on the road... I still don't understand why, but it was as if the brakes were 50% less effective and either end would lock with little provocation often
 
botus said:
no legit dealer would offer this, it would have interesting legal implications to downgrade a bike so its more dangerous then when made
Click to expand...

It's not "more dangerous" then when made. It's non ABS, an option at the time.

botus said:
n
as there is likely a switch on the handlebar indicating the fitment of ABS - you will be in an interesting place re your insurance if you have an accident as its illegal to use a bike on a public road without this working, and if plod check the spec of the vehicle, it'll leave you'll liable to prosecution. Thirdly, it should also NOT pass an MOT
Click to expand...

This is total bollox. Really, it's hysterical bollox.
I've had a few bikes in over the years for insurance crash damage repairs after being involved in accidents which have had the early servo/abs removed.
Insurance inspection wasn't an issue.
 
front & rear master cylinders, brake pipes and connectors are different between ABS1, ABS2 and non ABS vehicles

and as for ramifications if you're in an incident, did you have a big crash where the other party wanted a large payout? you'll notice the insurer and the plod will be a lot more interested than if its 75 quid for a cracked indicator....
 
I meant to write a better explanation yesterday, after that ridiculous response from Steptoe,

on the real OEM site, ABS2 bikes with linked front rear braking systems, show as having different master cylinder piston diameters vs non abs bikes... (although that's with some ambiguity, as it calls non abs bikes using a naming nomenclature with the word abs ! you need to go by option code to work out which parts fit non abs bikes), the gist of pointing out the different parts is to give you a heads up regarding the potential change in front & rear brake force distribution.

I found on one of my cars when it's abs unit died, just as I did on my 57 plate GS, the brakes become a serious safety hazard. On the face of it I fully expected braking performance to be exactly the same as a version that never had abs fitted, i.e. to behave in a safe consistent manner that I could work around for many years. But on both vehicles it just wasn't the case. Each would get lots of random locking from either end (and in the car, either side as well) this never happened before (or after when fixed) in most driving conditions with the abs functioning normally. And it should be clearly noted when it was "normal" outside an emergency, braking under virtually any driving conditions was never knowingly assisted... I'm not talking about driving where abs warning lights, audible chatter or pedal / lever indication was ever present. Which is why I stated vehicles with broken abs are MUCH more dangerous.

I did have a second abs2 failure where the codes where the same two, but the bike was far more manageable. I don't know the cause of the change in brake behaviour between the two allegedly different failure modes, except the first bloody dangerous failure was after BMW helped it to fail during the rear hub recall)
 
botus said:
I meant to write a better explanation yesterday, after that ridiculous response from Steptoe,

on the real OEM site, ABS2 bikes with linked front rear braking systems, show as having different master cylinder piston diameters vs non abs bikes... (although that's with some ambiguity, as it calls non abs bikes using a naming nomenclature with the word abs ! you need to go by option code to work out which parts fit non abs bikes), the gist of pointing out the different parts is to give you a heads up regarding the potential change in front & rear brake force distribution.

I found on one of my cars when it's abs unit died, just as I did on my 57 plate GS, the brakes become a serious safety hazard. On the face of it I fully expected braking performance to be exactly the same as a version that never had abs fitted, i.e. to behave in a safe consistent manner that I could work around for many years. But on both vehicles it just wasn't the case. Each would get lots of random locking from either end (and in the car, either side as well) this never happened before (or after when fixed) in most driving conditions with the abs functioning normally. And it should be clearly noted when it was "normal" outside an emergency, braking under virtually any driving conditions was never knowingly assisted... I'm not talking about driving where abs warning lights, audible chatter or pedal / lever indication was ever present. Which is why I stated vehicles with broken abs are MUCH more dangerous.

I did have a second abs2 failure where the codes where the same two, but the bike was far more manageable. I don't know the cause of the change in brake behaviour between the two allegedly different failure modes, except the first bloody dangerous failure was after BMW helped it to fail during the rear hub recall)
Click to expand...

??? eh Are you for real???

Clearly you've never driven a non servo assist or non abs car / bike in any situation.

Do you know how a non servo vs servo assist brakes work do you know what to expect from either varient?

Do you know how ABS works , and what to expect from either varient of if an ABS unit fails ?

Please tell me how long have you been driving??
 
yes I know full well how car and bike brakes work and the ins and outs of ABS....

I have been riding motorbikes for 40 years, can lay 100m darkies out of corners, do proper 40m stoppies and 1/2 mile wheelies with ease. I grew up in an era where you needed skill and judgement, I did not ride spoon fed super glue tyre'd rubbish with electronic nannies and 38 years ago I did a full engineering apprenticeship, and have qualifications as a motor vehicle tech on RR and Jag cars and done numerous factory training courses

…. please state your qualifications meaning you can mind read and doubt the judgement, experience or knowledge of others you've never met?
 
botus said:
I wouldn't be so rude as to presume I might know what others abilities are, but yes I know full well how car and bike brakes work and the ins and outs of ABS....

I have been riding motorbikes for 40 years, can lay 100m darkies out of corners, do proper 40m stoppies and 1/2 mile wheelies with ease. I grew up in an era where you needed skill and judgement, I did not ride spoon fed super glue tyre'd rubbish with electronic nannies and 38 years ago I did a full engineering apprenticeship, and have qualifications as a motor vehicle tech on RR and Jag cars and done numerous factory training courses

…. please state your qualifications meaning you can mind read and doubt the judgement, experience or knowledge of others you've never met?
Click to expand...

Ooooh. :rolleyes:

Anyway, the real measure of a bike that's had its ABS removed will be at MoT time - they pass MoTs without an issue. And I do believe that some dealers will remove a troublesome system for you.

Pete
 
My ABS2 is still fine after replacing brush assembly with one from a Fiesta, however at the last MOT I noticed the tested didn't ride the bike far enough to make the ABS light go out before doing a brake test. When I asked he said it wasn't an MOT requirement for bikes to have ABS light extinguished but that as it had linked brakes he needed to test the rear using both the front brake lever and the rear brake pedal.

When my ABS wasn't working I never noticed any difference in braking efficiency or effort required to stop. I also didn't notice my brakes locking up much if at all.
 
Thanks for all the input. Decided to sell the bike as it was due to arrival of new bike and improving weather.
A lot of interest from abroad.. i assume due to favourable interest rates.
Cheers.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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