Hello everyone,
I'm new to BMW ownership and this is my first post here
But unfortunately I'm looking for some help please.. 
I have a 2003 R1150GS that has developed a fault. If anyone has any troubleshooting ideas or known issues to investigate I would much appreciate the help.
Fault
Engine cuts out/dies. When this happens the dash lights remain on, the engine cuts out cleanly with no misfire or stuttering. Almost as though someone has turned the ignition off. Try to immediately restart and the engine spins over fine and starts. It runs for 3-4 seconds and then dies. If you try and use the throttle, it dies immediately. Leave it for a while (no set time) and the bike will run again. The problem is intermittent insofar as it's not after a specific time or mileage but it is guaranteed the bike will cut out each time it's used and normally within 10-15 minutes. When the bike dies and when trying to restart I can clearly hear the fuel pump working.
Fault finding so far
Replaced fuel filter
Swapped over fuel/horn relays
Cleaned up all multi-pin connectors under the tank. The connections are not great, most had some green copper corrosion.
I'm aware of the Hall Effect Sensor but not convinced it's the issue here. From what I read the 1150 didn't really suffer from it like the old 1100's. I've also managed to get the bike back into my garage while still experiencing the issue. I removed the spark plugs and rotated the rear wheel in 6th gear and could hear the fuel pump on each crank rotation which suggests the HES is working ok. When the bike dies the tacho doesn't jump around either, simply drops to zero.
But I am leaning towards it being an electrical issue and possibly affecting fuel flow. As said the connectors have light corrosion (which I've tried to clean up) and the fuel gauge doesn't work nor does the gear VDO (the fuel gauge stopped a couple of weeks ago and the gear VDO after I had the connector apart to clean up). The VDO only displays gears 1, 3 & 5 now. The loom insulation is poor on the wiring loom too. In a lot of places it has deteriorated and looks to have almost rotted away. I do plan to buy a chemical cleaner (deoxit or similar) and clean up the connectors further. I will also buy some new loop tape and tidy up the looms once the fault has been rectified.
However, is the symptom of the engine cutting out like this a common problem on the 1150GS? Any ideas of what to work through next? Whatever it is it's killing the engine immediately, so it's not like a failing injector or coil pack etc where it drops to one cylinder and misfires. Equally, whatever is failing isn’t failing permanently as the engine will restart after a while. When the bike does run, it's smooth and has full power through the rev range.
I'm not sure switches like the side stand or emergency cut out are the problem either. While in both cases they do kill a bike dead they don't match the symptoms I have. I.e. the bike will immediately restart and run for a few seconds before it cuts out again.
Thanks for reading and would love to hear any suggestions. When it's running I love the bike so am keen to persevere but it's proving to be a challenge so far
Ps, any tips for cleaning up the connectors - chemicals/tools?
I'm new to BMW ownership and this is my first post here
But unfortunately I'm looking for some help please.. I have a 2003 R1150GS that has developed a fault. If anyone has any troubleshooting ideas or known issues to investigate I would much appreciate the help.Fault
Engine cuts out/dies. When this happens the dash lights remain on, the engine cuts out cleanly with no misfire or stuttering. Almost as though someone has turned the ignition off. Try to immediately restart and the engine spins over fine and starts. It runs for 3-4 seconds and then dies. If you try and use the throttle, it dies immediately. Leave it for a while (no set time) and the bike will run again. The problem is intermittent insofar as it's not after a specific time or mileage but it is guaranteed the bike will cut out each time it's used and normally within 10-15 minutes. When the bike dies and when trying to restart I can clearly hear the fuel pump working.
Fault finding so far
Replaced fuel filter
Swapped over fuel/horn relays
Cleaned up all multi-pin connectors under the tank. The connections are not great, most had some green copper corrosion.
I'm aware of the Hall Effect Sensor but not convinced it's the issue here. From what I read the 1150 didn't really suffer from it like the old 1100's. I've also managed to get the bike back into my garage while still experiencing the issue. I removed the spark plugs and rotated the rear wheel in 6th gear and could hear the fuel pump on each crank rotation which suggests the HES is working ok. When the bike dies the tacho doesn't jump around either, simply drops to zero.
But I am leaning towards it being an electrical issue and possibly affecting fuel flow. As said the connectors have light corrosion (which I've tried to clean up) and the fuel gauge doesn't work nor does the gear VDO (the fuel gauge stopped a couple of weeks ago and the gear VDO after I had the connector apart to clean up). The VDO only displays gears 1, 3 & 5 now. The loom insulation is poor on the wiring loom too. In a lot of places it has deteriorated and looks to have almost rotted away. I do plan to buy a chemical cleaner (deoxit or similar) and clean up the connectors further. I will also buy some new loop tape and tidy up the looms once the fault has been rectified.
However, is the symptom of the engine cutting out like this a common problem on the 1150GS? Any ideas of what to work through next? Whatever it is it's killing the engine immediately, so it's not like a failing injector or coil pack etc where it drops to one cylinder and misfires. Equally, whatever is failing isn’t failing permanently as the engine will restart after a while. When the bike does run, it's smooth and has full power through the rev range.
I'm not sure switches like the side stand or emergency cut out are the problem either. While in both cases they do kill a bike dead they don't match the symptoms I have. I.e. the bike will immediately restart and run for a few seconds before it cuts out again.
Thanks for reading and would love to hear any suggestions. When it's running I love the bike so am keen to persevere but it's proving to be a challenge so far
Ps, any tips for cleaning up the connectors - chemicals/tools?
