2002 R1150GS won't crank.

[longerone]

Bought my first Bmw bike about 2 months ago with 36K miles and in excellent condition, coming from a Honda ST1300 it surely aint as smooth but it rides nice and brings back memories of how bikes use to feel + it got character.
I didn't have a long ride yet. After the first week it doesn't idle until when it warmed up enough and the ABS indicators are dancing. I tried resetting the ABS lights but they came right back, i made a mental note to dig further for solution.
Yesterday i took a short night ride and when i pressed the starter button it just made a clicking sound, but engine won't crank. I suspected battery, but all lights are strong, so i bump start it to get home. Today removed the starter plastic cover and measured the volts at 2 starter points with the multimeter, i got a reading of 12.68. confirming that the battery is good. Now I'm at a loss to what the problem might be, any help will be appreciated.

 

[hops]

Bought my first Bmw bike about 2 months ago with 36K miles and in excellent condition, coming from a Honda ST1300 it surely aint as smooth but it rides nice and brings back memories of how bikes use to feel + it got character.
I didn't have a long ride yet. After the first week it doesn't idle until when it warmed up enough and the ABS indicators are dancing. I tried resetting the ABS lights but they came right back, i made a mental note to dig further for solution.
Yesterday i took a short night ride and when i pressed the starter button it just made a clicking sound, but engine won't crank. I suspected battery, but all lights are strong, so i bump start it to get home. Today removed the starter plastic cover and measured the volts at 2 starter points with the multimeter, i got a reading of 12.68. confirming that the battery is good. Now I'm at a loss to what the problem might be, any help will be appreciated.

I would still suspect the battery, I assume the 12v reading is straight across the battery and not under load? Try a new battery first or a jump from another KNOWN good battery, try reading the voltage as you press the starter I bet it drops.

 

[longerone]

2002 R1150GS won't crank

Thank you very much hops, you keep my hopes high. I will try jump starting it. May put it on CTECK smart charger, but i cringe when i think about removing the tank to get to the battery for the crocodile clips. There is also a socket on the starter cover, i think its meant for charging with the correct plug in accessory.

 

[Fanum]

A smart charger won't 'cure' a bad battery, it will just top up a flat one.

If yours is only flat, that's fine, but if it is failing, topping it up with a charger will just hide that and the battery is likely to leave you stranded somewhere suddenly.

Do a drop test on it to find out

 

[Cook1e]

ABS fault (lights alternately flashing) can be caused by low battery voltage, so it's looking like either:

1) A duff cell in the battery - OK off load, but will drop when starter button pressed.

2) A poor connection (earth cable to the top of the gearbox is often corroded).

3) A faulty starter motor - the magnets can come unglued, stalling the motor and causing very high current drain which will drop the battery voltage right down.

Here's what I would do:

1) take the tank mounting bolt out (RHS, under the plastic cover) and lift the back of the tank up a few inches. Prop it up on a block of wood (take care not to pull it backwards). This will allow access to the battery terminals with meter & charger.

2) Measure the voltage across the battery terminals whilst pressing the starter button.

If the voltage remains above about 11 volts, but the engine doesn't turn, this indicates the fault is a bad connection, a faulty starter solenoid or similar. Take the plastic cover off the starter and do the same voltage test at the main connection to the starter. If the voltage here drops right down, look for a bad connection (earth, probably).

If the voltage drops below about 9 or 10 volts, without turning the engine, either the battery is dead or the starter is stalled. Try jumping from a known good battery. If this works, buy a new battery. If not, check the starter motor.

Good luck!

 

[Steptoe]

Thank you very much hops, you keep my hopes high. I will try jump starting it. May put it on CTECK smart charger, but i cringe when i think about removing the tank to get to the battery for the crocodile clips. There is also a socket on the starter cover, i think its meant for charging with the correct plug in accessory.

You can jump start a GS by connecting the live jump lead direct to the live terminal on the starter motor. Saves lifting the tank etc.
You can also clamp a battery charger to the same point to charge it.



Judging by what you've said i'd suspect the starter motor.
There's a plate inside that can detach and cause the starter motor to stop working. Do a search, it's been posted about and how to fix it many times.

 

[Paul Young]

This happened to my 2000 1150GS in the IOM this year. Fitted a new starter because the original was very lazy when taken off the bike & tested on a good car battery. This still didn't cure it & RAC man tested the battery, finding the initial 12.6v dropped below 8 when under load & indicating some duff cells. New battery sorted it & I was happy because it was probably the lazy starter that killed it... Now I can refurb the old starter as a spare

 

[Bendy toy]

When the battery was failing on my last bike I was able to start it using a car battery jump lead clipped to a screwdriver. I taped up the screwdriver blade leaving bare metal near the handle to take the jump lead clip. The pointy end pressed onto the battery +ve was enough to spin the engine. -ve lead attached to bare metal on the chassis.

A fancy charger can recover a battery that has accidentally been over discharged (lights left on etc) but if a cell is failing it can make a bad battery look ok.

If the battery wont start the bike, but the charger goes green after an hour or two its likely to be a duff battery (failed cell). If the charger takes hours to fill the battery it was probably over discharged and will now be ok.

 

[longerone]

Gee wee, thanks good people, i really appreciate, i will do the voltage checks you advised, but my suspicion is the starter, i will keep you posted on how it turned out.

 

[longerone]

Did the check. I removed the starter and connect it to a battery, it just made a clicking sound but didn't turn.
I will give it to auto electricians to sort it out. I think its the culprit.Thanks.

 

[longerone]

Received my starter back today,mech said a magnet was loose inside the starter and that they used magnets from a Peugeot starter because of compatible size. Came home and coupled the starter, the bike cranked and started. I hope thats the last i will hear from it.
My remaining issue is the alternate blinking ABS light. I hear mention severally of a possible bad battery being the problem. My thinking is that if a battery can crank the engine to start, how can it not make the ABS work? The blinking ABS lights nearly convince me that its a battery issue, when my starter refuse to crank the engine. Its only that the multimeter disagrees.

 

[Welshman]

Received my starter back today,mech said a magnet was loose inside the starter and that they used magnets from a Peugeot starter because of compatible size. Came home and coupled the starter, the bike cranked and started. I hope thats the last i will hear from it.
My remaining issue is the alternate blinking ABS light. I hear mention severally of a possible bad battery being the problem. My thinking is that if a battery can crank the engine to start, how can it not make the ABS work? The blinking ABS lights nearly convince me that its a battery issue, when my starter refuse to crank the engine. Its only that the multimeter disagrees.

Magnets coming loose is a fairly common problem, the ABS is very sensitive to voltage to initialise, mine often is strong enough to crank but not to initialise the ABS, I need a new battery.

 

[Cook1e]

Warm it up for a short while and restart. ABS should reset - low(ish) voltage for a few seconds while the starter is cranking a cold engine will trip the ABS fault. When the engine is a little warmer and the battery has been topped up by the alternator, it will often be OK.

Otherwise search on here for a workaround which delays the ABS initialisation cycle until the engine is running.

Or throw the ABS away like I did

 

[longerone]

Exactly my thinking cook1e, if welshman rides his bike for an hour or 2, his battery should be charged enough to start the ABS. My PanEuropean had no ABS, i wish it had one. Now my 1150 have ABS but its not functioning. Its fairly easy to lock rear wheel on the 1150 compared to the Pan. Many people have replaced battery, only to discover ABS lights still doing the alternate dance steps. I learnt also that fluid replacement could solve the problem.
As mentioned already, the starter have several failure modes, i think for an adventure bike this is a big problem, dig this- you are on an adventure, in the middle of nowhere and on loose ground, the starter magnet failed, what will you do, bump starting it is not an option even if you have all the stamina, due to loose ground.
Wondered why cook1e did away with the ABS instead of fixing or replacing, maybe you do 90% offloading.

 

[longerone]

I have riden it for hours, stop and start again, but the lights are still on. I reset the ABS but the lights came right back.

 

[Cook1e]

Wondered why cook1e did away with the ABS instead of fixing or replacing, maybe you do 90% offloading.

Clunky, unreliable and too keen to engage, even on road. Brakes work better (for me) without it - sharper and more feel. Also unit is heavy and space under tank can be used for e.g. HID ballasts.

I just gave a working unit away, sadly. They occasionally come up on Fleabay.

 

[tuftywhite]

You can jump start a GS by connecting the live jump lead direct to the live terminal on the starter motor. Saves lifting the tank etc.
You can also clamp a battery charger to the same point to charge it.



Judging by what you've said i'd suspect the starter motor.
There's a plate inside that can detach and cause the starter motor to stop working. Do a search, it's been posted about and how to fix it many times.

Is there anything you don't know?

 

[Steptoe]

Is there anything you don't know?

It's simple.

It's what i do for a living.

If i know i'll post.

If i don't know i won't post or guess.
Or state that i know a bloke down the pub who has a mate who knows someone who's cousin fixed it by doing blah blah blah etc.

 

[longerone]

Thank you Steptoe, actually the information you provide is quite valuable to me especially the charging and jump starting points at the starter.

 

[newboy]

So...

Best battery for 2005 1150 GSA?

Think mine's knackered
2 hours orange>green
But doesn't start properly



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