Conundrum for the week

[King Rat]

On my way home from the Dragon I had a glitch manifest itself.

Bike is an 03 1150 Adv, twin spark. No mods. None that i know of anyway. Standard exhaust even.

The glitch appeared on acceleration, but only very occassionally. 3 times in the 200 miles ride home to be exact.

BRAKE FAILURE red warning light comes on, together with the one underneath it, a triangle with an "!" in it.

The glitch is just a quick stutter and then all goes back to normal....no, I did NOT stop. I wanted to gethome! I did try the brakes after each occurance though, and everything worked fine - which is why I didn't stop. I just rode a bit more aware and with a long lead in to any braking zones, just in case.

My suspicion is a broken wire somewhere. That much is obvious - but in which circuit?
Why would a brake electric circuit cause the engine to stutter with a temp short?
Or is it because it is shorting out the whole live feed?

Where to start chaps - the bike is covered in snow and it is cold outside to go digging without having a shorter list of options to look at.

Thanks.

K.R.

 

[Pukmeister]

Know anybody with a diagnostic tool eg GS-911 ?

I would be keen to check for fault codes before diving in to the bikes ABS and electrics unless the fault is obvious eg water in electrics, loose fuses/relays, chafed wires.

Might be worth checking the wheel speed sensors wiring along the front forks/rear wheel for possible damage?

I'd also consult your owners manual for guidance on ABS warnings. Theres a section that explains the combination of alarm lamps and what they mean.

Also, try reading this, it has a post explaining the lamp warnings:

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138600

 

[Steptoe]

Turn the iginition on - then get hold of the ignition loom wiring and pull /move it about - check if the ignition lights go on and off. If so it's a break in the ignition loom.
Very common fault and gives the engine stutter/cut out that you describe.

The brake warning lights are just simply the process of the ignition being turned on and off due to the interuption in the circuit.

This wouldn't show up on any diagnostic as it's the same as turning the ignition on and off.

Also check the battery terminals are tight.

 

[King Rat]

Thanks Steptoe - and Pukey.

I did do the undertank repair a few months ago, where the loom chaffs through...you know the one. That was repaired properly with soldered joints and heat shrink plus the Wurth electrical tape wrap. I have no fear about that splice letting go, because I did it myself.....but I will look for other weak points.

I guessed it was a broken wire, and somewhere in the live feed because of the engine stutter, just a momentary one, not even loss of speed.

Will try the wiggle test and see if I can track it down. AND will report back when I have found it...bit of a non entity to say I haven't isn't it!

Beers on me when we cross tracks.