Cutting out

[MarkShelley]

Just had a weird experience with my 97 1100GS

A week or so back I thought I caught the red battery light flash once, but wasn`t sure so dismissedit. I have since done a couple of hundred miles with no problem.
I rode the bike 10 miles to work this morning, then 10 miles home for lunch. On the way back to work the bike cut out. When I turned the ignition off then on again it started instantly then cut out after about 100 yards. I did the same thing a few times and it always started instantly and ran anything between 2 and 20 seconds at a time. I started to push it home, but after a few minutes I tried it again and it got me the mile home with no problem.
Any clues as to where I should start looking?

 

[Pete D]

Breakdown of the coils with heat perhaps...


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[bart2181]

Hall sensor,perhaps

 

[Steptoe]

As above. Sounds like a failing hall sensor.

 

[MarkShelley]

Fired her up when I got home and she sat there idling for a few minutes without any problem. Side stand cut-out is working fine and had a wiggle of the ignition cable as I read that these can both cause this problem. I will take it for a ride around the block when I get back from a business trip later this week to try and make it happen again so I can check for erratic rev counter or any other signs of hall sensor failure. Hopefully it will at least give me the confidence to ride the 10 miles to my mechanic.I hate electrics.

 

[MarkShelley]

Ride around the block went without fault, as did the ride to my mechanic. I will report back if he finds the problem.

 

[Trullion]

Those are exactly the symptoms I had with my 1100RS last summer. I eventually traced it to a faulty HES. It would always start easily from cold but would conk out when the engine was warm and then wouldn't restart until the engine had cooled down. Rev counter was normal and as it was a newish HES I believe it was one of the two sensors that was faulty.


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[MarkShelley]

An update. Still not sorted.
As the general opinion was that it was the HES I decided to get it replaced as the bike has done 107K anyway and hope that was the cause. Unfortunately the bike is exactly the same. Yesterday on the way home from work I noticed the RID rapidly flashing on and off and at the same time the red battery light was feintly glowing. This morning the bike cut out after about half a mile, then after a few tries it started again and rode home without fault.
My mechanic invested in a diagnostic tool for BMW`s recently but has discovered that it doesn`t work on bikes as old as mine. Would plugging it into the correct tool show up what is causing this. I wouldn`t want to take it to a BMW dealer otherwise.
Presumably it must be something electrical as it causes intermittent power to the RID?

 

[Timolgra]

Check your wiring loom from/to the ignition switch.

 

[Steptoe]

My mechanic invested in a diagnostic tool for BMW`s recently but has discovered that it doesn`t work on bikes as old as mine. Would plugging it into the correct tool show up what is causing this. I wouldn`t want to take it to a BMW dealer otherwise.
Presumably it must be something electrical as it causes intermittent power to the RID?

Your mechanic (obviously not a bmw specialist) needs to invest in the additional part that enables the tool to be used on the flat plug diagnostic bikes like the 1100 models, about £35

But i doubt it'll show up, as the fault storage of the crude 1100 electronics is zilch.
I'd do as Timolgra suggests. In fact cut the outer sheathing of the ignition loom and check each individual wire (don't worry, there are only 4 ).
Plus check the alternator wiring, and, the multi earth terminals that are crimped together in the instrument harness, water gets in and they turn to green verdigris mush causing the instrument/idiot lights to bugger about.

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

Are you going to try to fix this your self?

If so I would whip off the tank and seat and go over all electrical connections and clean with switch cleaner and reassemble with Vaseline
Disconnect battery before starting, check connections at back of RID and loom around headstock, check the alternator wiring, check mini loom from HES for deterioration, clean and check everything electrical including battery and earth connections.

If you don't want to get that involved it back to your mechanic for him to do the job!

 

[Bendy toy]

How old is the battery? An internal short in one or more cells can do strange things.

 

[casper]

Check your battery connections if you havent already.

 

[Swesty]

I had something similar Mark, during the floods last year. Turned out to be the tank connection by my right knee. I did have a long push home and felt a right twat when I went to remove the tank and the plug/socket came apart.

 

[MarkShelley]

I had something similar Mark, during the floods last year. Turned out to be the tank connection by my right knee. I did have a long push home and felt a right twat when I went to remove the tank and the plug/socket came apart.

I know it isn`t that.
I have booked it back into Paul Nobbs so he can check it out. He hasn`t failed to sort out anything so far. Great bloke. I am too busy to try and sort it myself at the moment.

 

[MarkShelley]

Got it back today. It was the ignition wiring!

 

[Slipperyeel]

I've just had to replace the ignition cable this week myself. Only because of this forum did I know what to look for when it died on myway towork as I was about to do a U-turn! Took me 2 minds to experiment and confirm it was that flippin cable.

So, many thanks to the forum! It works


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