ews and fpc ?

[ironman]

hi all, can anyone shed anylight on these, ( ews and fpc's ), have heared they are a must to take as spares on a long trip, ex europe. they sound slsctronic to me but i'm not sure. cheers.

 

[EggChaser]

EWS is the warning message on the dash when the immobiliser is enabled stopping you from starting the bike. The actual part that fails is the ring antenna that picks up the signal from your key. Not heard of any failures since they put out the latest part (think it ends in number 247)

The quick fix was carry a spare antenna, a spare key and some duck tape - if it goes wrong tape the spare key to the spare antenna, unplug the leads from the bikes antenna (which is held in with security screws), plug them into the spare antenna and tape it somewhere out of the way.

The FPC is the fuel pump controller - again I believe this might also now be fixed. 2 workarounds: carry a spare and change it if it fails or carry a bypass lead that means the pump stays running rather than switching on and off - bypass lead is usually made from the remains of a faulty controller and is NOT sold by BMW.

In 4 years I have not had either component fail on my 2008.

 

[EggChaser]

OH and if you see EWS near a filling station or a mobile phone mast then push your bike further away and then try and start it. Interference can cause problems to the signal (and on the continent some filling stations have transmitters inside their marketing signs)

 

[ianran]

Had two Adventurerrrrs and three standard GSes and these components have never failed on me in approx 60,000 miles!
mind the rest of the bike fell apart!!

 

[ironman]

cheers

thanks guys, i have an 09 model, so these things may have been sorted. bit of scare mongering mabee.

 

[ironman]

spares

hi again guys, have 2009 adventure, what reasonable spares is it recomended to take on tour of europe, i am very limited in my skills, but mate is very competant, plus room is an issue as my missus takes all but kitchen sink

 

[Myke Rocks]

I am a kitchen sink rider.

Yep, I carry everything with me.
I have never had a failure on any trip, even though I carry both EWS ring and Fuel pump controller with me at all times.
I did have a fuel pump controller fail on me 3 year ago, around 7 miles from home. Just phoned for a trailer, and borrowed a controller from a friend.

Myke

 

[Wapping]

Puncture repair kit, the knowledge to use it and some method of getting air into the repaired tyre. See assorted threads for recommendations.

That's it.

Oh.... And decent breakdown insurance. You'll be home before your bike.