EWS Problem

[Paul C.]

Hi Got my 1200gs 04 plate out yesterday and turned ignition on and after it went through it's checks it came up with EWS and bike wouldn't start. Turned key off / on again, pushed start button before it had finished its checks and it started and off i went. Ten minutes later i filled up with petrol and bike started fine. After about an hours ride stopped for a cuppa and got EWS again turned key off / on again, hit start button before finishing check and away it went. Stopped a few more times and bike started fine after checks and then i got EWS again.
Started bike this morning and the same problem. Sometimes EWS, turn key off/on again and she starts
Have checked battery and it seems fine but i am no expert. Are these high?
14.99 ignition off
14.16 ignition on
drops to about 10.30 on starting
17.30 on tick over
Have done a search and cannot find anything about this intermittent fault. Could it be the ring antenna failing? Ive looked at mine and cannot find any numbers ending in 247

 

[Blue Sweeper]

EWS is a sign that it's about to fail permanently. Do you have any other keys or objects like an immobilizer fob on the same keyring? If so take them ALL off, as they can interfere with the antenna ring. Carry a spare key with you and take a spare antenna ring, as if this fails completely, then you're not going anywhere. Do a search on here how to get out of trouble with those spares.

 

[Pukmeister]

Could also be a symptom of low battery voltage, although you probably need a new EWS (immobiliser) ring antenna fitting to your ignition switch surround.

 

[Ali-bear]

Thought they were all fixed on recall? New ring antenna needed usually. I think they had been manufactured out-of-spec like for example maybe they had the wrong number of turns of wire, or the resistance was too high.

In your case maybe the connections have corroded?

 

[mikeyboy]

Hi Got my 1200gs 04 plate out yesterday and turned ignition on and after it went through it's checks it came up with EWS and bike wouldn't start. Turned key off / on again, pushed start button before it had finished its checks and it started and off i went. Ten minutes later i filled up with petrol and bike started fine. After about an hours ride stopped for a cuppa and got EWS again turned key off / on again, hit start button before finishing check and away it went. Stopped a few more times and bike started fine after checks and then i got EWS again.
Started bike this morning and the same problem. Sometimes EWS, turn key off/on again and she starts
Have checked battery and it seems fine but i am no expert. Are these high?
14.99 ignition off
14.16 ignition on
drops to about 10.30 on starting
17.30 on tick over
Have done a search and cannot find anything about this intermittent fault. Could it be the ring antenna failing? Ive looked at mine and cannot find any numbers ending in 247

i have a spare antenna ring we can fit to confirm,i can also check the diagnostics again,i seem to recall that there was a ews code logged when i checked the diagnostics last service!!.mike

 

[mikeyboy]

is it a typo or is it charging at 17 volts??

 

[autogs]

if those voltage readings are correct yer bikes about to catch fire

 

[Paul C.]

if those voltage readings are correct yer bikes about to catch fire

I did say i wasn't an expert after another look i think i was using the meter wrong
Going to speak to mikeyboy in the morning

 

[Mr K]

Sounds like the ring antenna is failing.

 

[Mick-B]

I did say i wasn't an expert after another look i think i was using the meter wrong
Going to speak to mikeyboy in the morning

I'd be expecting 12.75 - 13v tops (or close to it) open circuit with engine off, about 14.5v (ish, maybe a bit higher) engine running and I dunno under starting load...

The open circuit, engine off voltage will depend on how recently the battery was being charged - it will give higher reading when immediately taken off charge because of surface charge effect -in simple terms it takes a while for the surface charge to seep into the cell structure and until that happens the reading will be higher.

 

[Paul C.]

Thanks for replys, Mikeyboy fitting a new ring antenna

 

[Beeman]

I had a similar fault which even with a new antenna was still there occasionally, after a bit of hunting around I found a broken wire on the loom where it pulled tight round the headstock. Soldered in a short lenght f wire and problem solved. Try giving the loom a bit of a wiggle and see if anything shows up

 

[KevOK]

Hey Buddy,

I had the same problem , the bike left me stuck in a desert in Peru. I had to tow it 200km to a bmw garage. It turned out there was a broken wire in the wiring harness. It took them 5 days to find it too.

Hope it works out for you.