Newbie - Broken R1150GS HELP

[CueBall]

Connect a 12 volt bulb across the coil connections An Indicator bulb is pretty good does it flash when you crank ??

Its getting signal!

We have a flashing light!... Nice and bright, in time with the cranking of the starter - Light isn't illuminated, or flashing unless starter is pressed.

So... Correct me if I am wrong... This "roughly" proves that the Motronic is receiving a signal from the HES and is then sending a pulse to the ignition coil connector to which I connected the bulb.

But... I am not getting any spark at either plug when grounded to the cylinder head (not even a small one). The only thing between the ignition coil connector and the spark plugs is the ignition coil (plus two ignition leads, but the chances of both failing completely & simultaneously is slim). Therefore does it stand to reason that the coil has failed?

I have never heard of a coil failing instantly before though, normally they show signs of failure with rough running, backfiring and poor fuel economy (which I didn't have) - Anyone had a coil pack completely fail instantly before?

 

[CueBall]

Even better... We have a running bike!

New coil from Motorworks arrived, fitted it, pulled the plugs, grounded them and there's a good spark on both sides (that's new)!

Re-fitted tank (while crossing fingers & toes), ignition on, twist throttle 3 times, ignition off, then back on (pump primed as it always has), boom... Fired up straight away!

Idle is good, throttle response is good!

There is some slight backfire/burble on the overrun from 4k down (none under 4k and down) - It's had a Remus system fitted for the last 15 years.

I have ordered some Magnecor leads (a pair of performance leads is the same price as one Genuine BMW lead ffs). If one of the existing leads is slightly faulty (they are the originals by the looks), it would have put excess stress on the coil, which might have led to its failure, but I still haven't ever heard of a coil failing instantly.

Now, I am slightly concerned that I pulled the Motronic yesterday and left if off the bike overnight, then it ran today (albeit with a new coil) - I should have performed the bulb test on the coil connector before pulling the Motronic as diagnosis should be done in order.

Lets see how we get on... Short rides to start, then a bit more stress on longer rides and repeat until confident again!

 

[KMD]

Apart from that, rather nicely done if you don’t mind me saying. Excellent advice from some knowledgeable people who, to the great benefit of many of us, don’t mind being asked.

 

[Tinytim]

Apart from that, rather nicely done if you don’t mind me saying. Excellent advice from some knowledgeable people who, to the great benefit of many of us, don’t mind being asked.

....and also from the OP.

 

[CueBall]

Everyone here has helped me massively, thank you everyone, what a wonderful community... Between my long (often boring) diagnosis posts and some amazing replies on where to go next, we got there!

Just been on a 5 mile ride, mostly in circles around the block, in case I had to push it back - All was well. A few pops from the Remus exhaust from 6k down to 4k revs but not too bad.

Although, I think I might have missed something in the loom somewhere... While buttoning it up to go for the ride around the block, I rested my cheek against the exhaust header with a bare knee on the floor and there was a light tingle in my cheek... FFS that's a positive electrical short to ground! Relatively hefty too, maybe as much as you might get from putting your tongue on a 5V battery when you were a kid!

For my next trick, where is that coming from... It's not like I can pull fuses to identify the exact circuit, there's only a few of them. Though it is live with the ignition off, not sure if that helps, but a good start.

 

[Ian J Hartley]

Everyone here has helped me massively, thank you everyone, what a wonderful community... Between my long (often boring) diagnosis posts and some amazing replies on where to go next, we got there!

Just been on a 5 mile ride, mostly in circles around the block, in case I had to push it back - All was well. A few pops from the Remus exhaust from 6k down to 4k revs but not too bad.

Although, I think I might have missed something in the loom somewhere... While buttoning it up to go for the ride around the block, I rested my cheek against the exhaust header with a bare knee on the floor and there was a light tingle in my cheek... FFS that's a positive electrical short to ground! Relatively hefty too, maybe as much as you might get from putting your tongue on a 5V battery when you were a kid!

For my next trick, where is that coming from... It's not like I can pull fuses to identify the exact circuit, there's only a few of them. Though it is live with the ignition off, not sure if that helps, but a good start.

Try pulling fuse 3 it’s for the clock and power socket. Which are powered directly from the battery.

It may be your power socket is full of corrosion and a small amount of battery voltage is leaking across the corrosion.