NO ABS

[Barrmill Biker]

HELP! Jumped on the bike (R1200gs) to come home tonight
no ABS and the break light on full any one got any suggestions
as to what is going on.

 

[Shep]

Hand guard fouling the brake lever?

 

[andyclift]

The brake light switch is used to tell the computer whether the brakes are on for the start up brake check. If the bike thinks the brakes are on it goes into residual mode (no bloody brakes)

On mine it was a jammed front switch which was replaced under warranty

 

[samtheeagle]

The brake light switch is used to tell the computer whether the brakes are on for the start up brake check. If the bike thinks the brakes are on it goes into residual mode (no bloody brakes)

On mine it was a jammed front switch which was replaced under warranty

+1 (although mine was the rear switch that was fubared)

 

[FREDO-RIDER]

Hand guard fouling the brake lever?

+1 It Happen to me once.
Check the hand guard twice.

 

[Barrmill Biker]

No B********** ABS

Thanks every one for the help.
I have checked that the hand guarde is clear of
the front break lever but will have to wait to the
weekend to get the test meter out and check the B***
switches thanks again for all the help.
onyack

 

[Dale]

Just out of curiosity ..... is this one of the "older" 1200's with the servo assisted brakes or the "newer" fully hyudraulic jobbies? iow, do you normally hear a little motor when you pull the brakes?

I had a similar problem with my previous bike (servo assisted) - the dealer hooked it up to the PC and reset it. Was told at the time that it was a problem specific to the servo assisted bikes.

Dale

 

[Barrmill Biker]

No ABS

Hi Dale

The bike is a 2005 model and I normally hear the little motor when you pull the brakes but nothing at the moment but the od part is the breake light is on all the time which makes me think it may be a short in one of the switches.

 

[andyclift]

The bike is a 2005 model and I normally hear the little motor when you pull the brakes but nothing at the moment

Which means it's in residual braking mode and you should be seeing the red brake warning on the display.

the breake light is on all the time which makes me think it may be a short in one of the switches

It is probably not a short, just a switch stuck. Mine started doing it sometimes while on holiday and found it was worse if I held the brake on hard while my wife clambered over the back, then pulled away. Either avoiding touching the brakes when starting or, when it happened, stopping and restarting solved it. When it got worse a dealer in Germany tried freeing the switch with cleaner but when that proved unreliable he replaced it.

I found the biggest problem was not the lack of braking, I soon got used to that. It was when, after driving for a while, the switch released. Then the brake test completed and the servo came back in. On one occasion I did not notice and when some lights changed in front of me I grabbed the front and rear brakes and wife nearly flew over my head. Then I got them fixed!!

 

[Malcvtr]

Probably the best advice, mate, is to trade it in for a non-ABS bike. Then you just get good brakes all the time...

 

[aspad]

Hi Dale

The bike is a 2005 model and I normally hear the little motor when you pull the brakes but nothing at the moment but the od part is the breake light is on all the time which makes me think it may be a short in one of the switches.

Have you checked the back brake as well? I once had an issue with pedal linkage play that caused the bike to go into fault mode. Also eventually had the activator switch on the front replaced as it was misaligned.

 

[leinsterrugby]

Happens my 04 GS all the time. I just turn the ignition off and turn it back on again and the fault clears. Only occurs on start-up, never when riding. Just one of those BMW quirks.

 

[andyclift]

Happens my 04 GS all the time. I just turn the ignition off and turn it back on again and the fault clears. Only occurs on start-up, never when riding. Just one of those BMW quirks.

Nothing happens for no reason. Mine was the same to start with, then it got worse and more frequent.

It turned out that holding the front brake when mounting the bike caused the brake light switch to stick and the bike to go into residual braking mode but after riding for a bit it corrected so the restart was OK.

The brake failure light can also stay on (but the brakes are OK) if the battery is low. After driving a few metres there is enough of a battery boost to make the restart OK. I did not accept this as a "quirk" and dealer found that the lack of a software upgrade was draining the battery if the bike was left for a day or so. Software upgraded and new battery fitted under warranty and the "quirk" has gone.

 

[Barrmill Biker]

Is this comen?

ABS failure caused by both front and rear
break light switches jamming in the on position
both switches will have to be replaced.
Fortunately nothing serious but getting a bit concerned
that this is the forth electrical fault on the bike
The first being a chafed cable under the petrol tank
second clutch leaver switch failed
third the gear indicator switch failed telling me when I
was in natural the the dash indicated I was ether in second
or third and some times blank.
Now both break switches fail.

I Know that these are all minor faults but stating to
get a bit twitchy as to what next will go.

Many thanks to all who posted helpful suggestions
as to the current fault this was much appreciated.

Barrmill Biker

 

[andyclift]

Fortunately nothing serious but getting a bit concerned
that this is the forth electrical fault on the bike

I have had -

The brake light switch failure
Gear Indicator failure
EWS failure

All happened at relatively low mileage and no problems with replacements.

I spent many year installing and commissioning industrial plant and it was accepted that electrical, and particularly electonic kit either failed early on or lasted forever. Mechanical kit was OK until the warranty expired!! I guess BMW bikes are the same.