Quick fixes?

[earthmover]

Ok, so I've done a search and can't find anything, so I guess the next thing is to ask?

In view of the considerable amount of electrickery on todays bikes, what things can be safely "hotwired" if they break?
For instance, the sidestand switch. If that gets busted, can you just join the wires together for a "get you home" fix?
Brake light switch. My first thought in similar circumstances would be to take it off, but will the bike allow this?
I know the clutch switch doesn't stop the bike if it breaks augie ), it's just a pain the the arse having to find neutral if you stall.
Does anyone know the answers to these and other "switch" problems?
If so, enlighten those of us who haven't.
I'm looking for the kind of things that could cause a problem whilst away from home and/or BMW assist, but could be fixed by a half competent bodger to enable him/her to carry on their journey.
Ta in advance.
Mark

 

[Tobers]

Sidestand switch - no. Tried this when my sidestand snapped off. I cut the wires (3 of them) and rejoined them in every possible combination of which there aren't many. Nothing worked. I think the brain looks for the resistance of the switch rather than just the connection. Had to re-connect the wires, turn the switch the exactly required amount, and then hope it didn't rotate and cut the engine whilst I rode down the motorway.

Too complex.

 

[Fanum]

You can on an 11xx

As Tobers says though, the canbus and brain are too 'intelligent' to let you bypass things in a simple way on a 12

That said, in fairness, there do seem to be ways around it....we managed to fix RickA's HP2 after some twat rode it off a sand dune and broke the kill switch....we needed help from Gazza for what to bridge out but we did get it going

 

[vfxmark]

Sidestand switch - no. Tried this when my sidestand snapped off. I cut the wires (3 of them) and rejoined them in every possible combination of which there aren't many. Nothing worked. I think the brain looks for the resistance of the switch rather than just the connection. Had to re-connect the wires, turn the switch the exactly required amount, and then hope it didn't rotate and cut the engine whilst I rode down the motorway.

Too complex.

I've got a 1200GS on which I have defeated the sidestand switch. I am away from where I have the schematic, but it is simple and non-destructive.

I offered to post the how-to and was met by derision from my betters... who have obviously never been stranded anywhere with a bike with a cut-out switch not functioning (Guzzi ambassadors had a sidestand switch that could do that to you)
Under the left side tank cover you will find a connector. at one end of the connector is the bike. At the other end of the connector is the sidestand switch.

there are 3 wires. I will look up the schematic and post which is which, but I believe there is a red or orange, a brown, and a white. if you have a voltmeter that reads ohms (or an ohm meter) you can figure this out yourself and not wait for me, but the principle is as follows:

When the stand is down, two of the wires are connected to each other by the switch.
When the stand is up, the third wire is connected to one of the other two and one of the other two is now NOT connected...

What you need to do is cut the wire that is connected when the stand is down (so that even when the stand is down, it is not connected to anything through the switch) and short the other two wires together so that even when the stand is down, it looks to the brain as though it is up.

What I did was to pull the sheathing back a bit from the connector ON THE SIDESTAND SIDE) and cut the one wire and put a bit of shrink tube on it and then strip a small section of the other two, twist them together, and add a drop of solder.... and then tape up that bit to prevent corrosion.

This way, if it all goes horribly wrong, you just replace the switch with its built in wire...you have not touched the wiring harness itself.

Worked fine the first time and still seems to work fine.

I will look up the colors when I get a chance and post them if you have not figgered it out by then...but work calls for the next day or so.

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

There is another fix for dead fuel pump thingy, if anyone has the info?
Bin

 

[earthmover]

I've got a 1200GS on which I have defeated the sidestand switch. I am away from where I have the schematic, but it is simple and non-destructive.

I offered to post the how-to and was met by derision from my betters... who have obviously never been stranded anywhere with a bike with a cut-out switch not functioning (Guzzi ambassadors had a sidestand switch that could do that to you)
Under the left side tank cover you will find a connector. at one end of the connector is the bike. At the other end of the connector is the sidestand switch.

there are 3 wires. I will look up the schematic and post which is which, but I believe there is a red or orange, a brown, and a white. if you have a voltmeter that reads ohms (or an ohm meter) you can figure this out yourself and not wait for me, but the principle is as follows:

When the stand is down, two of the wires are connected to each other by the switch.
When the stand is up, the third wire is connected to one of the other two and one of the other two is now NOT connected...

What you need to do is cut the wire that is connected when the stand is down (so that even when the stand is down, it is not connected to anything through the switch) and short the other two wires together so that even when the stand is down, it looks to the brain as though it is up.

What I did was to pull the sheathing back a bit from the connector ON THE SIDESTAND SIDE) and cut the one wire and put a bit of shrink tube on it and then strip a small section of the other two, twist them together, and add a drop of solder.... and then tape up that bit to prevent corrosion.

This way, if it all goes horribly wrong, you just replace the switch with its built in wire...you have not touched the wiring harness itself.

Worked fine the first time and still seems to work fine.

I will look up the colors when I get a chance and post them if you have not figgered it out by then...but work calls for the next day or so.

I remember reading that now! This is exactly the kind of thing I'm on about.
The "how too" will be most gratefully recieved by me, for one.

Anyone else got any more? Anything that does away with the need to source and carry a load of switchgear that can happily be done without for a trip.
Mark

 

[RickA]

Sidestand Switch

There are 3 wires in the sidestand switch:

Brown
Red
White

Brown/White connected = sidestand up
Red/White connected = sidestand down

To fix, connect brown/white together.

Bike thinks Stand is up.

Problem Solved.

Rick.

 

[earthmover]

So that's one switch sorted then.
How's the head today?
Mark

 

[RickA]

Head

Hi Mark,

Fine today thanks, even managed a smile!

I will me carrying a "GS911" diagnostic tool on our trip to Morocco which plugs into the test socket of the bikes and reads ( and resets ) any of the fault codes generated by the electronics. Handy bit of kit. Will also have a 'fuel pump energiser' which is known to fail on a regular basis (along with the obligatory spare side-stand swich).

Tim is I think carrying loads of tyre repair kit and I will have a small compressor.

We should get together and sort a kit-list so we don't duplicate tools and spares.

Cheers, Rick.

 

[earthmover]

That was partly the purpose of the thread, to see if there were things we didn'tneed to take, if there were bodges to get round them. I agree on the meeting up idea, just say when and I will try and work round it.
Mark

 

[Timolgra]

I agree on the meeting up idea, just say when and I will try and work round it.
Mark

Ok I'm working on it, it's seems like a week on saturday suits most people so far but I'll contact the others in the next day or so

 

[SilverBobGS]

Clutch Switch

You cant defeat the clutch switch. Mine fell out in pieces when riding along, so I thought that by bridging the wires it would defeat it. Possibly has been said before, the system looks for a switch resistance or if the can bus suspects a fault cuts the circuit. Any how still under warranty so can have it fixed at the dealer but can wait as its a 100 mile round trip. Annoying but not in a left stranded kind of way.

 

[Pukmeister]

Canbus is a digital control network, thus logic 1 or logic 0 states across the switches rather than +12volts or earth. Think of the switches as sensors rather than operating contacts. Dont go probing aroung with a multimeter, as the switches are at zero volts. The system should be fault tolerant for short and open circuit but by inadvertently injecting volts with a multimeter set to Ohms you could fry a controller module with expensive consequences.

 

[vfxmark]

There are 3 wires in the sidestand switch:

Brown
Red
White

Brown/White connected = sidestand up
Red/White connected = sidestand down

To fix, connect brown/white together.

Bike thinks Stand is up.

Problem Solved.

Rick.

I also cut the red so that when the stand is down you do not have all three shorted together if you try to run the bike with the stand down and the clutch in which I do at recalcitrant traffic signal sensors) It might work with red connected also, but some logic devices don't like mixed signals, so I cut it.