What's a used faulty ABS module worth?

Ali-bear

Ali-bear

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Partially integrated type, made in Hungary. From a late 2007 bike.

Apparently the fault is internal and electrical, all the hydraulic bits are Ok.

New door stop, or is it worth any cash?
 
I have been told that they are coded to the bikes ZFE, or vice-versa, and only a dealer is able to re-programme the units so they work together.

Apparently it is also very difficult to de-ABS the bike and have it function normally without dealer intervention, and this is something they just won't do.

I would have had a go at fixing the unit if it was winter and I had the time and I wasn't just about to set off on a serious bit of touring. The only other course of action would have been to remove the "brake failure" bulb at MOT time.
 
Go on - pop it in the shed for next winter.

You know you want to. ;) and probably cheaper than paying listing fees to sBay.
 
just been looking at an Australian website (they tend to try and fix things due to logistics etc)
Guy had stripped one of these out, found a couple of simple faults and got it going again.
be worth having just to play with I say:thumb
 
turnipbmw said:
just been looking at an Australian website (they tend to try and fix things due to logistics etc)
Guy had stripped one of these out, found a couple of simple faults and got it going again.
be worth having just to play with I say:thumb
Click to expand...

+1. :) Most of the really intimidating-looking stuff on BMW Motorrad products is quite easily fixable, given some thought, determination and creativity.

Case in point: the so-called 'un-rechargeable' RDC sensors which, I've very recently learned, you can get going again for the price of a CR2032 watch battery. :D

...Go for it!
 
Abs unit

My mate sends his faulty units to a specialist for repair on cars
I asked him if they could mend bmw bike ABS units he seems to think they can i was given a faulty unit from my GSA which the dealer replaces they charged £1500 so if the old unit could be repaired it would be worth doing the unit is off a GSA 2005 1150
 
Grizzly GS said:
I have been told that they are coded to the bikes ZFE, or vice-versa, and only a dealer is able to re-programme the units so they work together.
Click to expand...

Nope - that's the bike's instrument cluster you're thinking of. ;) No reason why an ABS regulator would need to be individually coded.

Grizzly GS said:
Apparently it is also very difficult to de-ABS the bike and have it function normally without dealer intervention, and this is something they just won't do.
Click to expand...

It would be child's play to remove and bypass the ABS regulator, especially using Bundy bridge pipes. It would be extremely difficult to stop the ZFE-High throwing every brake-related fault code imaginable after performing the bypass op, though...

Grizzly GS said:
The only other course of action would have been to remove the "brake failure" bulb at MOT time.
Click to expand...

You can't. It's not an issue of removing a bulb, it's an issue of de-soldering a very small LED.
And since you'd now have a rapidly flashing (and conspicuous) red Master Caution triangle, you'd have to de-solder that too to prevent any awkward questions.
 
there is a cheap R1200RT on ebay at the moment needing ABS work.

would be well worth it if it could be fixed cheap - or better, completely bypassed.

My Welsh farmer mate just had one go and needed smelling salts when they told him the price.

Puts me completely off buying any BMW with ABS.

I sure someone will sort these out soon - the VW ones can now be bought from specialists for around £350 with long guarantees
 
Many cases electronic faults are down to something simple like a dry solder joint. Break out the magnifying glass - assuming the circuit hasnt been potted in epoxy.
 
If it has moving parts such as an electric motor, check the brushes for wear.
 
Grizzly GS said:
Partially integrated type, made in Hungary. From a late 2007 bike.

Apparently the fault is internal and electrical, all the hydraulic bits are Ok.

New door stop, or is it worth any cash?
Click to expand...


quite often these faults on auto ECUs fall into two pots, something's vibrated itself loose or the solder loose over time and some form of power supply issue usually caused by some problem elsewhere on the bike (another fault or a ham fisted attempt at fixing, stealing or jump starting)

there are workshops around who will look at any ECU type module and can check for the obvious problems without having to know the depths of how it works, around here on the trains we use Richmond Electronics who seem to have a go at anything and I think will look at one offs too, they have a web site but if Norwich is too far off the beaten track then if you have any one similar locally you might have some success
 
they can be fixed

have a look on the rather technically excellent I-BMW forum and somewhere you will find a 2 company's that fix and guarantee abs units from 1200's.

I got a broken one might look inside it one day, can't be that hard.:thumby:
 
On servo units the internal filters get blocked with crud. And the pressure valves stick leading to high pressure warning codes.
Both very simple faults to fix requiring no specialised tools or equipment. ;)
 
There seems to be a huge number of faults hitting the 2007 bikes with the newer (non servo) ABS.

Here's a nice video with the fix if you're brave enough to try it..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyUvwwBQg0A

There is also a company in the rather cool sounding Moscow, Idaho caled Module masters. They seem to have a good reputation on the US sites (bmwmoa and ADV) and charge about $150 for the repair with a 5 year guarantee.
http://www.modulemaster.com

So to answer the OP question... Don't bin it.. Invest a few quid repairing it and stick it on fleabay.
 
Padge said:
There is also a company in the rather cool sounding Moscow, Idaho caled Module masters. They seem to have a good reputation on the US sites (bmwmoa and ADV) and charge about $150 for the repair with a 5 year guarantee.
http://www.modulemaster.com

So to answer the OP question... Don't bin it.. Invest a few quid repairing it and stick it on fleabay.
Click to expand...

Thing is, though: if you've spent the cash, and gotten a five-year warranty to boot, why not put it back on the bike and a) have the peace-of-mind that ABS gives, and b) maintain the bike's resale value?

I don't know if the situation's any different in the UK, but here, it's pretty much taken for granted that BMW Motorrad = ABS. (Very few BMWs sold post-1998 do NOT have ABS.)
The first question a prospective buyer is likely to ask about a non-ABS model is: Why? And the sellers have a hard time getting them off their hands, because there is no shortage of ABS-equipped equivalents with the same mileage for sale at the same price.
 
Hi

Thanks for the responses but I already splashed out on a new ABS unit. It works very nicely when its working. The dealer applied some kind of sympathy discount on the labour charges I think. Perhaps 'cos they were able to do it at the same time the tank was off for the replacement fuel sensor strip.

To clarify, if it had broken this week I may have rolled up my sleeves and SORNed the bike. When it went I was one month away from a big trip. Turns out the tour cost as much as the new ABS unit :eek

I still have the busted unit.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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