I see flashing lights before my eyes!

This morning I was on my way to Birmingham, the first good run the bike has had since lockdown - 124 miles down the M6 and then onto a bit of the M5 - Oh Joy.

I stopped at Stafford services for a comfort stop and as I was getting underway again I could not help but notice a red flashing diamond shape with a single vertical bar at its centre. Having no idea what it was, I did what all right-minded people would do and that is, switch it off, leave it a moment and switch it back on again. I did pull over to do that before you ask! But it worked and the light has not been seen since. Coincidentally - maybe not - you be the judge - I got the low fuel indicator on about 15 miles later. It said 46 miles range remaining so the next services - at only 12, should be a breeze? Shouldn't it? Well apparently not because the bike died on me after only about 10 of those 46 miles. By this time I was on the hard shoulder of the M42.

The man in a van turned up within the hour and insisted on taking me home. Well, it had started to rain quite heaqvily and I had missed my meeting ....so off we went. When I got home I quickly put a gallon into the tank and the bike was up straight away - so I am inclined to blame a duff fuel contents thingy - but wait a miniute - I now have an orange triangle illuminated, but not flashing, with the single vertical bar up the middle. Mind you that bit might just be the fact I only put a half gallon in the tank!

The important bit is that I can't find the flashing red diamond in my handbook - and in the morning I will be on the way to Birmingham again having rescheduled todays meeting. Anyone have any brilliant ideas?

On a Hexhead

I thought it was brakes and fuel and its orange or red

the brakes one is red when the ABS or other side fails (Orange in self awareness mode)

I only ever got a low fuel warning in the kombi (in words) The red lights were occupied with something else

dead ABS... normal failure

TPMS is the orange triangle or low fuel

I suspect EML is the orange one.... critical safety being the red one

Do we get a prize for guessing the year of bike, and does it have ABS ..

Diamond? Isn't it a triangle - the General Warning light.

If I have got the correct text, this explains the various possibilities ........... https://www.manualslib.com/manual/869470/Bmw-R-1200-Gs-Adventure.html?page=24#manual

Like Steptoe says, the bike detail would help.

Never trust the fuel strip on a hex head. Had mine recalibrated numerous times when it was under warranty.
I've had mine read anything from 0 for 17 miles to running out with a claimed 52 miles of range left.
You be better off just asking a random stranger to place their hand upon your tank and telling you how much fuel they feel is there.

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk

Oops! It is a 2012 hexhead.

Flashing Red would either be:-

1) A very low tyre pressure (if you have TPMS), but should have gone steady yellow first as the pressure drops.
2) Low oil pressure.

In either case it would be accompanied by a tyre or oil can graphic in the display below.

If tyre pressures and oil level are fine, then could just be a Software glitch, unlikely to be related to your low fuel level alarm.

If your yellow warning is still lit, does it say 'FUEL' below it? It would need about a gallon to turn it off from empty as that is what the reserve is, approximately (4 litres).

Does the 2012 not have the float rather than Fuel Strip? These are normally pretty reliable and accurate, Are we talking GS or GSA? could be your not getting the fuel pumped across from the right hand side of the tank, so you could still have 3 litres or so in there when the bike thinks you have physically run out? ..... And you might not ever notice this if you fill up as soon as the light comes on or keep it topped up ?

Go and fill it up, see how much you can get in bearing in mind the couple of litres you've just put in, and compare it to the tank capacity, a GSA, you should get 33 / 34 litres from empty.

its a simple test....
if you get the red light on when riding …. in a straight line with no one behind you, stand on the rear brake pedal. If you leave a black line its the normal ABS failure

Ibex said:

The important bit is that I can't find the flashing red diamond in my handbook

Click to expand...

Correct, there ain’t no diamonds in the hand book of any colour, but there is triangles, both yellow and red.