ABS/TSC Fault?

My mate has a 2017 W/cooled R1200GS and his ABS/TSC light has come on. He has taken it to his usual independent and plugged it into the diagnostic computer but is struggling to pin-point the fault. The indies best guess is the ABS pump has failed and has told my mate, (who has notoriously short arms and deep pockets), to take it to a BMW main dealer. So my question is are there any known issues with the ABS/TSC on the water-cooled bikes? Any ideas or suggestions?

i had the same on my 2016 while in Scotland touring. I was convinced I had a fault - thought it might be mud on a sensor as the bike was dirty.

showing for a whole day - however it came on while riding my bike by trying to capture another rider in fronts attention, i must have caught the abs button and changed a setting. It took me while and from what i remember i had to hold the button down for a few seconds.

Not meant to be funny but spend time reading the handbook.

I genuinely though i had a fault - i do not believe you have a fault.

malcopopolo said:

i had the same on my 2016 while in Scotland touring. I was convinced I had a fault - thought it might be mud on a sensor as the bike was dirty.

showing for a whole day - however it came on while riding my bike by trying to capture another rider in fronts attention, i must have caught the abs button and changed a setting. It took me while and from what i remember i had to hold the button down for a few seconds.

Not meant to be funny but spend time reading the handbook.

I genuinely though i had a fault - i do not believe you have a fault.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I shall pass the info on to my mate. I told him to buy a Super Tenere!

longdog said:

My mate has a 2017 W/cooled R1200GS and his ABS/TSC light has come on. He has taken it to his usual independent and plugged it into the diagnostic computer but is struggling to pin-point the fault. The indies best guess is the ABS pump has failed and has told my mate, (who has notoriously short arms and deep pockets), to take it to a BMW main dealer. So my question is are there any known issues with the ABS/TSC on the water-cooled bikes? Any ideas or suggestions?

Click to expand...

What didnostic kit did the indy use?

The GS range is well know for being a complex beasty on its electronics ..

Generic code readers often struggle to read / interpret the codes

GS911 defoo or ISTA ? i believe work fine - motoscan has limitations but will read codes correctly

Santa-2512 said:

What didnostic kit did the indy use?

The GS range is well know for being a complex beasty on its electronics ..

Generic code readers often struggle to read / interpret the codes

GS911 defoo or ISTA ? i believe work fine - motoscan has limitations but will read codes correctly

Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for this, I don’t know what diagnostic kit the dealer uses, I will ask my mate to see if he knows.

I passed on malcopolos suggestion to my mate but he says he has tried it and it didn’t work for him. I still don’t know what diagnostic package the Indy uses other than the Indy dealership ship bought it specifically for BMWs and they are still unable to find the fault. With this in mind, my mate is off to Cardiff Motorrad next week as he doesn’t trust the nearest dealer, (no names mentioned).

If the ABS system have thrown a fault with a visible warning, be assured, there is a fault code in there.

But, and this is true for any vehicle with diagnostic system, the fault code only reads what may measured by electronic means. If there is a mechanical function causing the malfunction, the sensor or whatever may still work, even if the system reports erratic signals.
As an example from the automobil world, my daughters car threw a fault code for one of the ABS sensors. The code reader said: 'Erratic signals from ABS sensor RH front'. The first idea that springs to mind would be a faulty ABS sensor. However, there was nothing wrong with the ABS sensor. The erratic signal was caused by a broken ABS-sensor ring.

What I mean to say is that even with all the bells and whistles, the person reading the codes have to be trained and have a thorow understanding of the system.
I think it is time for the friend of tho OP to seek help from a properly trained technician.

My mate went to Cardiff Motorrad this week. They found that the ABS sensor ring had broken and they have ordered the part. Ironically, on his way to Cardiff, his engine management light came on, so they took a look at this too and found the exhaust flappy valve thing had a fault and they sorted that too. Thanks for the insights gents.