Broken down during rain storm

[Taifighter]

Hey y’all, I was on the last leg of my ride from Dallas to Boston and my 96 r1100r spurted and stalled and wouldn’t turn back on. I have one more day in New York so I’d like to fix it and ride it home but it’s not looking good. Hers what I know so far

 

1. crank is strong but got weaker after a few tries

2. heavy rain but not jumpy tach

3. Clean fresh fuel 

4.  Fuel pump was constantly running but still primed after it stalled out

 

 I’m praying it’s just unlucky and I flooded, but signs point to a failed pump or something in that system. The HES is original but this doesn’t seem like that kind issue. Any help would be great thanks!

[Jim Moore]

26-year-old bike + original HES + Rain? Sorry man. It's the HES. 

[Taifighter]

Hey Jim,

 

would I still have spark if it was the HES? I’d like to be sure before I went out and spent money on the part.

[RK Ryder]

Once when I washed the bike, possibly too aggressively with the hose and dried it with my 30” fan, I had a similar situation. Made an appointment with the local dealer for six or seven days later. As the appointment day got nearer, the bike started so I repeated the wash cycle again and got an Oilhead that wouldn’t start.

 

in my case, the wiring for the toggle switch for the four way flashers was worn and when wet, caused a short in the wiring system until dry.

 

Your problem may be something different but obviously the rain affected something on your bike. Good luck finding your fix. Do share with us the solution once you get the bike running again.

[dirtrider]

6 hours ago, Taifighter said:

Hey y’all, I was on the last leg of my ride from Dallas to Boston and my 96 r1100r spurted and stalled and wouldn’t turn back on. I have one more day in New York so I’d like to fix it and ride it home but it’s not looking good. Hers what I know so far

 

1. crank is strong but got weaker after a few tries

2. heavy rain but not jumpy tach

3. Clean fresh full

4.  Fuel pump was constantly running but still primed after it stalled out

 

 I’m praying it’s just unlucky and I flooded, but signs point to a failed pump or something in that system. The HES is original but this doesn’t seem like that kind issue. Any help would be great thanks!

Morning Taifighter

 

HES would usually be the first thought but if you still have a spark GOOD spark, & the tac isn't acting up during engine cranking, then it's possible that it is something else. 

 

Usually a bad HES kills both the spark & the fuel injection but under the right circumstances a bad HES could kill the injection side but not the spark.

 

What do your spark plugs look like right after cranking? If they are wet (with water) then it's possible that you have water in your fuel tank. 

 

How long after your last fuel fill-up did the problem start? If right after the last fill-up then possibly you got some fuel with water in it (try calling the fueling station that you bought the fuel from & ask if they had any water issues in the fuel).

 

Or, if someone removed the black emission evap canister from the rear of the motorcycle (canisterectomy) but didn't cut the vent hose (one exiting behind the R/H side riders foot peg) bottom to a 45° cut then the fuel tank can suck in road water riding for long periods in heavy rain. As fuel is used out of fuel tank then the tank vent allows that used-fuel to be replaced with outside air, if there is water in that entering vent air then it gets mixed with the remaining  fuel  in the tank. 

 

 

[Taifighter]

Hello dirtrider,

 

thanks for the reply, omw to check on the bike now, the fuel pump has been whining the whole ride up so that’s why I assumed it was that, but it still primes when the key is on. I will check on spark, but with the amount of rain, and how it shut off, it acted as if it was flooded or has just ran out of gas. 

[Taifighter]

Update,

 

the bike has no spark, almost certain it’s the HES. I’m getting it towed back home. Thanks for all the help gentleman ride safe

[Lowndes]

There is a guy in Canada that rewires the HES with hi-temp rated wire and does beautiful work.  He did two for me ('99 RT, '99R11S).  He might have a spare he can over-night to you, cheaper than towing from NY to Dallas.  Not too bad to replace, even with just the bike's tool kit.  Have to lift the tank to get to the connector.

 

PM me if you want his contact info.

[CaptainKcorb]

I'm late to the party here and sure Tailfighter is well on his way at this point but I thought I'd share a tip that might save someone else HES grief.

 

My HES wiring went west after washing the bike the afternoon before a trip. I was either fixing it immediately or missing the trip. After removing the front cover and exposing (slitting) the harness I could see that the wiring had failed where a cable clip secures the HES cable by the alternator. The insulation was powder.

 

Happily I had recently resupplied with shrink wrap tubing and had four 4' lengths of 1/8" (or maybe 3/16"). With the right side plastic off and the tank lifted a bit at the back it was an easy job get the HES out with cable and slide the shrink wrap over each wire (the hardest part was fiddling the connectors in and out of the under-tank connector). In a fit of mechanical rigour I slid another length of 1/2" shrinkwrap over the whole bodge,. The total job was a little over two hours and the slightly fatter wiring harness fit right back in place.

 

I'm expect this may offend the sensibilities of some BMW stalwarts but shrink wrap is available anywhere you find an electronics hobby shop, unlike rebuilt HES units and is dirt cheap. At least you're on your way with only the tools in your kit (and a lighter for the shrink wrap).

 

As to whether it's a reliable fix or not, the wiring failed around year 5 and maybe 60K miles. My 2000RT is now 23 years old with 220K miles and that shrink wrap is still in there, lasting way longer than the original factory job.

[Taifighter]

Hey y’all, reviving this topic, I replaced my HES yesterday and I’m still not getting spark, the only thing I can thing of is that I didn’t set the timing right. Any advice? Cheers

[dirtrider]

39 minutes ago, Taifighter said:

Hey y’all, reviving this topic, I replaced my HES yesterday and I’m still not getting spark, the only thing I can thing of is that I didn’t set the timing right. Any advice? Cheers

Afternoon  Taifighter

 

It makes NO difference in where the timing is set in relation to GETTING a spark. 

 

The timing only matters to getting the spark at the correct time.

 

Do you have 12v on the green wire going to the ignition coil while cranking??? This might give us a clue on what to look for based on coil supply voltage at time of engine cranking. 

 

Are you testing for a spark with one side plug wire still hooked up while checking for a spark on the other side?  Remember that on the BMW 1100 lost spark type ignition system that the spark plug on one side is the ground path back to the coil's secondary for the other side. 

 

[Taifighter]

Thanks for reply dirtRider,

Yes one of the spark plugs is still connected, I’ll check on the green ignition coil wire and report back,

cheers. 

[dirtrider]

5 minutes ago, Taifighter said:

Thanks for reply dirtRider,

Yes one of the spark plugs is still connected, I’ll check on the green ignition coil wire and report back,

cheers. 

Afternoon  Taifighter

 

I'm going to away for a while so IF you have 12v to the coil then you might try removing fuse 5 for about 1/2 hour (then reinstall it)  to re-set the Motronic. You might have locked the Motronic while out fooling with the HES if the key was on. 

 

Also check fuse 5 for being open (blown).