Electrical Gremlins

[Rob_Near_GR]

Greetings All,

 

I'm the 3rd owner of a low mileage 03 1150 RT since December and am starting to experience some strange electrical issues. Last week after riding the bike for 30 minutes or so it sat in a parking lot for about an hour. I got on, placed key in the ignition, turned to run, pushed starter, it turned, then everything went dead. Everything! I popped the seat and really not knowing what I was looking for opened the fuse box then jiggled the wires near what I could see of the new in March battery. Didn't seem to make a difference but after a few minutes I tried again and everything refired. Yesterday the same thing happened and again today. The bike had an "Armed Guard" alarm put on by the original owner and I've never attempted to use it. I did notice in my various jiggling of wires near battery the alarm started to go off fairly softly then petered out after 45 seconds or so.

 

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

Thanks!

 

Rob K

[RFW]

I had a similar thing happen. The problem was a hairline crack in the link between 2 cells in the battery. Usually there was enough acid between the cracked parts (to provide some conductivity), that the lights would more or less work, but the moment I hit the starter ...Nothing! Everything went dead. Cheap Taiwanese or Chinese batteries tend to be most problematic.

 

Try jumpering it with a car battery. It it starts then, the problem is your battery. Buy a Panasonic AGM battery from Digikey. Terrific battery, reasonable cost, and delivered to your door in a day.

[MarkdredRT]

which model?

[NonComp]

Try jumpering it with a car battery. It it starts then, the problem is your battery. Buy a Panasonic AGM battery from Digikey. Terrific battery, reasonable cost, and delivered to your door in a day.

From where?

[chrisz]

I had the same issue with my Honda. Replaced the battery but the issue was still there. Turned out to be a bit of corrosion on one of the battery cables resulting in poor contact with the battery post. Once the corrosion was cleaned up, all was good from then on.

[bmwmick]

Try jumpering it with a car battery. It it starts then, the problem is your battery. Buy a Panasonic AGM battery from Digikey. Terrific battery, reasonable cost, and delivered to your door in a day.

From where?

 

Glen,

Read through this thread:

http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/sh...true#Post906049

You want the LC-X1220p and they are about $62 with free shipping if you follow the instructions.

 

Mick

[T__]

Greetings All,

 

I'm the 3rd owner of a low mileage 03 1150 RT since December and am starting to experience some strange electrical issues. Last week after riding the bike for 30 minutes or so it sat in a parking lot for about an hour. I got on, placed key in the ignition, turned to run, pushed starter, it turned, then everything went dead. Everything! I popped the seat and really not knowing what I was looking for opened the fuse box then jiggled the wires near what I could see of the new in March battery. Didn't seem to make a difference but after a few minutes I tried again and everything refired. Yesterday the same thing happened and again today. The bike had an "Armed Guard" alarm put on by the original owner and I've never attempted to use it. I did notice in my various jiggling of wires near battery the alarm started to go off fairly softly then petered out after 45 seconds or so.

 

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

Thanks!

 

Rob K

 

 

Rob, lots of guessing..

 

Your problem should be pretty easy to isolate if it acts up continually a you mention..

 

Just get a cheap digital voltmeter (usually $10.00-$15.00) & a couple of small alligator clips (roach clips) that will push on the voltmeter lead probes)..

 

Attach the volt meter red lead to the battery’s (+) post & the black lead to the battery’s (-) post.. Run the wires out from between the fuel tank plastic & seat with enough slack to plug into your meter.. Then before each start plug the meter in & place it on the 20v volt DC scale.. Then start the bike as usual.. If the battery monitoring voltage stays above 11 volts while cranking your battery isn’t likely the problem.. If the voltage drops to >10v or less while cranking then suspect a bad battery..

 

If the battery tests out OK per above then move the probes & test the cranking voltage right at the starter nut where the battery cable attaches.. If that prove to be OK then measure the voltage DROP between the starter metal housing (or engine block ) & the battery (-) post (black lead on battery (-) post & (+) lead on starter housing,, any voltage showing there above about .5 volts is a potential problem)..

 

If you want another guess then; my money is on a loose or corroded battery cable connection at the starter to cable attachment nut..

 

Twisty

[John in NC]

Uh Make sure the battery connections are tight and clean.