My Bike Died 10 miles south of Lima,Ohio

[topdal46]

My 1999 R1100RT died on Friday Morning, 10 miles south of the Rally site on Interstate 75, thanks to MOA I was trailered the last few miles to the Rally site.

 

Bruce of Colombus,Ohio BMW Motorcycles was the dealer/owner at the Rally site, had me trailered to his Shop on Saturday morning, The service was great,

 

Hall Effect Sensor was replaced, old one had died, not a common in stock part, a used one was found at Recycle BMW in Colombus, thanks to BMW of Colombus,Ohio for getting me back on the long,hot road back to Texas Saturday afternoon.

[smiller]

Do you still happen to have the old part? If so I'd be interested to know about the condition of the harness insulation (under the shrink tubing where it is clamped to the sensor plate.)

[topdal46]

Yes, I still have the old part,,,,,

[topdal46]

it certainly does not look like a $258.00 dollar part, but that is what BMW of Columbus Ohio says a new one cost, When my bike died, I did smell a burning electrical smell, looking at the part, I don't see any signs of burning.

[smiller]

The insulation damage (if it exists) will likely not be visible unless you cut open the shrink tubing near/under the clamp that holds the main wire to the sensor plate (the last clamp just before the wire leaves the plate.) This is a very common failure point and I'm curious if that is what failed in your case. How many miles on your bike?

[topdal46]

Seth..

 

I just cut the insulation off the old Hall Effects Sensor wiring, no sign of electrial arcing or burning, all the insulation is in good shape ( until I started cutting)

 

The orginal condition was I was 15 miles south of the rally site on I-75, I had run 5 miles on a cold engine, when it started to cut out, and the tach started spiking to some very high numbers. I coasted to the side of the highway at mile marker 115, as I stopped I could smell the burnt electrical smell, but I never did see any smoke.

 

MOA rescued me and brought me to the Rally site, about one hour later on arrival , I tried starting the bike and it started fine. Friday afternoon, I rode around the fairgrounds for 20 minutes, trying to recreate the event,it ran fine.

 

Colombus BMW took my bike in their trailer on Saturday morning to their shop,, they heated it up by running it awhile and with a few covers on the engine to make it warm, the computer showed a fault code for the Hall Effect Sensor, so they were able to recreate the fault, put the new/recycled part on and I made it back to TEXAS no problem.

 

Recycle BMW in Colombus,told me the part came off a 11,000 mile motor.

[topdal46]

43,400 miles on the bike when it ground to a stop....

[smiller]

OK, thanks. Your symptoms are consistent with an HES wire harness failure and the burning smell would support that, but who knows...

 

$258 is full list price for a new replacement so you might think they would give you a bit of a discount for a used part, but oh well, important thing was that you got back on the road. You're also lucky that you made it to within sight of the rally before it died! Usual HES failure mode seems to be in the rain in the middle of nowhere.

[topdal46]

Recycle BMW of Colombus charged me $125 for the used HES, they are a seperate shop from BMW Motorcycles of Colombus.

[smiller]

Recycle BMW of Colombus charged me $125 for the used HES, they are a seperate shop from BMW Motorcycles of Colombus.

Ah, OK. That sounds fair.

[bmwmick]

Phil,

I sent you an E-Mail.

 

Mick

[Steve_Witmer]

Phil,

 

Glad you made it out of Columbus. I saw you there Saturday afternoon while I was there for a new speedometer cable and, judging from the anxiety level, there seemed to be some doubt the part would come in time. I'm also glad they were willing to install a used sensor for you, because some shops might not do that.

 

I knew that the Honeywell 2av54 sensor was only 12 bucks, that's why I was shocked when I heard the parts guy say the BMW (Bosch) part was $258. I know the Honeywell part is not genuine BMW, but Honeywell makes good stuff and more than 20 times the price is just ridiculous.

 

I'll be ordering a couple of the 2av54 from NewarkInOne.com to keep on the bike. It's cheap insurance for a trip when measured against the possibility that the dealer won't have one in stock or you break down in a place far away from the nearest dealer.

 

Hope you had a good ride home.

[smiller]

I know the Honeywell part is not genuine BMW

 

The Honeywell part is the same as used on the OEM assembly from Bosch, no difference in quality.

 

I'll be ordering a couple of the 2av54 from NewarkInOne.com to keep on the bike.

 

Carrying just a couple of hall sensors with you won't do you much good as while replacing the entire HES assembly is isn't very difficult, rebuilding the unit in the field would not be very practical. You would need to carry a complete (rebuilt or new) assembly if you wanted to carry a spare.

[topdal46]

Yes, I was sitting in the showroom on Saturday afternoon at Columbus BMW Motorcycles, not knowing just what had died on the bike, but because of reading this forum in the past, I had a pretty good idea, it was the HES that croaked on my bike.

 

When you're on the road, not a lot of options for repair, just try to make the best of what's available to you.

 

The shop there was really great, going out of their way to take care of me, and get me on the highway again.

 

I did see a lot of business going on in the store while I sat waiting, I'm impressed with the service level.

 

It did work out well, in my case, i'm sure, it's not always going to be like this.

[Steve_Witmer]

while replacing the entire HES assembly is isn't very difficult, rebuilding the unit in the field would not be very practical.

 

I agree entirely that this is not a task that I could do by the side of the road. But if I was out of commission 500 miles from the nearest BMW dealer, or if the BMW assembly was out of warehouse stock (as is sometimes the case), nearly any motorcycle dealer or automotive garage (and a lot of home workshops as well) would have the necessary tools on hand to rivet two new sensors onto the assembly plate. Having the sensors is not a perfect solution, but if I have the sensors, I may have an option other than waiting several days for a part.

 

If I ever buy a parts bike, the HES Assembly from that is going with me on the RT on long trips.