Linz Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Hi all. I did my brakes (everything) back in November and the bike hasn't been ridden much since, a few 150 mile runs etc. Today, I had cause to hit the brakes fairly hard as traffic stopped suddenly in front of me on the Freeway. Since then the brake warning light and the brake failure lights are on and the top one is flashing. A stop, ignition off and a restart got rid of it but it came back on 10 minutes later. Does anyone have any ideas for me, where to begin fault finding this please? Cheers, Linz Link to comment
philbytx Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Have you checked your rear bulb???? Link to comment
cris nitro Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Do yu have the correct level of fluid? Link to comment
OlGeezer Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Hi all. I did my brakes (everything) ... Linz When you say "everything", does that mean you also changed your brake fluid including the control circuit? If not, you need to do that. If you did, a likely culprit is that the brake fluid is low in one of the control circuits. That was my experience, anyway. Good luck! Link to comment
Linz Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 OK, thanks guys, I'll check everything. Yes, We did the control circuit, there was nothing left untouched or unchanged within that whole routine. It was unusual, as everything had been so much better, (feel, braking power etc) until that heavy braking yesterday afternoon. I'll recheck levels, globes etc. I appreciate the advice. Linz Link to comment
KER Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Hi all. I did my brakes (everything) ... Linz When you say "everything", does that mean you also changed your brake fluid including the control circuit? If not, you need to do that. If you did, a likely culprit is that the brake fluid is low in one of the control circuits. That was my experience, anyway. Good luck! +1 on that, most likely the fluid in the abs unit is low, and usually sloshes around when braking hard and trips the error. Link to comment
Linz Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share Posted February 8, 2011 Well, I pulled the bike apart yesterday and checked everything. I could not find a problem anywhere. I pulled all connections, cleaned and reseated them. As I had the bike apart, I took the opportunity to check and adjust the valves and, for the first time, check the throttle body balance with a home made manometer. I usually use a TwinMax. I have to say that I've never seen such an accurate method of balancing, you just have to take it slow. I got the bike so close to perfect, I couldn't believe the difference... So, I throw the bodywork back on and take it for a 1/2 hour test run. I had no brake warning lights and the bike is as smooth as butter. Who knows what I did to stop the ABS warning light from flashing but I do have a much better running bike Thanks for the suggestions. Linz Link to comment
Mark G Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I wish I caught this sooner. I had the same problem...Twisty diagnosed it correctly for me but I still took my bike to BMW and got raped. Same symptoms after a hard stop(practicing hard stops) Here is what BMW did....fluid level was low in ABS system/circuit beneath the fuel tank. They could not properly fill the ABS system and bleed same because the back brake pads were low. So fresh fluid and a proper bleed for the fluid/abs system and new pads did it. Link to comment
Linz Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Hmmmn. I'll check the brake pads thoroughly but I did do that when I did the system flush in November. I didn't check the wheel sensors either (which I should have done), but I can do that easily. Thanks for your response Mark. Cheers, Linz Link to comment
dirtrider Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Morning Linz With your general brake light on and the ABS light flashing that usually means either the front or rear brake system is in residual braking. If you had a rear light bulb problem the general light would have been on but the ABS light would not have been flashing. You can tell a little about the failure on how fast the ABS light was flashing (fast or slow) but not much more than that. Otherwise, without having your dealer use his computer (or you using a GS-911) to pull the stored brake controller failure code(s) it is just a guessing game. The first place to look seeing as your problem happened just after a very hard stop is the fluid level in the ABS controller internal reservoirs. It looks like you might have already done that. If not start with that. So if the ABS controller reservoir fluid levels (both reservoirs) are full then the next place to look is for a sticking front brake lever or sticking rear pedal (or the electrical switch on either sticking). Sticking pedal/lever could be the issue so make sure they both stroke smoothly then easily return to their stops. You might also verify the wheel speed sensor wires are not contacting the brake rotors or pulled extremely tight during suspension compression or extension. If the pedal/lever strokes smoothly and returns easily and neither front or rear switch is sticking then about your only recourse if the problem comes back is to read the stored failure code(s) in the ABS controller (either a dealer computer hookup or get a GS-911 on it yourself) Link to comment
philbytx Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 IMHO, TwinMax is an unnecessarily complicated, eletrickery dependent French gizmo. Seemingly invented by a decendent of the Marquis de Sade ! Link to comment
NonComp Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Agreed. A home-made manometer is one of those simple solutions that gives me joy every time I use it, and not just because I made it and it works! Link to comment
Linz Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Thanks DR. I'll grab one of those GS-911's. Problem is, I'm going to also need a PC. I'm all Mac. It's going to be an expensive exercise. Linz Link to comment
AndyS Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Thanks DR. I'll grab one of those GS-911's. Problem is, I'm going to also need a PC. I'm all Mac. It's going to be an expensive exercise. Linz In all honesty, that is a lot of expense when what the system tells you about this problem is marginal at best. Maybe consider popping into the dealer and get them to read the codes for you. You can then make a decision about what to do next after hearing what the fault readback is. (like I say, it probably won't be too enlightening - but worth a try). Andy Link to comment
tallman Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Agreed. A home-made manometer is one of those simple solutions that gives me joy every time I use it, and not just because I made it and it works! As big a fan of home made manometers that I am, I'm an even bigger fan of the CarbTune as it is small, packable (for Tech Days) has no liquid to mess with and works like a charm. YMMV. Best wishes. Link to comment
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