DallasR1100RT Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 OK...so I took the RT to the car wash and washed it down...sprayed the front down really good...went to start the bike and the it would not turn over and the battery was dead. Got the car and jump started the bike...it started and ran fine for about 30 seconds and then engine died and now it won't start. Put a plug in the wire and I do not see any spark. Could I have killed the Halls Effect by getting it wet with the high pressure washer? Any other ideas? Thanks Mark Link to comment
Ozonkiller Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I did the same thing to mine after a $40 car wash in Fairbanks (cleaning off the mud after riding the Dalton) It was the HES. After a couple of days it dried out and worked fine. This is a common malady in older higher mileage bikes. Did you pull an injector to see if it sprays fuel? Mine did neither. Good luck. Tom Link to comment
LBump Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Let it dry out. Check the battery; it might be time for a new one. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Could I have killed the Halls Effect by getting it wet with the high pressure washer? The death of the battery is unrelated to the blasting of the HES by your high-pressure spray. But no-spark is also unrelated to the death of the battery. So it sounds like you've got more than one failure point here. If it's the HES, then you will not get any spark or fuel. Normally the fuel pump runs when you spin the crank, so one check is to manually spin the crank shaft, and listen for the pump to run for about one second every time the crank trips the sensor: -bike on centerstand, in neutral, sidestand up, gearbox in sixth gear. -turn the key on, listen for the fuel pump to run for ~1 second; that means the pump itself works fine. -now grab the rear wheel and manually turn it forward, listening for that same fuel pump noise again. If you finish a wheel rev and don't hear it a couple of times, suspect the HES. Alternative: same as above, but pull the alt belt cover and use a wrench on the front of the crankshaft to rotate the engine. (this will require removing the tupperware and "shark fin" on one side of the bike). Alternative: remove one fuel injector from the throttle body (but keep the fuel line attached to it). Crank the engine, watch for fuel spray from injector. If you've never replaced the HES on your 1100RT, then this is the likely culprit. But note that your high-pressure washer never directly hit the HES; it's well-shielded behind the alt belt cover. The worst it would have gotten would be indirect spray trickling down behind the cover, and if your car-wash episode hadn't compromised it, then it probably would have happened the next time you rode through the rain. If your bike's gonna die, best it happen close to home. Link to comment
Edgar Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Here's a HES from Beemer Boneyard Link to comment
DallasR1100RT Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 I left the battery tender on all night and went out this am to see if she would start... Turn on the key and all the lights come on...I hear the ABS relay clicking...when I push the starter button it will not turn over...all I hear is a CLICK and the lights go off. Same sound you would hear when your car battery dies...starter trying to engage but not enough juice. It doesn't make sense to me that a battery that has given me no issue at all would die that fast...it started right up as usual...I drove it 1 mile to the carwash...did the dirty deed...then turned on the key and I had no lights or turn over??? Please note I am very new to BMW motorcycles...but have owned moto's for 40+ years and was a auto tech in a previous life...I know BMW's have quirks...is this just another one I need to get over? :-) Thanks everyone!!! Mark Link to comment
Edgar Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 If you have a gel battery, it's not uncommon for the battery to die suddenly...or it could be starter / starter relay. Have you done a load test yet? Link to comment
dirtrider Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Morning Mark Physically check BOTH battery cables for being tight at the battery posts. Look for signs of arcing or oxidation. It sounds a bit like a battery cable connection problem. Give them a good hardy tug & twist not just a look/see as they can appear to be tight but can still lose continuity under starter load. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Put a voltmeter across the batter terminals so you can see what happens to battery voltage when you hit the starter button. If the voltage drops dramatically (down into the single digits), you've got a battery problem; if it barely drops (or doesn't drop at all), then the starter relay or solenoid may not be engaging (the lights go out because a separate load-shedding relay is working properly). Quicker check: The ABS lights normally flash together when you first turn the key on. After you hit the starter, do they continue to flash together, or do they begin to flash in an alternating pattern? If the latter, then that means the battery voltage has dropped low enough to trigger an ABS fault. If this is happening without the starter even moving, then your battery is the problem. EDIT: dirtrider's right, check the connections at the battery. If they're OK, check the connections at the starter (left tupperware has to come off). Link to comment
DallasR1100RT Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 Battery connections are good.. Turn on key and ABS lights flash together... Westco Gel battery...not very old...less than 2 years... I pulled a plug out and fuel sprayed from the jug so I believe she is getting fuel...plug smells gassy...I believe we are missing spark. Would a bad battery cause a no spark issue even during a jump start attempt? Turned over just fine with a "jump" yesterday so it does not seem like a starter issue. It's the fact that this all happened after the car wash that has me so confused. Link to comment
dirtrider Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Afternoon Mark Well it sort of sounds like you have a some fuel anyway if it sprays out the plug hole while cranking (in fact maybe too much). If it’s cranking over OK (NOW) then the battery or cable connections aren’t the issue (you had mention of it NOT cranking over using the starter). If it takes a jump to get the starter to crank it then it should still start. So if you have it cranking (even if jumping it), & you have fuel then that would probably leave a spark issue. That lack of spark could still be part of the HES malfunctioning from moisture intrusion into the wire harness or a moisture problem at the ignition coil or plug wires. If your fuel has water in it or the air box is wetted out maybe that fuel you see coming out the plug hole has a lot of water in it. If so that could foul the spark plugs and cause the spark to bleed off down the center electrode. So check it again for spark-- make sure the kick stand is up, then use a new or known good spark plug to check for spark (don’t use one from the engine). If still no spark then you will have to check for the HES (spark side) working, or the ign coil arcing, or the spark plug wires arcing to metal somewhere (basically find the reason you have no spark) Link to comment
4wheeldog Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Battery connections are good.. Turn on key and ABS lights flash together... Westco Gel battery...not very old...less than 2 years... I pulled a plug out and fuel sprayed from the jug so I believe she is getting fuel...plug smells gassy...I believe we are missing spark. Would a bad battery cause a no spark issue even during a jump start attempt? Turned over just fine with a "jump" yesterday so it does not seem like a starter issue. It's the fact that this all happened after the car wash that has me so confused. Westco batteries are not gel.....They are AGM. But it still sounds like a bad battery. Any battery can fail with a shorted cell. The test is as Mitch said above, check the voltage with key off, key on, and with the start button pushed. I bet it goes to damn near zero. The fact that you apparently now have working injectors also indicates that your HES was not working when it/they were wet. If the HES didn't work after a wash, it will fail completely soon. Might as well replace, or repair with new wire. Good luck. Link to comment
DallasR1100RT Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 Took the battery to the local Valvoline place...battery showed 10.0 volts and 0 CCA on the tester...is that bad???? Getting it to run after a jump and then die suddenly makes me believe a wet Halls also... I cannot believe I am so lucky to have 2 things break at the same time!!! Time to buy lotto tickets!!! Link to comment
Alfred02 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Is that 10.0Vdc without load? If so your battery is rooted! Sounds like it dropped a cell. That can happen at any time no matter what the age of the battery. But even with load, that's a low voltage, assuming the load is from the bike and your battery place is not forcing excessive current from it. Link to comment
Boffin Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Took the battery to the local Valvoline place...battery showed 10.0 volts and 0 CCA on the tester...is that bad???? Getting it to run after a jump and then die suddenly makes me believe a wet Halls also... I cannot believe I am so lucky to have 2 things break at the same time!!! Time to buy lotto tickets!!! Your battery is a 6-cell lead-acid (gel and AGM are just types of lead-acid). Each cell gives just over 2V - making 12V total. Your 10V with 0 CCA means one cell has died. The battery is toast. Andy Link to comment
DallasR1100RT Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 Sorry if some of you didn't get my attempt at humor...but happy this board is so cool to answer a question like that with an answer!! Ordered a new battery and a Halls from Boneyard!! Link to comment
KDeline Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 With the battery out of the bike attach jumpers to the cables and see if it starts. A dead cell will not let the bike jump start correctly. If it starts now it could be fine but now the HES could be dry. Wet it again to see if it fails. Link to comment
philbytx Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 HERE is a handy battery voltage status chart and info on bike batteries Link to comment
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