R1100RT Starting Mystery

[RTRay]

Last week after driving my 1997 RT about 20 minutes I stopped for gas and filled her up. When trying to restart the bike it would not start--it would turn over as normal but wouldn't start. After trying everything I could think of to get it to fire up, including starting it with the sidestand both up and down, in and out of neutral, gas cap open and closed--still no luck. So, I called my BMW dealer and he came down and picked up the bike with his trailer. I was relieved when he couldn't get it to start either--I was sure it would start as soon as he pulled up with his trailer!

 

When he got the bike back to the shop he says it started right up! He went through everything that could have been wrong and found nothing, no codes came up on the computer. It had just come out of it's 6,000 mile check up two weeks before I had the problem, and nothing was found wrong at that time either. When I arrived to pick the bike up the next day I found out that he didn't charge me anything for the hour of shop work, he only charged me for the tow, which was covered by my insurance. Since then the bike has run fine. However, it does make a curious grinding noise when I start it up when it's cold. Might be a starter sound--I'm not sure.

 

What do you think? Do you think that they found something once it was back at the shop that they hadn't done, or had done, that was causing the problem and just fixed it without telling me? Maybe something that they should have done during the 6,000 mile? I'm not used to having my bike in the shop and have there be "No Charge" for the service. Does this seem strange to you too? Maybe there really wasn't anything wrong but then I'm back to the question of why it wouldn't start and will it do this to me again when I least expect it.

 

Merry Christmas!!! Terry

[Stan Walker]

Do you think that they found something once it was back at the shop that they hadn't done, or had done, that was causing the problem and just fixed it without telling me? Maybe something that they should have done during the 6,000 mile?

 

No. There is nothing that done during a routine service that skipping would cause your symptoms. Trust me, your dealer wants to charge you. If he knew what fixed your problem, he would have.

 

Chances are it will happen again.

 

The best time to troubleshoot problems like this is when they are happening.

 

Chances are it is electrical in nature. Voltmeters are your friend once you learn how to use one. I don't travel without one in my toolcase.

 

Even without one some troubleshooting can be done on the RT. For example, did the fuel pump run when when your bike wouldn't start? Did the RID display show the fuel level / temp? Information like the above is essential to helping others diagnose your problem.

 

Next time it happens, listen, look, try everything to see what is working and what isn't working. Write it down so you can tell someone else.

 

Stan

[SWB]

What do you think? Do you think that they found something once it was back at the shop that they hadn't done, or had done, that was causing the problem and just fixed it without telling me? Maybe something that they should have done during the 6,000 mile? I'm not used to having my bike in the shop and have there be "No Charge" for the service. Does this seem strange to you too? Maybe there really wasn't anything wrong but then I'm back to the question of why it wouldn't start and will it do this to me again when I least expect it.

 

Dream on. It's the nature of electronic components that they fail gradually, and when worn, work better cold than hot. I've had two different situations with auto's where the cars ran fine cold, but wouldn't restart after they were warm (and turned off). Eventually both failed while the car was running and in motion. The first problem was a cracked distributor cap, and the second was a fuel pump cut-out switch (which all fuel injected vehicles have to prevent fuel dumping on the pavement if the car is upended in an accident). Most electrical components are a series of "Open/close" switches. When the component becomes warn, the switch won't close properly. It works fine when cold, but as the metal (usually copper) warms, the "switch" expands, and won't close to complete the connection, causing a failure while "hot".

 

Don't assume that the problem is gone. It's just hiding. You're going to have to be the "lead mechanic" on this problem. As the other gentleman mentioned, try to figure out what IS working when the problem occurs next time. It's the old "fuel, spark, air" analysis. You're in luck, since just about everything on the Beemer is electrical or electronically driven, which means the problem could be just about anything. It could be as simple as your plug wires and starter, or one of the many relay switches. My guess would be something connected to the fuel pump. And yes, if the starter has lost a tooth or something, it'll cause a starting problem, but the bike will be making a heck of a racket while not starting.

 

There are smarter people than me on this forum, so maybe some of them can walk you through a step-by-step method of analysis. (Or, check for past forum threads. I know this has been addressed previously.)

 

Good luck!

[smiller]

97 RT... no start, and then runs fine? I'd be suspicious of the HES harness. Just a guess of course, impossible to know for sure without more information. About the only thing you can be sure of is if you don't find the source of the problem it will almost surely happen again at some point in the future.

[Rocketman51]

I had the same problem on my 97 RT. It would crank, but not start. It happened about 3 times over a 1 month period. I finally figured out that the fuel pump was not running. When you switch the kill switch to the run position,(Side stand up) you can hear the fuel pump run for a few seconds then shut off. I pulled the fuel pump relay in the fuse box, and replaced the stock BMW (Open) fuses with the proper replacement from Autozone. No more starting problems for the last 6 months.