brrrd Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 I'm on a road trip and got caught in some heavy rain and the bike just lost power and died. 96 R1100RT, I had fueled up a few minutes earlier (before the rain). I'm getting a tow to the hotel, but where do I begin trying to get back on the road?
Paul Mihalka Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 When a R1100 dies in the rain, the most common failure is defective wiring of the Hall Effect Sensor (HES) that sits under the front cover where the belt is. Unless you have the spare part and know what you are doing, it is not a roadside repair.
brrrd Posted July 21, 2012 Author Posted July 21, 2012 OK. Made it to the hotel and the rain has stopped. The bike did start and run briefly before dieing again. Now I think my battery may be low.
tallman Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 Symptoms of the HES. Then gas/fill up related. Open tank cover , listen, etc A bunch of recent posts on your vintage 1100's with similar symptoms, suggestions, and methodolgy to test. Good luck.
outpost22 Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 Here's what the HES will look like on your '96. You have to remove the alternator belt and this oil tube (only a few drops of oil come out). Scribe lines on the HES plate and the when removing it, so you have references to where it goes back on when you remount it after rewiring. Somehow I lucked out and got the timing spot on using this method. Use a high temp wire when rebuilding it. The stock replacement BMW HES's still use crappy wire. It's better to get your own good wire. Be careful not to pinch the alternator wiring that runs under the alternator when re-tensioning the alt. belt. One last thing. When replacing the HES, make sure the little "indent" is properly placed back on the shaft. It's easy to break this off it, so I've heard.
Mark K Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 When a R1100 dies in the rain, the most common failure is defective wiring of the Hall Effect Sensor (HES) that sits under the front cover where the belt is. Unless you have the spare part and know what you are doing, it is not a roadside repair. I agree on HES and not a roadside repair. However, he may be able to leave it in place, peel the insulation back on the loom, locate and isolate the damaged wires, and tape everything back up -- wrapping it with some muffler tape or something. He'd lose a day, but it might work until he can get it home.
Mark K Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 OK. Made it to the hotel and the rain has stopped. The bike did start and run briefly before dieing again. Now I think my battery may be low. Where are you? If we knew where you were, perhaps someone can offer some personal service.
SKYGZR Posted July 22, 2012 Posted July 22, 2012 Flash Back....Skipping Record......1,2,3..said it many times before, and will continue........REPEAT.......... Pack a spare, and tools/know how to replace it....
Galactic Greyhound Posted July 22, 2012 Posted July 22, 2012 I'm on a road trip and got caught in some heavy rain and the bike just lost power and died. 96 R1100RT, I had fueled up a few minutes earlier (before the rain). I'm getting a tow to the hotel, but where do I begin trying to get back on the road? It sounds like the HES - I've got a 96 R1100RT as well and mine went last year at 58,000 miles in similar circumstances. The good news is that the problem is usually intermittent. It is caused by the HES wiring insulation degrading over time and shorting out the HES pulses to the Motronic when it gets wet. Possible Quick Temporary Fix: Remove/loosen the black plastic cover over the alternator belt at the front of the engine. Get a hair dryer onto the HES and its wiring loom which goes above the HES and under the alternator. Play the heat over that area for a few minutes - the HES sensors are tough and you won't harm them. Leave to dry out for an hour or so then try and start the bike. If it doesn't start easily don't flatten the battery - stop and repeat over 2 or 3 times. If it starts - keep it dry! You might want to leave the plastic cover off to help it dry out on the ride home.
brrrd Posted July 24, 2012 Author Posted July 24, 2012 Hi everyone. Thank you for the help and advice. The bike did start and run briefly again on Saturday morning (maybe 20 seconds). I left it alone on Sunday, resigned to facing a fairly hefty towing bill on Monday. I was in Winthrop Washington and the dealer is in Seattle. However, I went out hoping to have it run long enough to get on the street and make loading easier on the tow truck . . . and miracle of miracles . . . it stayed running. In fact I was able to ride home to Vancouver BC (with friends following just in case) without incident. I will still take it in to the dealer here at home. From what you have all said and what I have seen elsewhere on the internent the HES seems a likely suspect.
outpost22 Posted July 24, 2012 Posted July 24, 2012 I will still take it in to the dealer here at home. From what you have all said and what I have seen elsewhere on the internent the HES seems a likely suspect. It is not a hard fix to do yourself. But, If you have the dealer "diagnose" the issue, be aware that some dealers haven't experienced HES failures...at all. They are reluctant to fix them. Believe it or not, this is a true story based on a conversation I had with one (not my local dealer).
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