2004RT ABS General Warning Light

[RandyinOC]

Recently I had to re-route some of the wires for my J&M communication system and when I fired up the 'RT, The General Warning (GW) light stayed lit. I checked again, and while the ABS warning light did its normal 4 hz/1 hz diagnostic, the GW light stays lit continually. The braking seems normal; the servo assist works so I'm not in Residual Braking Function mode. I checked all of the fuses (OK) and made sure the relays are all in their stabs. Has anyone run across something like this? Hoping for an easy fix instead of a trip to the dealer.

 

Randy (the eternal optimist) in OC

[RickP]

I had this recently (also 04 RT) after not riding for almost 2 months. Mine appeared to be caused by something (pistons?, pads?) sticking in the rear caliper. Tapping the rear brake several times made the light go out, and 100+ miles that day seemed to fix the problem. No problem the following Saturday.

 

But did you damage or unplug the rear ABS sensor. I assume there is one.

 

-RickP.

[RandyinOC]

"But did you damage or unplug the rear ABS sensor. I assume there is one."

 

I did not even come close to the business end of the ABS sensors (although I was riding in the rain that day, I have never had problems with wet riding before). It is possible that I disrupted the other end of the ABS wiring (under the seat), but who knows which wire is which under there.

 

When you say that you "tapped on the rear brake a few times..." do you mean that you tapped the rear brake caliper or the foot pedal (what used to be the rear before linked braking)?

 

Thanks,

 

Randy

[Guest]

Recently I had to re-route some of the wires for my J&M communication system and when I fired up the 'RT, The General Warning (GW) light stayed lit. I checked again, and while the ABS warning light did its normal 4 hz/1 hz diagnostic, the GW light stays lit continually. The braking seems normal; the servo assist works so I'm not in Residual Braking Function mode. I checked all of the fuses (OK) and made sure the relays are all in their stabs. Has anyone run across something like this? Hoping for an easy fix instead of a trip to the dealer.

 

Randy (the eternal optimist) in OC

 

On my oilheads, the first thing I check is the condition of the battery. If the voltage drops too far while starting, the ABS will fault. Did you have the key on a bit while working with the autocom?

[RandyinOC]

When I started troubleshooting, the diagnostics indicated a burned out tail light as a possible culprit. When I switched on and went back to look, I had tail lights so on to the next step.

 

What I didn't know is that when a tail light burns out, the brake light goes into a backup mode, lighting at low intensity when the brake is off and at high intensity when braking (Thanks to Karasek on BMW MOA site!). When I pulled the tail light it was burnt. Twist in a new one and, BINGO! General Warning Light clears after diagnostic check.

 

This brings me back to my old powerplant troubleshooting days, where you should look for the most likely problem before being tricked into thinking technology has created a complex, unsolvable problem.

 

Thanks to everybody for the help.

 

Randy