'07 1200RT - Intermittent electrical issue

[Duster105]

Hello all,

I have a 2007 1200RT with 45,700 miles on it. This last week I have ridden to work 4 times (100 mi round trip each day). The first day when leaving work, my electrical circuit for the auxilary plugs (which has my Garmin and the BMW LED aux brake light on it) went dark about 10 min into the ride. It then began cycling on and off at a rate of approx 1 min ON to 3-5 min OFF for the next 30 miles, until I stopped for gas. When I restarted the bike after gassing, it worked fine the rest of the ride...and the next day, and the next.

Yesterday, I got on the bike to ride home, and I got a front tire pressure warning, saying it was at 0 (flat), right after I pulled out of the parking lot (Yes, I had let the computer do it's full diagnostic before starting the bike). I pulled over and physically checked the tire, restarted the bike, and it was reading normally. But then, a short time into the ride home (10 min or so later), the intermittent power lead thing started again, and continued all the way home, even after restarting the bike at the gas pumps midway home.

I haven't gone out yet today, but before I go to my local dealer, I wanted to see if anyone else has any insight to a possible cause, or better, a possible fix.

Thank you!

David

 

[rickyd]

Maybe an iffy battery? You might should check that issue just to eliminate it.

 

[manx1089@yahoo.com]

You have two problems,,Problem #1 If it keeps happening,Unplug your Garman and see if it stops,,You may have to find another power source for it,,,The answer for problem #2 is,,Your batteries are going dead in you wheel sensors,,You can cut out the old batteries and replace them or install new sensors,,,

 

[Duster105]

You have two problems,,Problem #1 If it keeps happening,Unplug your Garman and see if it stops,,You may have to find another power source for it,,,The answer for problem #2 is,,Your batteries are going dead in you wheel sensors,,You can cut out the old batteries and replace them or install new sensors,,,

Thanks for the reply!! A couple questions, because my mechanic's skills on the bike are still pretty limited...

1. Are you leaning towards the Garmin drawing too much current for the circuit? I ask because I have made no changes to the amp load on that circuit in months, and have been riding steadily the last month as weather allows, yet I have only had the intermittent power problem two times total...and that includes both day and night riding for up to an hour at a time. If it is a loading issue, wouldn't I see the problem more often, or more consistently (like 15 minutes into every ride, etc)? I saw that this bike does not have fuses, but some kind of breaker system. Is it possible the circuit protector is getting weak and needs replaced? If so, how is that done?

2. Wheel sensors? Where are they, and how difficult are they to remove? And once again, a very intermittent problem (only happened once last week). I hope it is that simple a fix, but "intermittent/cannot duplicate" problems, especially in vehicle electrical/electronics, scare the hell out of me. That's why I asked here...the knowledge base on this site is phenomenal.

Once again, thank you for your help! I'm not disregarding your suggestions; on the contrary, I am trying to get more details so I "know" what I'm doing when I start trying to diagnose and fix this.

David

 

[billy walker]

Thanks for the reply!! A couple questions, because my mechanic's skills on the bike are still pretty limited...

1. Are you leaning towards the Garmin drawing too much current for the circuit? I ask because I have made no changes to the amp load on that circuit in months, and have been riding steadily the last month as weather allows, yet I have only had the intermittent power problem two times total...and that includes both day and night riding for up to an hour at a time. If it is a loading issue, wouldn't I see the problem more often, or more consistently (like 15 minutes into every ride, etc)? I saw that this bike does not have fuses, but some kind of breaker system. Is it possible the circuit protector is getting weak and needs replaced? If so, how is that done?

2. Wheel sensors? Where are they, and how difficult are they to remove? And once again, a very intermittent problem (only happened once last week). I hope it is that simple a fix, but "intermittent/cannot duplicate" problems, especially in vehicle electrical/electronics, scare the hell out of me. That's why I asked here...the knowledge base on this site is phenomenal.

Once again, thank you for your help! I'm not disregarding your suggestions; on the contrary, I am trying to get more details so I "know" what I'm doing when I start trying to diagnose and fix this.

David

Wheel sensors are located inside the tire and attached to the rim itself. If I recall properly the tire pressure is actually picked up by the security module located at the rear of the bike. Would seem to be two different issues but if the problems have occurred simultaneously just may have a single problem source. Has the potential to be a difficult diagnosis. Due to past experience I would verify the Garmin harness is not creating the problem. This would be my first choice only due to a previous experience. I am unable to tell you whether this will resolve the issue or not. You will need to understand electrics more than likely in order to repair this issue.

 

[Duster105]

Wheel sensors are located inside the tire and attached to the rim itself. If I recall properly the tire pressure is actually picked up by the security module located at the rear of the bike. Would seem to be two different issues but if the problems have occurred simultaneously just may have a single problem source. Has the potential to be a difficult diagnosis. Due to past experience I would verify the Garmin harness is not creating the problem. This would be my first choice only due to a previous experience. I am unable to tell you whether this will resolve the issue or not. You will need to understand electrics more than likely in order to repair this issue.

Thanks Billy. I'll check that. I am using an off-the-shelf Garmin Nuvi mounted on the accessory shelf over the gauge module, with the stock power/traffic cable (not the BMW Garmin), and it is running to a standard 12v power jack that I have running off the BMV power socket.

Keep the suggestions coming folks! I'm going to confirm or eliminate them all.

David

 

[Duster105]

Just an update, in case anyone else has this happen:

After my initial post, I was never able to duplicate the problem. Last week I had my bike in for a tire at Ozzies in Chico, CA, and the parts manager and I discussed this problem. He agreed that it sounded like a circuit overload, except for one problem: The CanBus system will shut the circuit down exactly how it happened, but...it should not re-energize until I shut the bike off and restart it. In his words..."What you're describing should be physically impossible with the CanBus system."

So... Since I have not had it happen since, I am going to put this in the "Things that make you go Hmmm..." category and call it a temporary aberration (and I HATE temporary aberrations when it comes to things like this). If something else happens I will update the thread for posterity and future searches.

David