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Need help, 05 1200GS with electrical problems

espressoforyou

New member
I am still having electrical problems with my 2005 r1200gs. All the electronic controls on the handlebars have stopped working such as the following:

Both blinkers controls
Trip meter
Horn button
Heated grips
Flashers
ABS along with the servos(intermittently)
Rear Brake light(tail light works)

Everything stopped working for over a month and then when I drove the bike 200 miles to drop it off at Bloodworth in Nashville everything started working about one mile form the dealership. I stopped and filled up with gas and when I restarted the bike everything mentioned above stopped working again. The dealer said that they are going to have to replace the wiring harness($1,400) before that can diagnosis any farther. They said that when they move the wiring harness that they get inconsistent readings on their instruments. Sounds like a expensive way to trouble shoot the problem. They said that the new wiring harness might not fix the problem, but that it might be something else. This could get very expensive! Does anybody have any ideas of what the problem could be or how to diagnosis it?
 
Generally speaking electrical problems don't appear out of thin air. There is a reason for your troubles and YOU can find it. Wires don't generally die of natural causes, they are murdered!. Look at where the wiring harness is attached to the bike (look for tight wire ties) look at where the harness has to flex to let the handle bars turn. I will bet you have a few fraed and broken wired in one small area. tie the brake lever toward the grip so the light shoulf be on. Wiggle the wiring harness until you find a motion that gets the brake light working. Keep fine tuning the wiggle until you have an area of harness solated then open that section and tell us what you see. It is possible to repair the damage and wrap the harness back up and resecure it without strangling it so you can go many happy miles without electrical demons.
 
I believe that all of the items that aren't working are tied to the ZFE. That includes the brake switch which is physically a different switch than the multi-function switches on the left and right side that controls horn, turn signals, heated grips, etc. Since multiple switches are involved (front brake switch, left multi-function switch, and right multi-function switch) the odds of switch failure is minimal. That leaves wiring (including connectors) or the ZFE itself.

Does your rear brake switch enable the brake light? That also goes to the ZFE. If it works it would point to a wiring failure. If it doesn't work it could still be a wiring failure at the connector to the ZFE.

Speaking of connectors, have you pulled and reseated the connector at the ZFE?

Does your fuel gauge work? It also goes to the ZFE but breaks out of the wiring harness earlier than the section that goes to your handlebars.

I think I'd pull, clean, and reset the connector at the ZFE. Then I'd cut cable ties and start flexing the harness to see if I can make a change in the symptoms. If I could then I'd expect the harness to be bad. At that point I'd probably have nothing to lose slicing it open to take a look... well nothing other than the $1400+ for a new harness. :bolt
 
Thanks sedanman and marchyman for your suggestions

I am pretty sure the rear brake foot pedal does not causes the rear break light to come on. I say pretty sure because the bike has been at Bloodworths BMW in Nashville for 14 weeks getting the counterbalance seal replaced(another story for another post).

I plan on picking the bike up next week and trying to solve the electrical problem myself. Thanks for your diagnostic suggestion.

I will keep you posted on my progress.

On a brighter note: The 2 year parts and labor warranty covered the repair cost of the leaking counterbalance seal. The last counterbalance seal was replace almost exactly 24 months ago.

BMW NA even covered the cost for a counterbalance shaft replacement because of a small groove that might have been causing the seals to leak.

Thanks for you suggestions.
 
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