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Dash shuts off

H

hool119

New member
Curious if anyone else has had this happen. Twice when I have turned the heated grips on the whole dash shuts off and boots back up just like the starting sequence. The clock resets, my travel time resets and the RT logo comes on and replaces the speedometer setting. I have to go into user settings and change everything back. This happens while riding and the engine does not skip a beat.

I have not added or changed anything electronic, not right after washing or being caught in the rain, once last fall and now just a couple of days ago. New battery two weeks ago as well.

2016 RT with a little over 27000 miles and always parked in the garage. My dealership has not heard of this issue and sent info to BMW to see if they were aware of any other complaints like this, just waiting to hear from them.

Just kind of curious if anyone else has had this happen and may have insight to the problem.

Thank you
 
If your replacing the battery every two years your not maintaining a proper tender charge or just not riding it enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I was in the middle of a 400 mile ride when my 2015 RT did the exact thing. The bike continued running just fine throughout. I took it to the dealer the next day. They checked it out and said everything was fine. They also had not heard of this. It has been a couple of years since it happened and has not occurred since. My trip meters changed to a different number, speedo and tach recycled etc.
 
Well at least I'm not alone, not that it makes it any better. I bought the bike new and I do ride pretty frequently, even if it's only a 50 or 100 mile ride. I also top off the battery with a ctek charger occasionally and leave it on the charger during the winter in maintenance mode.

I replaced the battery recently because I was leaving on a trip and I had the issue a few times others have discussed where the bike will not start on initial press of starter button and let off and it starts immediately. I'm not sure if the battery was necessarily the issue but for peace of mind I replaced it and have not had the starting issue since.

The bike has been incredible and I do not have any complaints but would like to find the reason for the dash issue if it can cause a problem later on.
 
There have been quite a few reports in internet fora of the dash blanking and re-cycling through the boot-up procedure on various BMW bikes. Most of those that I have read get traced to the bike's voltage having fallen below the dash's tolerance level - as the result of a bad battery, a charging problem or loose battery connections.
 
^ I agree. In a quest for making bikes and cars lighter, OEM batteries have gotten smaller and less powerful in many vehicles.
 
alegerlotz said:
You need a battery. Have it load tested to confirm.
Click to expand...

I agree the extra margins in today’s battteries is very small. My Multistrada is similar. It sounds like it is one crank away from not starting. My 2009 Rt is slightly better with the 19ah battery. My old K1 with that 30 ah battery never batts an eye at running the starter. That thing is like the energizer bunny.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I'm dropping the bike off this morning to have them give it a once over. Hopefully a code was stored and I'll ask them to load test the new battery as well.
Thank you all for comments
 
A possibility I have run into on vehicles is a bad ground to an isolated area (like a dash). Drives me nucking futs!!!! :banghead:banghead
 
hool119 said:
Curious if anyone else has had this happen. Twice when I have turned the heated grips on the whole dash shuts off and boots back up just like the starting sequence. The clock resets, my travel time resets and the RT logo comes on and replaces the speedometer setting. I have to go into user settings and change everything back. This happens while riding and the engine does not skip a beat.

I have not added or changed anything electronic, not right after washing or being caught in the rain, once last fall and now just a couple of days ago. New battery two weeks ago as well.

2016 RT with a little over 27000 miles and always parked in the garage. My dealership has not heard of this issue and sent info to BMW to see if they were aware of any other complaints like this, just waiting to hear from them.

Just kind of curious if anyone else has had this happen and may have insight to the problem.

Thank you
Click to expand...

In the first third of a 4k mile trip in September on my '14 RT, I had the same experience. I was adjusting the heated grip temp level and the sequence you described happened. Later, I reset my preferences for MPH display and everything seemed to be back to normal and no further problems. The battery had been replaced during the pre-trip service interval. It took a day or two to build my confidence back that it was going to be ok. Again, over 4k miles later with lots of heated grips, seat, and clothing use without further problems. I suspected at the time a problem with the left hand "wheel" selector?
 
I have not been able to duplicate the problem and neither could the dealership. There were no codes, the battery load tested good and all the connections were solid. Tough to fix a problem you can't find.
 
I just had the battery die on my 18 month old R1200GS (no start at a gas stop). The dash lit up but the starter would not turn, and after an attempt to start, the dash went all wonky. BMW warranties the battery for 2 years, so I got a new one, installed for free, and I got another 2 year warranty. Hard to beat that resolution to the issue. If I still lived in cold CT where I rode through the winter, then a larger more powerful battery would be on my shopping list.
 
Battery

My dash did the same thing when stuck in traffic at idle coming out of Kings Canyon for a couple hours in 100 degree heat. Fried my stator too! Replaced under extended warranty at $3000 and had clutch replaced too while it was apart.
 
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