2008 1200 RT stalled last night

A few years ago my 08 RT bike stalled on the highway. The Gas was about 1/4 full - according to gauge, and I had it trailered home. When I got home,
it started right up ! I replaced the Fuel Pump Controller (FPC) unit at that time, and also sent it back to a BMW dealer where they replaced the Fuel pump under warrantee.

Last night it stalled on the highway again - (in almost the same exact spot !!!) . The fuel gauge read in between 1/8 and 1/4, and I had driven 258 miles.
The "Fuel down to reserve" warning light had not come on.

I waited about 20 minutes for someone, then added 1 Gallon and it fired right up. Drove to gas station, and filled up - it took 5 Gallons more.
The capacity of the tank is 7.1 gallons So I should of had approximately one gallon left when it stalled.

So now I am thinking I may not out of been out of gas last night, but that something else had made the bike stall.

When the gas gets low ( 1/4 tank or less ), has anyone else experienced your bike stalling like this ? I'm beginning to think it's not a good Idea to let it get
that low ( so maybe fill up at 220 miles or so). This limits the max range in a bad way, but if that's what it takes, but so be it.

Thanks in advance for any helpful info.

Out in the great plains and mountain west our motto is "Gas early and often!" That is for logistical, not mechanical reasons but as I have heard said, "You can't have too much gas unless there is a fire."

A number of car companies had trouble with owners running their vehicles low on fuel. The fuel actually “cools” the fuel pump so this could be similar and/or a warning of fuel pump issues in the (near) future.
OM

Could this be a fuel strip problem? 258 miles on a tank shouldn't quite be empty, unless you were doing a lot of high speed highway riding. The only time I've had a BMW run out of gas while the fuel level showed higher was due to a bad fuel strip. If that's the case, it should be replaced under warranty and the new ones supposedly don't have as many problems.

Thanks for the Fuel Strip comment, I will call my BMW dealer and see if I may still qualify for a fuel strip repair under warrantee.

As I said in my original post - I don't think i was out of gas, just down to about 1 Gallon. It took 6 gallons to fill it back up. (7.1 Gal tank)
The fuel pump is only a little less than 3 years old also, as is the Fuel Pump Controller (FPC) , but I suppose one or both could be problematic.

I have only seen these 2 issues when running with about 1 gallon remaining in the tank.

Talked to the BMW dealer, he said it sounds like the "Hall Switch" ...... which makes sense as I was not out of gas. Anyone ever have issues with theirs ?

gimme789 said:

Talked to the BMW dealer, he said it sounds like the "Hall Switch" ...... which makes sense as I was not out of gas. Anyone ever have issues with theirs ?

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Never heard of that. Sounds like your dealer is blowing smoke. The previous generation of oilheads had problems with the hall effect sensor, but that's not an issue for the 2005+ models.

It sounds like everything's running fine until you hit the reserve level. That's an interesting problem and I don't know the answer. I assume your FPC is working fine, but you could always open things up and pull it out to check for corrosion or water in it. Maybe it's gone bad again since it happened last.

natrab said:

Never heard of that. Sounds like your dealer is blowing smoke. The previous generation of oilheads had problems with the hall effect sensor, but that's not an issue for the 2005+ models.

It sounds like everything's running fine until you hit the reserve level. That's an interesting problem and I don't know the answer. I assume your FPC is working fine, but you could always open things up and pull it out to check for corrosion or water in it. Maybe it's gone bad again since it happened last.

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My bike is garage kept, and never ridden in rain, and I replaced the FPC not even 3 years ago - so i am doubting its the FPC - although it is possible.

The dealer says they have seen this issue (bike cutting out) before and it was the Hall Effect sensor. The other interesting thing is that is seems to happen after about 12-15 miles of riding on the highway at a constant speed of approximately 70 MPH. Dealer says its a heat issue, where when heated up to a certain temperature for a certain amount of time that a defective Hall unit may cut out - and after it sits (cools off) for a while, it will start right back up - which is exactly what is happening.

I have never had this issue riding back roads with varying speed and gear changes (even in hot weather) - but always when running same RPM on highway for 12-15 miles and a lower level of fuel.

AFAIK, the hexhead and up generations (2005+) don’t have a hall effect sensor. I think you need to find a new dealer.


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He called it the "Hall Switch" ... maybe a very similar part to the "Hall Sensor" ? A key piece in the generation of the spark to the plugs ....

deilenberger said:

Ken - hall sensors are NOT a problem with hexheads/camheads. There are none on the engine. BMW uses magnetic reluctance (coils) sensors on the camshafts instead. Wouldn't want to have him chasing something that doesn't exist. IMHO - coils are quite unlikely as I stated above.

I just made a comment in another thread with a similar problem - http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?70061 - which may be of some help. Having damaged and badly routed wiring harnesses seems to be a BMW tradition.

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This is from another thread that ended up being a FPC problem.

Tbh, I've had 9 BMWs with hexhead and camhead engines and have never heard of a "hall switch." Mine have had various problems, but after doing some searching I've seen nothing on the internet that seems to backup what your dealer is saying.

There are a few common reasons for these bikes to shut down prematurely. Mainly fuel strip problems and FPC problems. If you are absolutely sure there was still gas in it after it shut down, that would lead me to suspect the FPC. I know it was recently replaced, but having had two of my bikes broken by a reputable shop and a renowned dealer (one botched a clutch job and the other didn't hook my fuel lines back up properly), I'm always cautious. Check the most obvious things first before you go looking for zebras.

I'm just a home mechanic and by far no expert though. There are many on this forum who could offer more detailed advice. Maybe clarify with your dealer what part exactly he recommends replacing and post it on here.

Also, when the engine has died, has it sputtered out as if it lost fueling? There was another thread linked that I found where it was the ignition switch gear wiring that was damaged and causing the bike to shut off.

Maybe it's shutting off was more random and just happened both times when you were low on fuel. Twice isn't always enough to establish a consistent pattern.

Lastly, are you SURE the tank wasn't empty? I've certainly had days of riding where 258 miles would have left my tank empty. The fact that you added fuel and it started right up still leads me to believe this could be the cause (it would indicate a faulty fuel strip). My wife had a 2011 R1200R that ran out of gas while the indicator still showed a bar. Replaced the fuel strip and all was well.

Here is our “Best of Forum” on fuel pump controllers-

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?55047-Everything-you-wanted-to-know

OM