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Re:Brake Failure

2K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Ian_Thomas 
#1 ·
Re:Brake Failure

Hi Guys, The other day while riding to work on my "02" K12RS I got a brake failure warning on my instrument cluster, it looked like a pin ball game going on, now I have to say this isn't the 1st time this has ever happened but it's only happened about once or twice in the 5 years I've had the bike, (I got it as an "02" model in Aug. of "01") but any time it did happen it was in the midst of doing something like going through a corner while on the brakes than hitting a speed bump, and for what ever reason combo's like that screw up the "brains" of the braking system, but on this occasion it was just going down the road with no drama what so ever and then all of sudden there goes all the warning lights! The brakes worked find but the lights are saying other wise, so I shut the bike off and restart and they go off, then a few minuets later the same thing happens! What gives? I've never had this happen to me before and what's more it's not done it again and this was about a week ago. Any clues would be greatly appreciated.
 
#2 · (Edited)
My lights came on yesterday. I stalled at lights still in gear, pulled away and the lights were on. I just stopped, turned off the ignition, re-started and everything was OK. The lights come on with low battery and cranking, in your case speed bumps do it because the ABS brain is always monitoring pulses off front and rear wheels. If there is a speed discrepancy without brakes applied e.g flying over a speed bump - they will trigger a warning.

I've had mine do this 3 or 4 times. Check the ABS sensor clearances at the wheels and you have no bearing end float, if ok just accept it lets you know when your two wheels aren't keeping up with each other!

Your brakes probably didn't really fail. Just the ABS bit said 'I'm not in a happy state so I'll play safe and disable myself' 'If the rider really needs me he shouldn't be riding so fast so I'll flash him a warning to take care'. He's going to be no worse off than the majority of non-ABS bikes on the road.

Now if it was low brake fluid, that's a different story and I gather different types of flashes mean different things on newer bikes.



 
#4 ·
Re:Brake Failure

Thanks guys for the quick reply, I know my brake fluid is good so I guess I learned something about what my system can do, I'll do some checking on some of the "points of interest" listed by the both of you, but I guess I'll be good. :)
 
#5 ·
For those not real familiar with the brakes, there're TWO reservoirs on the rear, so check both. You shouldn't have the level below HALFWAY between 'min' and 'max', or any movement of fluid (road bumps, etc) will trigger the lights. That's why when restarting, everything is fine, since fluid is not moving.
Other 'gotchas' are:
- A burned out taillight, but this one will not go away when restarting. It'll also disable your cruise control. And just don't look back there, because you'll see light (brake light at lower voltage); remove the bulb and physically inspect it... and replace if needed.
- A stuck brake switch. This is very common on the rear when bike has been dropped. You need to lube those suckers with dry silicone spray every once in a while.
- Wrong tolerance on either wheel sensor, but this rarely shows up all of a sudden. It's usually after changing a tire, or messing with them for whatever reason.
- Low battery voltage. System is VERY sensitive to battery voltage. Unless you ride every day for 100 miles, you still need to charge your battery every once in a while, or it'll slowly die. Give it a full charge.

Finally, NO, your system shouldn't shut down for any of the reasons mentioned. I've been thru all of those scenarios, and never a hiccup. Do all of the above, and most likely your problem will go away. Good luck.
 
#6 ·
Light

My bet is low fluid, especially when you said it came on around a turn. NOTE: Low fluid usually means your brake pads are worn down. Don't add fluid if this is the case, replace the pads. Consider the warning light as a pad wear indicator. Lol! :D
 
#7 ·
Re:Brake Failure (Revisited)

So after reading some other posts on the same subject I've decided that it's my battery, although my bike only has 9000 mile and some change on it and has spent almost every min. of it's life on a battery tender other than when it's being ridden to work and back or used for a trip I understand that the battery will still go bad (my bike is an "02" purchased in Aug. of "01") but still it just doesn't quite seem like a battery problem as it only seems to flash it's warning to me in the morning when it's between cold and fully warmed up or when it's raining, and even then after the bike is fully warmed up I can switch the ignition off while in a high gear and then turn it back on and "bump start" the bike and the problem goes away and stays that way tell the next day when it's cold, BUT it doesn't do it in the after noon when it's been baking out in the sun all day! Also I've looked at the reservoir and one of the chambers is right on the "MIN" line and I'm not sure if that a good thing or not plus I can't figure out how to get that top of it off of it. But that all aside I'm still going to replace the battery, but I have no idea how that's done? Is there some instructions that I can get with an exploded diagram on how to get the battery out? I know it's been "buried" and can be complicated so any help some one could provide would be greatly appreciated.
 
#9 ·
star57 said:
Listen you fricking losers...we come to this forum to discuss Bike issues, BMW Bikes.
Go Get a Life
THe spammer's post was deleted and the userid banned.
 
#10 ·
eljeffe said:
THe spammer's post was deleted and the userid banned.
Sorry, not ontopic, but the 'gentleman' whose offensive post has been deleted appears to be the one who was oozing charm and attempting to prize $13K out of the clenched fist of an innocent lister. He later said that he had had no real responses and had hauled the bike back to Canada. Just as well no-one fell for this one.

K1200RS for Sale ...560 miles, LA

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings;
I'm new to this forum, been on the BMWsporttouring one, as I have a 2004 RT,
I'm a licensed and bonded wholesaler of vehicles in Canada, I just bought a 2004 K1200RS, light Blue it has only 560 miles, the intent was to ride it for a few miles and order an 07GT, as I have not ever had a new Bike.

This bike is in Riverside just outside of LA, I will sell it for the going price of 13k +- I can always get another one from my BMW sources.

If anyone is interested call me at 403 383-6161 or Email me at Frank@startech.ab.ca.
[Unquote]

Regards,
 
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