Bike won't start, blinkers won't cancel.

[earthlingdavid]

I've got an '03 r1150r. About a month ago the blinker cancel button quit working. I'm currently getting around this problem by turning the emergency flashers on and back off again every time I want to cancel a blinker.

Now I've got a worse problem. The engine won't crank when I press the starter button. The battery seems OK because the headlight is bright, and nothing dims or clicks when I try to start the bike. Also, the battery was replaced a couple of months ago and it worked perfectly fine a couple of days ago when I last rode the bike.

I'm wondering if the problems are related. The two swithces are very close to each other, and the wires probably go through the same harness for at least some distance.

Anybody have any ideas how to diagnose this? I tried to remove the plastic parts from the handlebar that the switches are mounted to, and couldn't even figure out how to do that! I thought that if I had access to the undersides of the switches I could test them with a meter and see if they are working.

I also suspect that maybe the kickstand switch is bad. That could potentially explain the non-starting problem, but not the blinker cancelling issue.

One other thing: I can hear the fuel pump running then I turn on the ignition, so at least that seems to be operating normally.

Thank you for any advice you can give me!

[boxermania]

earthlingdavid

Welcome.....Ahhhh....it appears that you have been bitten by one of the sometimes obscure idiosyncrasies of our lovely oilheads.

I would urge you to check the wire harness that follows the right hand downtube, specially in the area where the nylon ties hold it against the frame. It appears that on the early models, the ties might have been overtightened, to the point that there was little room for the harness to move about as the handlebar was moved from side to side. The end result was that eventually the wires in the harness would break as they were being flexed.

Splice the broken wires and make sure there is enough room for the wire harnes to accomodate the steering movement.....beware of tightened nylon ties.

Good luck......

[Byrdguy]

The entire switch comes off as an assembly and there is one large plug for it under the tank. They are fairly expensive if you need to replace. Do as Mr Mania suggested first. The switch is fairly easy to R&R if you need to do it.

[Boxer]

My money's on the broken wires from the too-tight plastic ties. This has happened way too many times.

[iowabeakster]

http://www.r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10940

In the link above you will find a picture of the offending wire ties. As BOXERMANIA has said, this is likely where you will find the broken wires.

[earthlingdavid]

Thanks for the advice everyone!
I will go and check out the wiring harness and see what kind of shape it's in.

[DJ Downunder]

My money's on the broken wires from the too-tight plastic ties. This has happened way too many times.

Me too..That's what I reckon.....I've had two or three related hassles..and another one right now...and I'm very pissed off about it..

DJ

[earthlingdavid]

Hello everyone,

I've had a look at the outside of the wiring harnesses, and they do indeed have really tight zip ties on them in the bad locations.

Now I'm wondering this: In order to check the conditions of the wires inside, it looks like I have to cut through the plastic outer covering of the wiring harnesses. Either that or remove the entire harnesses (along with whatever they're connected to) then pull the outer covering off.

Of course, I want to do this the easy way. Do people normally just cut away the outer covering and then tape it over when they're done with inspecting and fixing the wires? Or is it recommended that I actually remove the harnesses and disassemble them?

Thank you!

[HikerGlenn]

You most likely can't remove outer covering anyway, as they slide this on, then install the plug end. Just carefully cut the covering, then wrap it up in tape after the repair. To remove the switch casings, you must remove the mirror, then there's a screw behind it (small), then the big black screw on the rear, then two silver screws on the bottom cover plate, all #2 phillips except for the one behind the mirror stalk-#1 phillips.-Hope you find the problem-Glenn.

[digga]

I always find that re wrapping with self almalgamating tape is the way to keep the wires in a neat bundle..

[Boxer]

If you just snip those tight zip ties and examine the wires in that area, you will probably find the coverings already cut through by those zip ties..

[DJ Downunder]

The covering can look fine and still have a broken wire inside.

You may need to slice open the outer cover and looks through the separate wires to find the broken one.

Mine was the brown wire..and fixing it also shortening it a little..It's a bit fiddly.

DJ

[earthlingdavid]

Thanks to all!

I feel like I know what to do now. I'll let you know what I find!

-David

[earthlingdavid]

The problem is two broken wires, just like everyone thought. I'm having trouble with my camera tonight, but as soon as I can I'll post a picture showing the broken wires. In my case, there was no damage to the outside covering of the harness.

Thank you to everyone who helped me troubleshoot this! It would have been a lot more difficult to figure out without the advice.

So now I know what I need to do to fix the immediate problem, but what about all the other wires in those harnesses that might be just about to break? Even with the too-tight zip ties removed, there is probably some amount of damage already done to all of the wires in there. I don't know if I can ever really trust the motorcycle to be reliable. I was really lucky this time because the problem happened at home. It could have happened anywhere. And still could! And it could just be a nuisance problem like the blinker not cancelling, or maybe it will cause the bike to stall on a busy freeway.

I'm feeling pretty disappointed about the motorcycle right now. Did I mention it only has about 9700 miles on it? So much for BMW's being long lasting and reliable!