First problem in 10000kms EWS ???

[Phillo]

Had my first problem with the bike today. I stopped at the local service station near my home to draw cash from the autoteller. When I came out I got on the bike, switched on, waited for the instruments to do their normal check and then hit the start button. The engine swung over once and then just came to a stop. Switched off and then on again - totally dead apart from showing current mileage & time - switch off and initially the speedo & tacho needles flicker and try to go below zero then stop and revert to zero. Phoned BMW on my mobile they contacted local bike shop who collected bike and later phoned me to say they had just checked the battery and it was fine so now they have to take it through to the agents 180km away so I will be "bikeless" for the weekend I feel like getting "legless" - anyone else had this problem.

[deilenberger]

It doesn't sound at all like an EWS problem to me. It still sounds like a battery problem (even though they tested it.) When the EWS system faults - it's pretty obvious, it says "EWS" in the rider-display, and the bike will not crank at ALL. Your bike cranking once and stopping really sounds like battery problems. Perhaps the starter relay (it's the only "relay" on the bike - it's the square lump left side under the seat..) took a dump, but it sure sounds like battery to me.

[Dan-A]

I just had an abrupt and sudden battery failure.

New battery, good to go.

[Phillo]

Well the men in white coats will be arriving from the agents to collect the bike and bring me a loaner either today or Monday. I am impressed with the service I got from BMW Assist they are really on the ball. What concerns me a little is I now feel a bit nervous about getting too far away from home base in case it happens again but this is probably because in all my life I have never had a car or bike fail on me like this and the last bike I expected it from is the BMW. When we go on extended breakfast runs Im the one who plays sweeper because I have " the most reliable bike" - well so much for that !

[deilenberger]

A battery failure (which is what I suspect this is) can happen on almost any vehicle at any time. If you are paranoid, then you really never should leave home.

As long as the breakdown doesn't cost me any physical pain, it really just becomes part of the experience to me... although it might be a PITA if it happened in the wrong neighborhood..

[Phillo]

Hi Don - Apart from confirming that it is not the battery the agents are unable to tell me anything at this point but as soon as I get some news from them I will post again. Im not paranoid I guess it's just because in 52 years of driving / riding this has never happened before or perhaps I should say that when it has happened on the odd occasion in the past I have been able to do something about it (ie) clean the carb or reset the points or whatever - this time I sit up the creek without a paddle so to speak.

[Phillo]

Quick update: I am now less than impressed with BMW On Call & the agents. First they appoint a towing company who do not even have a bike trailer and wanted to strap it down on a rollback but I said no way it travels on a bike trailer or nothing. Then everything was on hold, the bike died on Thursday midday and was only picked up on Monday midday. Then I was told that it is a faulty battery (anyone know of a battery that starts the bike perfectly and when you stop ten km's later park for two minutes max and then it's dead ?) Then I was told that there are a few recalls that have to be done and parts would arrive Thursday ? parts did not arrive Thursday - now I am told it will take a week to ten days to source the parts required from Germany My bike's a BMW - the next one will be a BMW but it will not be purchased from this bunch.

[deilenberger]

Quick update: I am now less than impressed with BMW On Call & the agents. First they appoint a towing company who do not even have a bike trailer and wanted to strap it down on a rollback but I said no way it travels on a bike trailer or nothing. Then everything was on hold, the bike died on Thursday midday and was only picked up on Monday midday. Then I was told that it is a faulty battery (anyone know of a battery that starts the bike perfectly and when you stop ten km's later park for two minutes max and then it's dead ?) Then I was told that there are a few recalls that have to be done and parts would arrive Thursday ? parts did not arrive Thursday - now I am told it will take a week to ten days to source the parts required from Germany My bike's a BMW - the next one will be a BMW but it will not be purchased from this bunch.

Actually - I have heard of batteries that do this. An internal break in the battery structure will do that. Yuasa had a series of batteries for several years that were notorious for that.

If by a "rollback" you mean a flatbed - that's an accepted way to transport bikes. Most tow companies do not keep motorcycle trailers around. On a flatbed you have to make sure they know what they're doing getting it on the bed, and then that they know how to tie it down so it does no damage.. but it can and is done frequently. BTDT.

BMW contracts out their roadside assistance to Cross Country Motorclub in the US, one of the bigger players in that field in the US. Cross Country in turn has a bunch of approved tow agencies, often exactly the same people AAA and MoTow use. I know of no towing agency that only tows motorcycles.. perhaps there is one in South Africa, but none exist in the USA.

Does the bike do anything? Do the instruments do their startup dance? If so - does EWS show in the display? That's the clue as to if it's an EWS problem or battery problem.

[Phillo]

Read my first post Don

[deilenberger]

Read my first post Don

I did, and the question - was "EWS" displayed has never been answered. It also isn't clear to me where it was taken to originally and what tests they did on the battery.

[Phillo]

Hi Don - to answer your questions etc here we go: You seem to be the only one who is aware of or knows of a battery going in this fashion but let me recap - bike was ridden that morning from about 8:00am doing about 70 kms with three stops and started fine after each stop until the last one when I was in the shop for no longer than 5 minutes. When I came out and turned the key the instruments did their usual self check and I hit the starter button - the starter motor swung the engine over once and then quit before it fired. After that the only display visible was the LCD clock time, total mileage & the fact that when I switched off the tacho & speedo needles flickered and were attempting to go below zero for about 5 seconds and then became still & no EWS. After I phoned the agents they called Kevin Rickson at Victory Motorcycles who was there within an hour with his Eezy Loader trailer and took the bike to his workshop pending further instructions from the agents. Kevin has a proper battery load/ current/amp tester, he tested the battery at my request and would have fitted a new one if it was faulty but no fault was found. Yes a rollback is a 4/5 ton flatbed specially designed with a sliding tiltable flat deck which then forms a ramp for loading cars - the guys BMW On Call appointed have one but they do not know how to handle a motorcycle and let me pre-empt your next question " how do I know that" as a motor claims loss adjuster I deal with these particular guys on a daily basis. Transporting a bike on a flat bed is not a accepted way of doing it in South Africa and imo the cost of using a 4/5 ton vehicle to transport a 223 kg bike borders on ridiculous plus we do have several outfits that specialise in transporting bikes. Kevin with his Eezy Loader was appointed by the agents - good enough to get the bike to a place of safety ( his workshop)but not good enough to transport it another 150km to the agents workshop ??. When this lot is sorted out and I go to fetch the bike I am going to insist on seeing the job card in an attempt to get to the truth of the matter - at which time I will post again.

[Phillo]

I forgot to mention - the agents eventually sent their driver with a trailer to collect.

[NeilS]

I have to agree with Don here. The way all these "radio in the key" security systems work is once the computer gets the "security OK" signal from the key, the system is enabled until it is shut down. It is not required to maintain the radio link for the entire period the ignition is on.

Your symptoms sound very much like an intermittent high resistance point in the primary (battery) circuit. Whether it's the battery itself (and I have seen defective batteries with bad internal connections as Don hypothesized) or some other connection in the circuit, I can't say, but it clearly seems like you're losing the power supply to the computer before you're able to start the engine.

Best of luck getting it fixed. These are not the kinds of problems that bring out the best in motorcycle mechanics

[deilenberger]

Since the bike DID attempt to crank over (and failed with what is the classic symptoms of a dead battery), it wasn't an EWS failure. If the EWS system triggers - the bike won't crank at all. And as Neil points out - once the ECU gets the "OK" signal from the EWS system, it doesn't look at it again to continue cranking. I think the EWS system can be discounted as the cause of your failure. That's the answer I'd give to your original posting title - no, it's not an EWS problem.

The symptoms are those of a power source failure getting to the starter. This could be the battery, the cables or an internal flaw in the starter. I'd discount the starter itself since there were also symptoms showing power source failure with the instrument behavior you described. It points to the battery or the cables connecting it to me. An internal "open" in a battery unfortunately isn't unknown. There is only one "mechanical" relay on the bike, which is the starter relay - the square box under the seat near your preload adjuster.. it's possible that this relay has a problem (I haven't looked at the wiring diagram) that caused your symptoms. Exchange of it with a known-good one would answer that.

Hopefully your shop has a mechanic who is somewhat familiar with electronic circuits and able to troubleshoot what should be a fairly simple problem.

[parkec]

After reading one too many of thesse EWS Failure Threads, I made the appointment.... Next tueday for me



and as long as I am there I'll have the Brakes, and software done

[Phillo]

Well the bike is back and all is sorted out. Don's diagnosis was spot on it was an open circuit in the battery under load I bow to your superior wisdom Sir Anyway while they had the bike they did the EWS & brake pipe recalls and the anti knock software upgrade at the same time so Im looking forward to at least another 10000km trouble free riding. To all of you out there a South African saying " Stay on 2 wheels & keep the rubber side down.

[dviolagis]

I had the same problem with my bike and its not the EWS. Some how the battery is loosing its charge. Will find out when its fixed tomorrow