BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I am going to remove my tank on my '02 R to try try to find a short in my wiring. I've got the step by step pics and watched the removal video on Utube. I'm still a little intimadated.

Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

Good luck!

Just make sure you label and reconnect the vacuum and drain hoses properly underneath the tank.

Also rub a little silicone grease on the fuel line quick disconnect o-rings. It makes them go back together much easier and lessens the risk of nicking them when reconnecting.

finding the short maybe a lot more difficult than removing the tank....

Good luck.

Newbie mistakes that I made:
-don't apply too much force forward when replacing the tank, especially if the bike is on the center stand.
-don't lose the main tank bolt.
-vent hoses as above

Have fun.

Lil trick to prevent mixing up the vent lines.....leave the barb fitting on the bottom of one line once disconnected and leave the barb fitting on top of the other.

Zaasu, If you haven't got into trouble yet . . . these tips can really help.

First, in case you have not seen it yet, a thumbnail link to a board sourced and modified picture about how to not miss-connect the fuel tank vent and drain lines:


You should ZipTie only the two attached opposing ends so it's easier to deal with every time you need to separate the hoses.

To avoid blowing a lot of fuses when searching for the short circuit, I use a discarded H-4 bulb where 1 of the 2 filaments has blown out, as an indicator "fuse" that cannot blow out.


After you identify the only 2 good power terminals and make it as shown in the pic linked to above, firmly squeeze-rub-clean the glass with a toilet tissue wad partly soaked in Isopropyl Alcohol and dry it with the dry portion of the tissue. Then, without touching the glass with your fingers, hold it by the metal base and plug it in place of the blown fuse. It will indicate when the front wire harness short is eliminated by going from full bright (a short) to much dimmer or off (no short or normal current draw) when hand bending the harness will reveal the exact spot where the short is. In a dimly lit room you will get super feedback from the H-4 allowing you to bend test a lot of wire harnesses in a short period of time.

BTW, I "saved" 2 additional blown H-4 bulbs and converted them, in case my current one dies.
Also, You did not mention what function is not working or which fuse is blowing.

EDIT: To update to a better, faster photo host.

Cycle Rob,
It's blowing a fuse. The one that controls the clock and aux port. It's the first one on left in the fuse box. I think it's 15 amp.

I don't have a H4 bulb, blown or otherwise.

I plan to start Monday. RA rally this weekend not far from here.

Be certain to check the antifreeze in the tankside radiators while the tank is off.

The hardest part will be to find the short.

Also, I follow this URL for removing the tank. In addition to the trick to preventing mixing the vent lines, is making sure you don't lose one of the rubber grommets.

http://home.mindspring.com/~jabrooks/te ... emoval.htm

I have found that most wire shorts are around the triple tree area or the headlight case. I guess the areas that have the most chance to rub on something. Also I've been taking the vent hoses loose behind the tank by the front of were the seat sets.

Oh ya Good Luck!

Zaasu wrote:I am going to remove my tank on my '02 R to try try to find a short in my wiring. I've got the step by step pics and watched the removal video on Utube. I'm still a little intimadated.

Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

It is really quite simple! having the tank close to empty is a good idea, jmop

Well I took the tank off today. Much ado about a rather simple process.
I hope the reinstall goes as well, but knowing BMW, some alignment gremlins will rear their ugly heads and make a rather stright forward process a pain in the kaboosky.

Don't overly tighten stuff putting it back together.

Zaasu wrote: but knowing BMW, some alignment gremlins will rear their ugly heads and make a rather stright forward process a pain in the kaboosky.

Prob not. You have to get the front engaged with the two rubber bumpers, on either side, and the tang into the seat for the tank bolt. Probably will go bak on more easily than coming off.
It is a pita though

Thread hijack!

Boxer wrote:Just make sure you label and reconnect the vacuum and drain hoses properly underneath the tank.

Also rub a little silicone grease on the fuel line quick disconnect o-rings. It makes them go back together much easier and lessens the risk of nicking them when reconnecting.

Question for you: If one were to reconnect the the vacuum and drain hoses reversed, what would happen? I forgot to label mine when I replaced the fuel filter last and just connected them back up randomly, was sort of wondering if a reversed connected might be the source of some ping in 5th.

Toaster - you need to get these vent lines correct otherwise you will TRASH your charcoal cannister and possibly get charcoal bits into your fuel injector. How do I know? Because I bought my R1150R and the dealer who did the work for the original owner reversed these lines. Carefully going over the bike when I purchased it caught the problem.

One vent is used to drain any water that collects around the fuel cap (you'll see a small vent hole just outside the fuel cap seal) and route it down past the right foot peg to the ground. The other vent is *inside* the gas tank is intended to vent gas vapors. It goes to your charcoal cannister which then routes to the left and right fuel injectors to burn these vapors. If you reverse them, water goes to the charcoal, loosening up the bits and shoving them to your engine.... bleh. If this has happened - which it did for me before I got the bike, you might want to do a cannisterectomy. Go buy the 28 cent plugs FI plugs from a BMW dealership.

A quick way to figure out which vent is which might be by fishing a thick piece of fishing line down the water vent and see which vent it comes out. You could always take off the gas tank but......

And this is why I do as much work on my work as I can.....

towerworker wrote:Be certain to check the antifreeze in the tankside radiators while the tank is off.

HUH?...

Bruce H wrote:

towerworker wrote:Be certain to check the antifreeze in the tankside radiators while the tank is off.

HUH?...

It's an inside joke Bruce.

fpgirard wrote:Toaster - you need to get these vent lines correct...

Thanks for the pro tip! Checked my lines and it looks like I connected them up right (despite my best effortsto screw it up).

I couldn't get monofilament all the way through the line so I shot some wd40 through it (after disconnecting both to make sure it wouldn't end up in the charcoal canister.) Happy to see it drip out the line that had vented to atmo.

Well, you had a 50/50 chance to get it right...... (thinking positively)....
Glad it worked out toaster.