Abs Problem

[ROLAND]

Abs Fault Lites Flashing On 2000 R1150 Gs, W/15k Miles. Dealer States It Is Abs Pump,and Can Only Be Replaced Out Of Warranty For $1600.00+labor ! Anyone Have Or Hear Of This Problem ? It's Supposed To Be Very Rare Occurance. Thanks

[thejudge]

Humm sounds pricey to me. You might look around for some repair shops outside of the dealer. Some of these guys can be real resourceful at solving problems. I know with automotive you can buy the 3 parts of the abs unit seperately. As the owner of an 04 1150RT it would take only one of those kind of deals for me to bid fairwell to any BMW that was out of warrenty. good luck

[alien_hitchhiker]

Roland - I assume the dealer read the ABS fault codes. Did they reset them for you & if so did the problem re-occur immediately or after some miles were ridden? I'd certainly take a hard look at the problem before plunking down that much $$$.

I had repeated faults with my ABS ('00 RT) until I replaced the non-OEM battery that the previous owner had installed. Also had lots of faults when the rear pads were worn way down, dropping the fluid level in the rear brake reservoir. I'm not saying your dealer is wrong, but, I'd sure check out these sorts of things.
Steve

[nrpetersen]

I understand the R11XX ABS startup (switch-on) processor logic includes a check for marginal battery voltage. Mine sure behaves that way. I have a non-OEM battery that is sometimes marginal although the original OEM battery voltage was also marginal after a couple of years. If the bike hasn't been ridden for a couple of weeks, the ABS fault light will sometimes come on. It clears OK on the second start after a few miles.

That's a lot of engine to crank from a 16 or 18 AH battery. I wish we could use the standard garden tractor battery like the old airheads.

[frazz]

I have an '04 R1150GS and was getting a lot of ABS fault flashing that would re-set when I shut it down and re-started....this went on for 2 mos...I always had the bike plugged into the trickle charger when not riding, had brakes, and assumed that the problem was with my gel battery not holding a charge.....wrong!!!.....there is a separate brake reservoir under the gas tank that is just for the ABS unit and it was low...this despite the visable reservoirs showing full...once this was topped off and the brake and bleeder lines all examined and torqued down....eliminated the problem for me...just something you might want to check out before plopping down the kind of $$$$ your dealer is talking about....

[alien_hitchhiker]

Byrd - thanks for that tidbit; I didn't realize the ABS had its own reservoir. I'm planning a fuel filter change and will definitely service the ABS while I'm there. This sure sounds like something Roland should check out. Seems like that would be likely to trigger an ABS pump fault. (When my rear reservoir level was it low the fault code read as the rear sensor).
Steve

[dbrick]

There are actually several reservoirs under the tank, which feed the circuits from the ABS modulator out to the wheel cylinders. These reservoirs are real small, and filling and bleeding the wheel circuits requires a special tool which makes them temporarily larger. You can see them in this article:
http://users.rcn.com/dehager/service/service_abs3.pdf

[dlearl476]

And if all those tips fail, I'd check with the NHTSB. I know on cars certain items like emmissions and safety related stuff like airbags and seatbelts and possibly ABS, must be guaranteed for ten years. Not the one, two, or three manufacturers usually give.
If your ABS failed under normal circumstances (you CAN prove you had all the factory recomended service, right?) on a 15K bike, I'd think the least you could work out is a substantial discount on parts and labor.

[roybarnes]

Abs Fault Lites Flashing On 2000 R1150 Gs, W/15k Miles. Dealer States It Is Abs Pump,and Can Only Be Replaced Out Of Warranty For $1600.00+labor ! Anyone Have Or Hear Of This Problem ? It's Supposed To Be Very Rare Occurance. Thanks
If your bike has been on it's side or have had wheels turn out of sinck with abs on, you will get an fault. There is a way to reset using the cat plug, but I don't have that info here. Make sure fluid level is ok.

[Ironhorsecowboy]

Sorry to inform you Roland, but the very rare occurance of the failure in the ABS pump is not rare at all. I have an 03 K1200LTC which did exactly as you described your ABS flashing lights. Do check to ensure all the fluid resevoirs are topped off correctly and if they are well you may be in for a very costly repair. My bike had to have all the ABS pump assembly replaced at a total cost of $2235.00 ( $1800.00 pump assembly alone) which thankfully is still under warranty. I can imagine the sick feeling you have in your stomach due to a repair of this magnitude out of warranty. If you haven't had any loss of brake function you may not have a pump problem (let's hope not) anyway. My bike lost brake function 2 or 3 times in a day and I knew that the bike was not safe to ride any longer and immediately took it to the dealer for repairs. Good luck! :lol

P.S. If the diagnostics test was performed the mechanics should be able to read the pump fault and/or low fluid levels etc.