Bike died on me yesterday while cruising at about 65mph. No warning at all. Still won't start next day. No codes have come on. Brand new AGV battery at 12.85 installed today, actually tried 3 batteries I have in garage just in case. All fuses look good, wiring checked, keys/ring, led lights, fused 12v socket, and Af-xied. No dash codes or warning lights have ever been on bike. 6,600 miles. I've had bike for 2 years and got it with 400 miles on it. When I try to start the bike it just clicks once and then a really erie sounds comes from either the starter solenoid or the ecu. I am hearing impaired and its hard for me to accurately determine which the sound resinates from. I just the earth cable mod - no luck - changed nothing. Advice? Did I fry the ECU somehow just cruising down the road? Also, anyone with Af-XIED tell me if the red light is supposed to be on? I can't remember if it was before or not but its not currently.
So it doesn't say EWS on your dash? You say the fuses "look good" but you should test them. And remove the starter solenoid and test that.
I will check kickstand kill switch tonight, I didn't think of that but I wouldn't think the starter would click? Motor not seized. Yes all lights, horn, accessories, and everything else works perfectly. Tried to jump start with a jumper pack and same thing. Red button!?! haha.... Yes, tried all those combos, and both chipped keys, left battery out for 45min, etc. Any other ideas? Maybe a cell phone video of what's happening?
I would pull the starter button apart and clean the switches, kill switch too.then I would remove and test the relays. There are wiring diaggrams posted somewhere. Once you have checked all the basic stuff, the next most likely is the charging circuit. I am not familiar with the exact function and wiring, so would refer you to a more experienced group. The tr650 has been relatively problem free. Since the BMW 650 is similar, someone in that group may have experienced the exact issue. The guys here will surely help, but expanding the knowledge base won't hurt. Another area to check and clean connections is the regulator on the side of the motor.
All good suggestions @mag00 - I'll report back this evening after some more time with the bike. THANKS!!! @MookieWilson - no EWS light on, never even seen that or the check engine light on in person, only read about it here, I will pull the starter solenoid tonight as well. Thanks guys!
The kickstand switch is a good and easy place to start, though I doubt you'd be getting a little "click" from the starter if that were the fault. I had a similar issue with a Yamaha this past weekend. I had tried a new battery, cleaned and tightened all the grounds. I was going to pull the starter solenoid but decided to take the ignition switch apart first. There was a little bit of corrosion in there. Once cleaned up, it seems to work fine. You said you heard some strange noises. Have you tried push starting the bike just to make sure it can fire up and run OK?
I seriously doubt it is the starter solenoid. Easy enough to check without pulling. Just run a hot to the pos terminal of it. Make sure it is in neutral. But the bike stalled while driving, the starter or solenoid would not cause that. A charging issue could, and even with a fresh battery it may not run, that is why I point to the experts or experienced with this system. Also, it is possible all your instruments would fire up, just not start and run. BMW (manufacturer of this bike) made an interesting electrical system. Battery dead it will not start, even if you push pull drag. Something triggers the voltage circuit to energize, it may be battery voltage, but that voltage has to follow a pathway to indicate it has power enough to run, the regulator circuit may contain the mystery, I am not familiar with it. When you checked the battery after the fail, what was the voltage? I'm asking because if battery voltage was 12 or less, something was not charging and thus the most likely culprit. I have had troubles with my starter button and kill switch. I dumped my bike and some dirt got into the switches. It acted like you mention, to a point. I had to really work the switches and it finally fired up. I don't see how that is your issue, but if you have had rain or dirt and vibration, it could, but I would think it would be intermittent vs just dying.
Tested starter solenoid, kill switch, start button, every fuse, and the 3 relays. Added the earth strap wire as shown on thread here. Disconnected the Af-xied just to try it. Tried every combination I could. Aired out, cleaned out, dielectric grease, etc. Found nothing that looked crimped, corroded, loose, etc - anywhere. Same issue as yesterday. BUT, once tonight the starter chugged a couple times before "nothing" instead of just one "click". Not sure what that means though... Checked oil, nothing on dipstick, but it hasn't run in over 24hr (cold) and I've only ever checked the oil warmed up so I'm not sure I would even get a wet dipstick, would I cold? I've never had any oil leaks and changed the oil about 1,200 miles ago. I don't think it really burns any either, but maybe I should pull the drain plug and see how much is in it? No funny smells, black/white exhaust, or anything like that. Battery was at 12.05v when I got it home from the side of the road incident. The new battery was 12.85v when installed later in the evening. Both are AGM and at this point I am 99.99% sure this has nothing to do with batteries. Remember this bike ran perfect right up until the moment it died at 65mph. No warnings. No lights on. Nothing. Maybe the motor IS seized? Maybe I should try to push start it tomorrow after work? Some sort of catastrophic engine failure I'm not seeing? I'm really starting to worry at this point. This is my daily commuter and even a few days without the bike in the beautiful weather is not fun at all. I don't leave all my cars/trucks at home and ride the bike each day to save gas money, its because I have ridden motorcycles for 30 years and love it. Thanks for all the help so far guys!
Did the old battery charge up again and hold higher than 12.05v? That would indicate a good battery and bad charge system.
pull the plugs and see if it cranks over then? Maybe something with the automatic decompressor? Just speculating.. Good luck.
It just died as if I turned it off. Kind of felt like I ran out fuel or something. I just pulled the clutch in and coasted to a stop.
I am very interested to know if you can push start it. If you can get it running, test and see how the stator and VR are behaving. I haven't had any electrical issues with the Terra and so haven't had to dive into the electrical system yet, but a previous bike I had gave me a lot of problems. When the VR went bad, it created most of the issues you describe here and could also ruin perfectly good batteries in the event you could get it started and keep it running for a while. I would also check the following: 1) It doesn't sound like you have a seizing issue, but jack the bike up so the rear wheel is off the ground. Pull the spark plug and try manually turning the engine by turning the rear tire. Can you do it? Does it turn pretty smoothly? 2) If you cannot get it to push start, pour a little gasoline onto the air filter or somewhere into the intake tract and try push starting again. If it fires up and runs for a little bit, then you at least know you are getting spark but not getting fuel. 3) The starter not turning bothers me. You said you have some cars. Run a hard wire from one of the car batteries (with it still in the vehicle) directly to the starter and ground the starter to the car's chassis somewhere. If the starter turns over, then I'd say there is an issue with one of the primary grounding points on the bike.
To look at the problem it is best to use diagnostics, attempting to do so without diagnostics for some of potential problems is doing it the hard way The fact there is no EWS error indicates the Dash and BMS-E are powered up and communicating, the solenoid is not operated direct from the switch cluster button, the fact you hear the starter solenoid click indicates the BMS-E has issued the start signal from pin 24 to the solenoid. Check for 12v at the starter motor when the solenoid is operated and check the high power earth wiring to the starter motor
Took days off from messing with it, lady's bday & work stuff, going to head back out to the garage now...
