• Hi everyone,

    As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.

    When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.

    Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.

    Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.

    Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.

    Thanks for your patience and support!

instrument dash leaking and EWS Error

Rickyme

Rickyme

Husqvarna
AA Class
When it rains my dash normally mists up but i dont ride much if it rains. last week I left it in the rain all day on a work site and now have a heap of problems.
Firstly it wont start, red triangle and EWS error. ive charged the battery and load tested it so it doesnt seem to be that. Ive also checked the wiring behind the light and all plugs seem to be connected properly.
If I use the 2nd key after leaving it for a night it will start but only once, if I try again the red triangle and EWS come back on.
Before the continual EWS the high beam light would stay on, blinkers affect the rev counter needle and oil light flashing on.
I called my dealer and he said needs to go to BMW, I called a local BMW repairer who has a MOSS tool but my or may not work, plus about 4 hrs work maybe an instrument panel ... a lot of cash.
Could the fogged up instrument panel affect the EWS ?
Any one have any ideas?
 
The dash electronics, the ECU, and the ignition all work together to allow the bike to start. All 3 components are a coded and matched set. If any one of the 3 components don't communicate correctly, then EWS.
 
It sounds like the water in the dash is preventing proper operation and would need opening up

The basics are the Dash reads the key and sends the info to the BMS-E via CAN BUS and if the key matches it sets "start OK" signal. The BMS-E firmware then responds to the pressing of the start button and fires the starter motor etc

From my perspective it is a horrible way of doing things. On one of the BMW models I was asked to look at recently the Key/Ring sender wired direct back to the BMS rather than to the dash so only one ECU is involved which seemed a much smarter way of designing it.
 
Do others experience the fogging as well? Kinda worrying that the dash isn't sealed properly. I haven't had any issues but don't have many opportunities to ride in the rain.
 
It is a fallacy to believe these components are completely sealed, on the lower side there will be a pressure equalisation vent, there is similar on the BMS-E engine management ECU, the upper joining flanges however should be sealed. Why the fogging has occurred would be a good question and it sounds like there is water leakage from above leaving a pool of water in the dash
 
I had fogging and got worried about it. Popped it open and threw a desiccant pack (the water absorbing little baggie that comes with new shoes and the like) and it never fogged again.

And now I need to open it all up again and fix that damned "s" button...
 
An issue I have found on my bike is that the key isn't close enough to the security ring to be detected. Try placing one of the keys right on the ring while using the other to turn the ignition. I usually just press my key into the ignition when i turn it on. Once the bike is started it isn't an issue. Kind of a hidden "security" even if someone does get my key.
 
jrmayor said:
An issue I have found on my bike is that the key isn't close enough to the security ring to be detected. Try placing one of the keys right on the ring while using the other to turn the ignition. I usually just press my key into the ignition when i turn it on. Once the bike is started it isn't an issue. Kind of a hidden "security" even if someone does get my key.
Click to expand...

Thanks all, what does the security ring look like please
 
Latest report is that the dash has dried out a bit and the bike starts most of the time . Its still pretty foggy so Ive taken it off and think ill open it up to completely dry it there are small droplets of water as well.
Does any one think there any reason I shouldnt apply some sealant to the edges when I close it up?
It may be as Wayne thinks that the rain pooling on the clear perspex may be the prob.
 
Maybe a thin strip of lanolin grease from a small tube when closing it up. We use it a lot for water craft and to keep fork seals moist.
Definitely check the perspex and use something else in that case.
 
SO opened up the dash and I think the buttons or the little screens are the fault, hard to imagine water would get past the flange between the two halves.
on the plus side its very easy to open it up and I think Ill just put a plastic zip lock bag over it when the weather is dodgy
Wouldnt be an issue if Husky didnt put the imobiliser electronics in there
 
jrmayor said:
An issue I have found on my bike is that the key isn't close enough to the security ring to be detected. Try placing one of the keys right on the ring while using the other to turn the ignition. I usually just press my key into the ignition when i turn it on. Once the bike is started it isn't an issue. Kind of a hidden "security" even if someone does get my key.
Click to expand...


That sounds like you have a defective ring... errr antenna.
 
Probably good to put a warning out there to not hose down the instrument panel when washing or to take precautions when a long way from home to protect the dash from moisture.
Given the absolute nature of the EWS error and its vulnerability to moisture I would be very careful around river crossings etc and carry a very small torx key so you can take the dash apart and dry it out. I know one will be finding its way to my away from home toolkit.
 
As your fault appears to be only when it is wet and the bike is ok when dried out I would do the following before resorting to a dealer.
Open up the Dash, dry it all out properly, seal it up when reassembling, use Silica Gel if you can.

See how it goes, but it is highly likely you can fix the issue yourself before something more serious like permanent water damage occurs.
 
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