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widu13

widu13

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Not quite as dramatic as it sounds. Previously I have had difficulty starting my TC and the PHONE battery symbol was red. The alarm siren has always been muted, as in barely noticeable. That was about 6 weeks ago. Fri I had exactly the same issue for about a minute but this time there was no power at all, then lo and behold the ignition came live again with the low phone battery and it started but it lost the bluetooth connection to my phone and I had to re-pair it. I changed the fob battery just in case that was somehow affecting it.

I keep the bike on a tender and today took it for an 80 mile ride and came back and put it on the tender. I took it out to clean it about 5 hrs later and the alarm set off as I cleaned it with the keys on the seat. I tried the fob- nothing, so tried the power on- nothing. The fob would not even power anything it was totally dead. I tried this for a couple of minutes and then checked the voltage - 12.89v (it had only been off of the tender for about 15 mins) then I checked the main ground...all good, pulled the main fuse...all good but covered in road gunk with a fairly insignificant amount of corrosion on it. I wiped it off and replaced it. The bike would then power up and started, but was reporting an overdue service (was serviced by BMW last October).

I suspect that this is a perfect storm of low batteries in the DWA and a small bit of corrosion. No fault codes reported in MOTOSCAN, so I reset the service countdown. I will attempt to change the batteries in the DWA and will report any more issues. I just thought I would put my experience out there.
 
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Just to throw one non-issue out, the red phone battery symbol is a indication that the battery on your phone is low. Nothing to do with the bike so you can take it out the equation.
 
harrisrc740 said:
Just to throw one non-issue out, the red phone battery symbol is a indication that the battery on your phone is low. Nothing to do with the bike so you can take it out the equation.
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The reason that I mentioned the phone low battery symbol issue, is that because on each occasion the phone had more than 90% charge. It IS an indicator of something, just that I don't know what.
 
widu13 said:
The reason that I mentioned the phone low battery symbol issue, is that because on each occasion the phone had more than 90% charge. It IS an indicator of something, just that I don't know what.
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Glad you are doing a methodical process of troubleshooting and thank you for sharing your progress.

Are you able to load test the battery? If not, all my local auto jobber parts stores will do it for free and can be a good option if the the dealer is inconvenient. A weak cell will carry a surface charge, but fails to deliver juice as needed causing/contributing to Gremlins until it eventually gets bad enough to completely fail.

Good luck and please keep us in the loop!

🍻
 
Good call Bob, that's next on the agenda after the DWA battery change...Amazon running late. Absolutely no chance of a free load test here in the UK without the result urgently requiring a new battery :rolleyes:...I'll do it now, delivery delayed, window now 6.30-9.30 pm :mad:
 
widu13 said:
Good call Bob, that's next on the agenda after the DWA battery change...Amazon running late. Absolutely no chance of a free load test here in the UK without the result urgently requiring a new battery :rolleyes:...I'll do it now, delivery delayed, window now 6.30-9.30 pm :mad:
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You could do a DIY load test on your battery. If you have a voltmeter with a high-low measuring function you could hook it up to the battery and start the bike .. and see how far the Voltage drops ... on a healthy battery it should drop very little (maybe a Volt or so max) ... just a thought.
 
That's what I've just done bud. Under load 10.7v.

I've had/got the DWA out and batteries checked. They are full power. Update later with photos. The DWA is in a very bad place for non dry climates.
 
widu13 said:
That's what I've just done bud. Under load 10.7v.

I've had/got the DWA out and batteries checked. They are full power. Update later with photos. The DWA is in a very bad place for non dry climates.
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Good thinking, my gut feeling is that 10.7 is a bit lower than I expected. If I get a chance later I do a reference test on mine. Seems that I have no starting issues that should make for a good reference. I will let you know.
 
As we know thanks to other members the DWA (back up/alarm/immobiliser) is situated immediately behind the OBD2 port immediately above the battery . There are no screws to undo to access it in situ. Remove the left hand panel, slide the OBD2 off to the side to remove it, disconnect the two electrical connectors and depress the plastic post which prevents the DWA from moving out. The DWA very easily just slides out.

My issue is being in dear old Blighty, the top of the DWA is the siren/sounder for the alarm was packed full to the top with dried mud. Around 3/8" worth! Then the screws were rusted out (the bike is 2.5 yrs old). They were difficult to remove. They are 10mm long screws with a 1mm thread (coarse for the size) with a 5mm head and a OD of 3mm. They are ungalvanized mild steel. In my case the original Panasonic batteries were still fitted. They were at full charge. I changed them anyway as I was there. The whole DWA was very dirty and needed a good clean. Without issues it should be a 10-15 min job.

When re-fitted the siren is now at normal volume. I do not think that this was my issue, so will make contact with the dealer.

The very first step is to disable the alarm. With the screen versions, go to Settings - Vehicle Settings - Alarm and then uncheck all of the options and exit the menu. Once you have done this you can then proceed with the DWA removal.

I have photographed the steps for future reference and they are below.

1. DWA in situ, OBD2 moved and both connectors removed. Just over the top of the OBD2 "dock" and below (arrowed) you will see the plastic retainer for the DWA.

1717959890636.png

2. The retaining post. Pull the post towards you (I used fuel line removal pliers) and you can then tip the DWA up to remove it. There are no more fixings or wires.

1717960176911.png

3. The DWA removed. Note the very badly rusted screws, the siren FULL of mud and the DWA housing/shelf location showing the dirt that accumulates there:

1717960573668.png

1717960631667.png

1717960666165.png

1717960718658.png

1717960838717.png

4. All cleaned up with the screws removed...eventually!

1717960933118.png


That's it. Change the batteries and reinstall. It's a 15 minute job if the screws are okay.
 
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Holy Moly!!! you must be doing a lot of dirt-tracking :ROFLMAO: ... but anyway I did a high/low test on my battery and it was 12.63V with ignition off ... almost 0 change with ignition on and a low of 9.81V while the starter was engaged ... no starting issues and I don't use a battery tender ... but I ride virtually every day ... she is my main transportation.
 
Ulrich said:
Holy Moly!!! you must be doing a lot of dirt-tracking :ROFLMAO: ... but anyway I did a high/low test on my battery and it was 12.63V with ignition off ... almost 0 change with ignition on and a low of 9.81V while the starter was engaged ... no starting issues and I don't use a battery tender ... but I ride virtually every day ... she is my main transportation.
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Thanks for doing that bud. (y)
 
widu13 said:
As we know thanks to other members the DWA (back up/alarm/immobiliser) is situated immediately behind the OBD2 port immediately above the battery . There are no screws to undo to access it in situ. Remove the left hand panel, slide the OBD2 off to the side to remove it, disconnect the two electrical connectors and depress the plastic post which prevents the DWA from moving out. The DWA very easily just slides out.

My issue is being in dear old Blighty, the top of the DWA is the siren/sounder for the alarm was packed full to the top with dried mud. Around 3/8" worth! Then the screws were rusted out (the bike is 2.5 yrs old). They were difficult to remove. They are 10mm long screws with a 1mm thread (coarse for the size) with a 5mm head and a OD of 3mm. They are ungalvanized mild steel. In my case the original Panasonic batteries were still fitted. They were at full charge. I changed them anyway as I was there. The whole DWA was very dirty and needed a good clean. Without issues it should be a 10-15 min job.

When re-fitted the siren is now at normal volume. I do not think that this was my issue, so will make contact with the dealer.

I have photographed the steps for future reference and they are below.

1. DWA in situ, OBD2 moved and both connectors removed. Just over the top of the OBD2 "dock" and below (arrowed) you will see the plastic retainer for the DWA.

View attachment 14846

2. The retaining post. Pull the post towards you (I used fuel line removal pliers) and you can then tip the DWA up to remove it. There are no more fixings or wires.

View attachment 14847

3. The DWA removed. Note the very badly rusted screws, the siren FULL of mud and the DWA housing/shelf location showing the dirt that accumulates there:

View attachment 14848

View attachment 14849

View attachment 14850

View attachment 14851

View attachment 14852

4. All cleaned up with the screws removed...eventually!

View attachment 14853


That's it. Change the batteries and reinstall. It's a 15 minute job if the screws are okay.
Click to expand...

Maybe replace those screws with stainless steel...
 
TIL: our bikes have CR123A lithium batteries in addition to the main AGM battery...

Are there any other surprises in our bikes? :rolleyes:

Mike
 
Changed the temporary screws on the DWA for stainless today. 8 mins panel off to panel on, including going through the bike menu and switching off the alarm (because I forgot :LOL:).

Booked in for the non start investigation mid next week, but with it being intermittent and unexplained, I'm not hopeful. 3 times in nearly 3 months of ownership, not excusing it but it has always started...after a while.
 
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