BMW K bikes (Bricks)


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1Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 4:14 am

Mike101

Mike101
Silver member
Silver member
Morning all,

             A few weeks ago i noticed one evening that the red warning light was very slightly coming on and off while i was riding.  This only happens around the 4k rev range.

It is so slight that it's not easy to see it coming on but it is.  Today while riding to work it came on and off again but brighter this time..and then it lit bright and full.  I wondered if i had a rear bulb failure so i pressed the rear brake and the light went out.

But a short time later it started flickering again.

So do i have a short, a bad earth, a charging problem or a bad battery.  everything on the bike is standard and not been touched for years so i don't know how old anything.

The alternator is charging at 14v and all else is fine with the bike running.

Any ideas please as i still very new to this bike.

Mike

    

2Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:01 am

Rick G

Rick G
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The alternator is in the tacho part of the cluster and will have a small battery symbol next to it. Is this the light as it should be the only one to come on if the alternator stops charging. There are several other red warning lights but none that would be or have any affect on the charging system.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

3Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:28 am

charlie99

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more than likely the brushes in the regulator of the alternator

these are known to go intermittent ...and certainly at different vibration - load

we have all noticed some glow  at night from the "charge" indicator

could it be that with low use that the comutator ...brush set is bouncing around a bit and still cleaning up its path ...

but otherwise the regulators aren't horribly expensive ...and you might just save your battery by changing it early rather than after  a fail event ?


__________________________________________________
cheezy grin whilst riding, kinda bloke ....oh the joy !!!! ...... ( brick aviator )

'86 K100 RT..#0090401 ..."Gerty" ( Gertrude Von Clickandshift ) --------O%O
'86 k100 rs.. #######..  "Fred " (f(rame) red ) ( Fredrick leichtundschnell ) - -
bits and pieces from many kind friends across the k100 world ...with many thanks ..
1987 k100rs ########   "Red"  - (red sports rs TWB style )
1989 K100rt #009637   "Black Betty"  (naked rt ala Nigel , now sporting an rs main fairing )
    

4Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:29 am

Mike101

Mike101
Silver member
Silver member
RicK G wrote:The alternator is in the tacho part of the cluster and will have a small battery symbol next to it. Is this the light as it should be the only one to come on if the alternator stops charging. There are several other red warning lights but none that would be or have any affect on the charging system.
The red light that i am talking about is the big one in the centre of the instruments.  Between the main beam and neutural lights.

It's the one that comes on at first power up and then goes off when i operate both brakes.

Mike

    

5Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:35 am

Rick G

Rick G
admin
admin
That is to do with the bulb monitoring and the brake light circuit when you first start it and ride away
If it is flickering check the connections to the brake and tail lights if one of them is intermittently losing the contact that will make it flicker and replacew the bulbs as we have found several times thet the bulb looks OK but is not at its best.
If you have ABS it will flash in unison with the ABS light in the speedo if there is an ABS fault.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

6Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:46 am

Mike101

Mike101
Silver member
Silver member
RicK G wrote:That is to do with the bulb monitoring and the brake light circuit when you first start it and ride away
If it is flickering check the connections to the brake and tail lights if one of them is intermittently losing the contact that will make it flicker and replacew the bulbs as we have found several times thet the bulb looks OK but is not at its best.
If you have ABS it will flash in unison with the ABS light in the speedo if there is an ABS fault.
I thought it might be that so i'll change the rear brake buld.  I've got an 87 K100LT pre ABS which makes it eaiser.

Cheers for the advice.

Mike

    

7Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 6:36 am

Rick G

Rick G
admin
admin
And the tail light bulb as well Mike
It's a good idea to put the year and model of your bike in the signature line t6hat way we all know what we are refering to without having to ask or tell each time.
Then you got the guys like Duck that have so many that they need a page just for that, I am only jealous.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

8Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 7:13 am

92KK 84WW Olaf

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Life time member
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It is so slight that it's not easy to see it coming on but it is.  Today while riding to work it came on and off again but brighter this time..and then it lit bright and full.  I wondered if i had a rear bulb failure so i pressed the rear brake and the light went out.

The charge light should get brighter when you press the brake like this. Either way it doesn't matter because it does tend to light a little at night with lights on and pressing the brake.

The centre one, already mentioned, is the bulb monitoring. Check and recheck the brake light bulb and circuit, I had a similar experience on the LT and found corrosion on the bulb. Cleaned it up and then swapped the 5/21W for a 10/21W bulb and all cured. don't use the 5w, its just not safe, not bright enough on a bad night. You can take out the bulb holder and clean up the connections.



Last edited by 92KK K100LT 193214 on Tue Nov 12, 2013 8:10 am; edited 2 times in total


__________________________________________________
1992 K100LT 0193214 Bertha Blue 101,000 miles
1984 K100RT 0022575 Brutus Baja Red 578 bought 36,000 now 89,150 miles
1997 K1100LT 0188024 Wotan Mystic Red 689 58,645 now 106,950 miles Deceased.
1983 K100RS 0011157 Fricka 606 Alaska Blue 29,495 miles Damn K Pox Its a Bat outta Hell Now 58,200 miles. 
1996 K1100LT 0233004 Lohengrin Mystic Red 38,000 miles currently 48,061 miles.
1983 K100RS 0004449 Odette R100 colours 58,000 miles. Sprint fairing now 61,190 miles

Past:
1968 Yamaha 80 YG1
1971 Yamaha 125 YAS-1
1968 Honda 125 SS
1970 Honda CD 175
1973 Honda CB500-4
Honda CX 500
    

9Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 7:58 am

charlie99

charlie99
VIP
VIP
yep to all the above

the bmu is a strange beast but worth every cent of it .


__________________________________________________
cheezy grin whilst riding, kinda bloke ....oh the joy !!!! ...... ( brick aviator )

'86 K100 RT..#0090401 ..."Gerty" ( Gertrude Von Clickandshift ) --------O%O
'86 k100 rs.. #######..  "Fred " (f(rame) red ) ( Fredrick leichtundschnell ) - -
bits and pieces from many kind friends across the k100 world ...with many thanks ..
1987 k100rs ########   "Red"  - (red sports rs TWB style )
1989 K100rt #009637   "Black Betty"  (naked rt ala Nigel , now sporting an rs main fairing )
    

10Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 8:17 am

MikeP

MikeP
Life time member
Life time member
Could be as simple as an iffy contact on the brake light switch. If it's the rear brake then remember where the switch sits behind the footrest plate, perfectly placed to get covered in crap.


__________________________________________________
1992 K1
1993 K1100R (used to be an LT)
    

11Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 12:15 pm

Guest

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Guest
Mine won't do that as I have thrown away the BMU. That is the only way to fit LEDs in the back.

    

12Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 1:51 pm

92KK 84WW Olaf

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Life time member
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The occurrence at 4,000rpm is a clue because that's peak vibration on the K.

I have some LED lights on the way and interesting to note that the BMU must come out, is there a way to keep it. While the LED will definitely last longer it does also pick up a bad connection which is more likely due to the age of the K.


__________________________________________________
1992 K100LT 0193214 Bertha Blue 101,000 miles
1984 K100RT 0022575 Brutus Baja Red 578 bought 36,000 now 89,150 miles
1997 K1100LT 0188024 Wotan Mystic Red 689 58,645 now 106,950 miles Deceased.
1983 K100RS 0011157 Fricka 606 Alaska Blue 29,495 miles Damn K Pox Its a Bat outta Hell Now 58,200 miles. 
1996 K1100LT 0233004 Lohengrin Mystic Red 38,000 miles currently 48,061 miles.
1983 K100RS 0004449 Odette R100 colours 58,000 miles. Sprint fairing now 61,190 miles

Past:
1968 Yamaha 80 YG1
1971 Yamaha 125 YAS-1
1968 Honda 125 SS
1970 Honda CD 175
1973 Honda CB500-4
Honda CX 500
    

13Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:03 pm

Guest

avatar
Guest
You can leave the BMU in but then you must use resistors which will defeat part of the reason for fitting LEDs in the first place. Much easier to remove the BMU as the LEDs will last the life of the bike, in theory.

    

14Back to top Go down   Red warning light Empty Re: Red warning light Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:33 pm

MT350Explorer

MT350Explorer
Life time member
Life time member
I don't understand the electrickery but I fitted some LEDs that go on with the the brake light (kindly supplied with instructions by '88' Very Happy ) and this does not have resisitors (I don't think) and I still have the BMU?

Do you mean you need to remove the BMU when you replace the exisiting bulbs with LEDs?

Cheers
Dave


__________________________________________________
1991 K100 RS 16 valve
    

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