K11 Owners Group

troy94k · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 6

After riding for hours- city driving mostly, pulled to garage door -shut it off( had to put it on side stand) went to start again to ride into garage-
Nothing- just a click when I hit start button. Fuel pump runs when I put up side stand so I assume that safety switch is working. The other interesting thing is that the headlight doesn't turn on when I turn key on. I think I recall the headlight turning on when the key is on.
Anyway, is this a relay issue of some kind even though I get the relay click when I hit the start button? ABS lights blink normally but horn doesn't work either. Emergency flashers work but indv. blinkers don't - all when key is on start position( but not running of course)
Thanks for any advice or where to start troubleshooting

johnpeter · Joined: 14 Aug 2008 Posts: 20 Location: Los Alamitos, SoCal

The first thing I would do would be to clean both end of both battery cables and the area they contact. Put the battery on the charger while doing the cable cleaning. Cables can go bad internally...if they are corroded where the wire meets the lug, replace them.
Never make-up connections dry, at the very least use Vasoline.

High resistance at the battery connections will "trick" the regulator into "thinking" the battery is fully charged. Happens all to often.
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Flying Duck · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 8:18 pm Post subject:

Yes, the headlight should be on whe nyou turn the key. The load shedding relay is what turns off the headlight and other things when the starter is engaged so the starter gets more juice.

It could be that the starter relay has gone bad. Usually they get the contacts welded together when the battery is low but I suppose that is could crap out like a normal relay too.
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93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
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91 & 92 K75Ss
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owrstrich · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:48 pm Post subject:

the same thing happened to me last year...

i rolled it backward in 2nd gear and it started and all was well... it turned out my starter was dirty and needed to be cleaned... it was full of black dust and not making contact... rolling it backward in 2nd gear turned it enough to make contact again...

i had a whole thread about it but it was too long ago and has self deleted itself...

cant find the starter cleaning link now... i thought it was at ibmwr.org but its not...

j o
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troy94k · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 6

Thanks all. I'll try the cables and relay first since if it was a dirty starter the headlight would come on? right?
Anyway, batt is charged -I'm guessing relay!
thanks again

owrstrich · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:47 am Post subject:

troy94k...

what happened to me was...

key on... no lights... fuel pump running... press start... click... no start and no lights...

i was in the process of push starting it when the lights came on... it was coincidence that i rolled it and moved the starter to a clean spot...

im not saying its the same as you... im just saying what happened to me...

j o
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yeeeeeehaaaaaaa...

CheapJapCopy · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 3:33 pm Post subject:

My K100RT did exactly this - it was the relay.
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1992 K1100RS - Red and gold.

kioolt · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:52 pm Post subject:

STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!STARTER!
_________________
2004 R1150RT 186,800 miles
1991 K100LT 128,700 miles
1982 R100RT 106,900 miles
Total 422,400 BMW miles
AMA,BMWRA,BMWMOA
The cheapest thing on a BMW is the nut that connects the handlebars to the seat.

Daniël V · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:54 am Post subject:

Geoff · Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:50 am Post subject:

troy, how old is your battery?
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kioolt

Now I have more time to explain why I replied STARTER. Everything that you described as happening indicates that the starter brushes are not making good contact with the rotor. When this happens the starter will not work, you only get a click out of your starter relay, and your headlight will not be on. The headlight is not on because your starter provides the ground path for the load shed relay. The load shed relay is what turns your headlight off when you hit the starter button.

An easy way to check to see if the starter is your problem is to short the starter wire to ground. If the headlight turns on that indicates that you have completed the ground path for the load shed relay. DO NOT HIT THE STARTER BUTTON while doing this test. Also, putting the bike in gear and rocking it back and forth will sometimes make the headlight turn on and off. That also indicates your starter is your problem. What is happening in this case is when the engine turn over backwards it make the sparque clutch rotate the starter. The starter will sometimes momentarily make contact through the brushes at this time, again completing the ground path for the load shed relay.
_________________
2004 R1150RT 186,800 miles
1991 K100LT 128,700 miles
1982 R100RT 106,900 miles
Total 422,400 BMW miles
AMA,BMWRA,BMWMOA
The cheapest thing on a BMW is the nut that connects the handlebars to the seat.

owrstrich · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:54 am Post subject:

yessers

daniël v mad brick rider in leiden the netherland...

and

kioolt big brick rider in bel air md...

that is exactly what was happening to my heap...

j o
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yeeeeeehaaaaaaa...