January 21st, 2007

I finished my Level 2 service last night. Couldn't commit to the time to meet the BMWST folks for a meet/greet/ride, but I did manage to coax a good friend of mine, Jim Budimlya, to go for a short ride and breakfast at the Rainbow Oaks restaurant. I wanted to return home in time for the football games today.

We met and road over the Ortega Highway and pointed the beasts south on I-15. Jim took the lead, but as we approached Temecula, my bike died. I managed to move over to the left shoulder (from the #1 lane).

One of the things that occurred today that was totally out of character for me is that I wasn't very well prepared for the ride today. Sure, the bike seemed to be O.K. (at first), but I wasn't. I slept in (first good night's sleep in a few days). I didn't wake until 7:48. I was to meet Jim at 8:30. I was out the door by 8:01, a personal best. In my haste, I didn't pack my cell phone. Not only that, but all my tools, including the bike's tool kit, was home on my workbench. After today, that will never happen again.

So, I'm standing on the side of the road. Jim is long gone. No cell phone and no tools. About all I can do is check fuel. The fuel gage is inaccurate (a differed repair), but according to the miles on the trip meter and lack of yellow low fuel light, I believe there is plenty of fuel. I open the tank and try to see fuel with my mini mag light. I can’t see any, but I would have been shocked if it was a fuel problem. The only thing I know to do is walk to the exit (Front St. and go to the gas station. I know I have enough gas, but that's all I know to do.

While I'm walking on the shoulder (it's about a mile to the exit), I see Jim heading northbound on I-15. We wave. Moments later, Jim pulls up beside me. I explain the situation. No surprise, he says "Let’s try to fix it". I walk back (no, I don't have my helmet with me), he rides back along the shoulder. By the time I get to the bike, he's got his tools ready. We check fuses. We check the relays. We both try to feel the fuel line (I’ve relocated my fuel filter where it sits on top of the air filter) to see if the fuel pump is working. It’s hard to tell, since the line is so stiff. I swap two fuses and try the ignition and the bike fires up. We pack the tools away and continue riding south.

The bike quits one more time about three miles down the road, just before the Rainbow exit. We pull the fuel line from the filter at the supply side and see fuel when the ignition switch is turned on. Neither of us think that it’s a fuel filter problem, but we shrug our shoulders and replace the fuel filter just to try something. It’s easy since I carry a spare and it’s so easy to get to. Amazingly, the bike fires up.

We get to the restaurant and have an excessive amount of time to consider all the “what ifs” because service is so slow today. Jim thinks it’s either the side stand switch or the Hall Effect Sensor. I nod, but add that it could be a relay (even though we swapped a few of them around) due to the recent experience I had with the load relief relay.

After breakfast, we head south on I-15, turn west on Hwy 76 and then I-5 north. The bike seemed to run fine. We turn south on I-5 and everything seems to be running fine when it coughs once and dies once again. Yes, I’m in the #1 lane once again, but I successfully work my way over to the right shoulder. This time, it’s a little different. We are both off the bikes and Jim notices that my kill switch is in the off position, not the run position. He asked if I had accidentally hit the kill switch to which I shake my head. Jim surmises that the only thing we’ve done is move the side stand (down then up). Regardless, the bike fires up right away. We are back on the road quickly, only for it to die one more time, less than two miles from my exit. This time, nothing seems to work. I pull all of the fuses and re-insert them. I pull all the relays. I reset the Motronics. Nothing. We then take the fuel like off from the return side and turn on the key. No fuel. Jim asks “Did you buy gas from a questionable source?” I say “Chevron”. He asked “Local?” I say “Malibu.” He says “Malibu?” That’s 100 miles away. I respond with “Yeah, I don’t ride local, so I don’t usually buy gas locally.” We connect the return line and uncouple the supply line. Gas flows! We button everything up and I make it home.

After a few days of research, I am in Irv Seaver's for parts and mention my woes to David Diaz, General Manager. He didn't even have to think about it. He said "Ignition Switch". He showed me his inventory and they've been selling a new ignition switch on average of about one a month. No HESs (Hall Effect Sensors). A few coils. I came home with an ignition switch trying to figure out if I can change it myself. Jim was still suspicious and thought it was the HES because of the fact that we both were convinced that the problem was heat related. I call David Diaz and mention the heat issue and he (reluctantly) retracts the ignition switch suggestion.

While corresponding on the BMWST forum, someone asked me if the fuel pump pressurizes when I turn on the ignition switch. My first reaction is to type "yes" from my recliner working from my wireless lap top. I think to myself "of course the fuel pump comes home. I haven't touched the bike since it rolled in (under its own power) Sunday afternoon." But I decided to make that extra effort to get off my butt, go out to the garage and turn on the key. No fuel pump! I turn the handlebars left to right, and the dash lights flicker on and off. I then reach down and wiggle the wire going into the ignition switch and the same thing happens. Viola! It's the ignition switch!

I call Jim Bud to tell him the news and we plan a mini-tech session for Thursday afternoon. By the time Jim arrives, I already have the tupperware off as well as the gas tank. We follow the procedures to take off the handlebars and the upper fork clamp. We have lots of fun removing that center stud bolt, which is torqued at 130 Nm and has a coating of blue Locktite to boot. We heat and twist but are only able to twist the 10mm hex socket. I lean on it some more (with the help of my three foot cheater bar) until I break  the socket. Jim goes home to retrieve more tools and brings back a 10mm "L" shaped hex wrench. It starts to bend when I recall a technique my dad taught me; turn clockwise slightly before trying to remove. This worked and the bolt finally came off.

Jim warming up the Locktite

We removed the upper fork clamp and disconnected the kazillion zip ties attaching the wiring harness to the front fairing. We note that the one closest to the switch is very tight and actually seems to be too close to the switch. This appears to cause too much flexing in the harness when turning the handlebars. Jim is intrigued by the wiring harness and is convinced he can feel something strange inside the shrink wrap right where that suspicious zip tie spent its life. Jim slices open the shrink wrap to find two wires completely severed and a third with the insulation worn away. There is evidence that this condition has been there for a while due to the black residue indicative of arcing of the wires. One of the broken wires was the red (power) wire.

The ignition wires located right at the uppermost zip tie. Note the black discoloration on the insulation.

We reverse the process and get the new switch installed and handlebars on. I know that Jim wanted to see if it worked before he went home for dinner, so I obliged him. He held the battery terminal to the battery while I turned the ignition switch. All systems go according to the dash. Of course, the gas tank is not on, so I can't hear that long awaited sound of the fuel pump pressurizing the fuel line, but I know that is a matter of hours away.

I'm getting waaaay too intimate with this machine.