K1100LT ABS WONT RESET,MAYBE LOW BATTERY VOLTAGE?

[BlueK11LT]

I spent a freezing day out in my back yard this week fitting a replacement abs2 modulator to my K1100LT (I diagnosed the original as faulty after getting alternatively flashing abs warning lights then doing the diagnostic check with an analogue voltmeter and getting 7 pulses of the needle).
But after fitting the new modulator and following the reset procedure about 15 times the abs warning lights will only flash alternately rather than in unison every time I turn the ignition back on.
The bike is fitted with a gel battery and was showing 12.6 volts on the multimeter when I tested it which indicates the battery is at about 80-90% of full charge.
Now iam aware through reading this and other BMW forums that low battery voltage can cause the ABS to go into fault mode in the first place,but does anyone here know if it can also cause it to not reset?
Ive taken the battery of the bike for a 24 hour charge up so iam pinning my hopes on this resolving the resetting problem,if not then I don't know where i'll be going from there  :dunno

[Laitch]

but does anyone here know if it can also cause it to not reset?

He's not exactly here but this page looks like fun.

[BlueK11LT]

He's not exactly here but this page looks like fun.

Yeah ive read that page before,
his English isn't too good is it?
Are you referring to the part where he advises fully charging the battery before trying to reset the abs?

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Yeah ive read that page before,
his English isn't too good is it?
Are you referring to the part where he advises fully charging the battery before trying to reset the abs?

His English is way better than my Japanese.

[Laitch]

Are you referring to the part where he advises fully charging the battery before trying to reset the abs?

I was referring to all of it.

[bizzaro]

Tabu is a real gentleman.  Please try as best you can to follow his procedures on the link that Laitch gave you first.  Note that the procedure is different depending on which ABS system you have. I know of ABS I and ABS II.  They have a different procedure to reset each. If you can't get it working, drop him an email. He is a great guy, and if anyone can fix it remotely, it is him.  I don't have his email handy, but if you can't find a link, I will dig it up for ya.  Here is the reset for ABS II:
 
1.  ignition off
2. ground center terminal of diagnostic plug
3. ignition on but no engine start
4. if you see two warning lamps illuminate alternately step 2 above is effective, if not you need to polish center terminal hole and try from step 1 ( possibly corroded center terminal)
5. push abs cancel switch on console for more than 10 sec.
6. step 5 will turn on abs lamp and turn off other warn lamp
7. release abs cancel switch. two lamps go on if your reset is successful.
8. turn off ignition. remove ground wire if you succeeded.how is the result.

Here Ya Go... k100abs@gmail.com. Tabu's email if ya can't get it to work. 
Good Luck,
Bizz

[BlueK11LT]

Tabu is a real gentleman.  Please try as best you can to follow his procedures on the link that Laitch gave you first.  Note that the procedure is different depending on which ABS system you have. I know of ABS I and ABS II.  They have a different procedure to reset each. If you can't get it working, drop him an email. He is a great guy, and if anyone can fix it remotely, it is him.  I don't have his email handy, but if you can't find a link, I will dig it up for ya.  Here is the reset for ABS II:
 
1.  ignition off
2. ground center terminal of diagnostic plug
3. ignition on but no engine start
4. if you see two warning lamps illuminate alternately step 2 above is effective, if not you need to polish center terminal hole and try from step 1 ( possibly corroded center terminal)
5. push abs cancel switch on console for more than 10 sec.
6. step 5 will turn on abs lamp and turn off other warn lamp
7. release abs cancel switch. two lamps go on if your reset is successful.
8. turn off ignition. remove ground wire if you succeeded.how is the result.

Here Ya Go... k100abs@gmail.com. Tabu's email if ya can't get it to work. 
Good Luck,
Bizz

Just as I expected a fully charged battery has made no difference,after about a dozen attempts iam still getting alternating flashing warning lamps after following the reset procedure as you have described above then turning the ignition back on.
What I  don't understand is why at step 7 after releasing the abs switch iam getting both lamps coming on which indicates the reset is
successful,yet as I said earlier when I switch the ignition off then back on again I get the alternating flashing lamps again instead of the lamps flashing together which it should do if the reset was successful

[The Mighty Gryphon]

There is a procedure to read out the fault code.  Have you done that yet?

[bizzaro]

Gryph, he said originally when he tested it that he got the code that the unit was bad, that is why he replaced it, so I assume he has tested it for faults?

BlueK11lt,
If I remember right, when mine was giving me trouble, I got seven pulses as well.
You have Tabu's email. I gave it to you in my first post, assuming it is still good. Give him a jingle. Make sure you tell him what you have done, and what the result is.  God luck and let us know how it goes.
See Ya In the Twisties,
Bizz

[beemrdon]

Buy a NEW battery. That is what worked for me...good luck.

[BlueK11LT]

I tested my original unit with an old analogue voltmeter which was originally from a car as it was all I had for testing the unit with.
I was getting 7 pulses of the needle then a gap of a few seconds,7 more pulses then another gap and so on,so that indicates a faulty abs unit right?
Have not tested the new unit yet  but I will drop Tabu an email soon.
I also don't think I need a new battery,as the current one is not very old and was showing 13.1 volts after charging it for 24 hours.
I know I should have mentioned this earlier but the replacement ABS2 unit which I have fitted came from a 1999 GS model,the only difference is the lettering on the aluminium cover being FTE as opposed to FAG on the original.
Could there be a chance this unit is not compatible with my bike?

[BlueK11LT]

I connected my voltmeter up with the positive lead to battery positive,and negative lead to the 3 pin plug and iam getting 8 pulses of the needle then a short delay then another 8 pulses and so on.
So according to this page http://www.largiader.com/abs/absfault.html the fault is '8. sensor gap front or rear, or other outside influence'

iam not sure what 'or other outside influence' means,but I have had the front wheel removed recently but I never disturbed the sensor gap,but I can only try checking it and see if that helps.

[bizzaro]

Check and correct your gap silly.  Make sure it is within tolerances specified.  I assume outside influences means the sensors are somehow compromised?  I am no expert by any means.  But it sounds like your gap is not correct or the sensor is faulty?
Bizz

[beemrdon]

When all else fails, bite the bullet and take it to an expert. Or, you can disconnect the ABS.

[BlueK11LT]

I will check the gap next weekend,the sensor ring does have some light surface rust on it so I will be using an electric drill with a wire brush attached to clean it up.
I want to avoid disconnecting the ABS or even removing it altogether,because ive heard that here in the UK there is some new MOT test regulation being brought in which states that any vehicle that was fitted with ABS when new must be as it left the factory,unmodified in any way,and fully functioning in order to pass the annual MOT road worthiness test,and iam concerened that ultimately I would have to end up scrapping the bike if I cant get it sorted out
So removing ABS components,pulling relays out etc is not going to be a quick fix/easy option for much longer,but I would never have considered it a fix in any case,its just really sweeping the problem under the carpet.

[Laitch]

Could there be a chance this unit is not compatible with my bike?

So according to this page http://www.largiader.com/abs/absfault.html the fault is '8. sensor gap front or rear, or other outside influence'
iam not sure what 'or other outside influence' means. . .

I will check the gap next weekend,the sensor ring does have some light surface rust on it so I will be using an electric drill with a wire brush attached to clean it up.

According to information on Anton Largiader's ABS page that you have cited, transplanting a unit from a different model can produce incorrect codes. He gives the solution on that page in the last two paragraphs of the section titled ABS2 differences between models.

Outside influence could indeed mean rust. Correct sensor gap is essential as has been indicated so that should be measured and set. If the electrical grounds are clean, these procedures might be all that are necessary.

[BlueK11LT]

Thanks - I tried adjusting the front sensor gap without any luck.I also emailed Tabu,and he kindly replied quickly -
​
Hi,
The error 8 can be caused by either you installed new ECU got from somewhere which does not meet your bike or the speed sensor gap is more or less than OE spec.  but the gap error will not be fired until you ride your bike so only remaining is the ECU installed is not designated for your K1100LT.  All ABS2 ECU looks same but the wiring loom and internal ROM are hard coded for specific bike model.
For example you cannot use K1100RS  ECU for K1100LT.
There are two measures for this problem. one is to ask BMW dealer to re-code the ROM for K1100LT and the other one is modify the loom for your new ECU.
Regards,
Tosi

Looks like ive got an incompatible abs2 unit

I did not read that section on  Anton Largiader's ABS page about the differences very thouroughly,i still cant make head nor tail of the chart on that webpage.
Looks like I will have to see if my local BMW can recode my unit or look for another used one from a K1100LT

[Laitch]

I did not read that section on  Anton Largiader's ABS page about the differences very thouroughly,i still cant make head nor tail of the chart on that webpage.
Looks like I will have to see if my local BMW can recode my unit or look for another used one from a K1100LT

That chart is a tough nut to crack, Blue. Based on AL's and Tosi's description of recoding as a remedy for ABS2 substitution problems, I believe there's a high probability of that option working with your bike. Good luck.

[beemrdon]

I hope you didn't throw your old ABS unit away.......

[BlueK11LT]

I hope you didn't throw your old ABS unit away.......

After I got the fault code 7 from my original abs unit I removed it from the bike with a view to purchasing a new one.
Then I came across this webpage -
http://advwisdom.hogranch.com/Wisdom/BMW%20ABS%20II%20D&A.pdf
the guy who wrote it was also getting error code 7 but it turned out to be sticking pistons in the unit,
figuring I had nothing to lose I took my own pistons out and cleaned them up (as ive also done with my new unit) but when installing it back on the bike I managed to bugger up the threads where one of the steel brake pipes goes in,i find that these brake pipes are a real pig to line up correctly and screw in easily without getting them cross threaded.
So its possible my old unit might be ok now but unusable because of the damaged threads.
So in the end that's why I had to get another unit which is the one now sitting useless on the bike.
I do still have the old unit with the damaged threads but apart from keeping it for spare parts is there anything else I will need it for?

[Filmcamera]

Try using a tap to repair the threads and if that doesn't work you can use a helicoil to cut a new hole and fix a new thread into it.  There are special 10mm x 1.0 taps and helicoils available

[BlueK11LT]

Try using a tap to repair the threads and if that doesn't work you can use a helicoil to cut a new hole and fix a new thread into it.  There are special 10mm x 1.0 taps and helicoils available

Yes,thats not out of the question and I had thought about it,but I very much doubt a m10x1.00mm tap alone would repair it,iam certain it would need a helicoil.
After I stripped the threads I searched on ebay for a replacement abs unit and as luck would have it there was one available locally to me and quite cheap so I went and bought it the next day without realising it would need recoding to work on my K1100LT.

[BlueK11LT]

Update - I found another abs unit from a K1100LT on ebay but when it arrived one of the 25 pins was broken off in the socket and was also broken where it attached to the circuit board inside,the seller refunded my money and did not want the unit returned but I doubt it would be easily repairable unless I found another unit with a good circuit board and pins that could be swapped over.
I managed to find yet another unit that was advertised as being in working order,i fitted it yesterday and was pleased when everything worked correctly again,so that's the end of that.
All that remains now is for me to try and sell the R1150GS unit that I bought in error.

[Laitch]

Thanks for the update, Blue.

[nicsanterre]

He's not exactly here but this page looks like fun.

:)

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