Red triangle warning light comes on (BMW 1200 GS)
 

This hasn't happened before. The red triangle warning light has just come on, on my 2006 BMW 1200 GS. No other lights with it, just the red triangle warning light. After trying a few things I realised that it comes on when I engage the front brake. I've checked the front brake level and, no, it isn't touching the hand guard. It's free to return to its usual position.

So, I asume the computer is telling me it thinks there is something wrong with the front brake, even though the bike was fine for the 20 miles or so back home today.

Guess I'd better get it checked out but thought I'd ask here first. Anyone had anything similar?

First check no bulbs are blown. Note: There may be two rear bulbs.

If it was a bumb it would say "lampf" on the dash...

I'm guessing it's one of the ABS sensors playing up or if you're really unlucky, the ABS controller itself. Assuming you have ABS !!

Have you got a way to read fault codes ??

I think I had this problem a couple of years ago, but can't remember how I fixed it! I think it might have been a dirty ABS sensor, but am not sure.

I don't think it's the bulb. I have a problem with the front main beam. When I start the bike up the computer tells me that the main beam doesn't work (and i can see that it doesn't) but it usually comes on after 5 minutes. I'm thinking that there is a loose conenction and perhaps some water and it dries out after a while??

However I think you may be right about the sensor. I'd better get it checked out.

Cheers

Might be a loose connection .. but not water related. Can still be a broken bulb - the filament is broken but with some vibration makes contact and stays together while riding and lit (warm therefore longer), once switched off cools, shrinks and breaks contact. Buy a spare and see.

Give the sensor and area a good clean before you spend money. Soapy water and a soft brush.

Tried washing it and nothing changes. Red triangle still come son when I engage brake. But think I'll wait until spring as I won't be using the bike over winter.

Thanks for the help.

You need to have the fault memory read...

Ted

GS911 would be a good help.
Have you dropped your bike so that brake liquid is getting low (you cannot check it from a handlebar)…

Is your battery ok? Are maybe the wires loose? We had the same problem on the 1150.... and it was the battery.

The brake fluid was changed last summer and it's a reasonably new battery, so I doubt it's either of those.

Also, now it's cold, sometimes when I turn it on the computer doesn't recognise the gears. The green N sign doesn't come on so I can't start the thing. I have to kick it up and down the gears a few times until the computer wakes up and the neutral light comes on.

I'm going to take the battery out for the winter and sort it in April. I think it needs a trip to a BMW dealer as there is clearly something going on with the electrics.

Thanks for all the help...

What are the symptoms when you ride the bike?
Do you have brakes or are you down to residual breaking?
If you have servos on your 1200, you could need brakes to be bled as there may be air trapped in the servos (or low fluid in the servos) which means a trip to BMW to use their vacuum pump to draw the fluid through.
Check levels of servo units - your problem could be caused by low brake fluid in either of the reservoirs under the tank

Check for frayed wires on the loom too- it is a possibility.

Check your front brake light switch isn't sticking on

Check the rear wheel ABS/speedometer sensor- it is located on the rear face of the final drive housing. It is secured in place by a tiny Torx screw. Simply undo the screw, pull out the sensor and wipe it clean of any metal filings, then refit (being sure the o ring seal is intact).

a Hexcode diagnostic dongle- should- IMHO- be part of any BMW owner's tool kit-
What you spend at dealerships will be swiftly recovered and more if you invest in one.
It takes the guessing right out of the equation and tells you if it is a 'side of the road fix' or a 'back of a lorry' time.

It can even give you full real time values and it can send its 'report' direct via your Bluetooth enabled mobile phone to a friendly BMW mechanic back home.
Peace of mind in these complicated electronic days. I might still have my full CD manual ( REpRom) somewhere- pm if need info.

good luck

Do those dongles tell you if the fault is present or not ??

From what Ive seen the faults they bring up can be quite misleading. And information without professional interpretation can be even worse...

If you have NON INTEGRAL Abs you can bleed your brakes like any bike..

Yes Ted , they tell you if a fault is present or not and a whole load of other data besides.
I would not be without mine. It tells it like it is unlike.....well.... ahem.... 'whistling' !

Well as you know, I use the BMW supplied MOSS diagnosis computer at work.

£50,000 worth so I'm told.

It is our most important tool by a long way. When you have a Modern BMW connected up to it, there is very little I can't control and diagnose. I feel like the Wizard of Oz when I'm using it. But it takes A LOT of time and training to get the hang of it. We have to go on continuous training courses.

The way I can individually control and diagnose controllers, switches, sensors and inputs is absolutely fantastic. And I think it is also VITAL in modern Motorcycle maintenance. I'd honestly be lost without it with many faults.

Even the other local motorcycle dealers drop bikes off with us to diagnose as they either can't or can't spare the time it takes a none Moss-equipped dealer. Much to their frustration. They can read faults themselves but they can't talk to the bike and do the important calibration and programming stuff.

I am really interested in seeing a dongle in use and what exactly it can do..

Oh dear,where did it all go wrong?......it all seems to be going down the same crappy road as the modern motor car..don't even sneeze in case a sensor or electrical component is going to have a hissy fit and **** everything up..
Then some half wit decides to use components that need programming to the vehicle or have the information input to it via the dealer specific equipment that downloadeds it from BMW....or audi,vw,mercedes etc for that matter,...high command back in Germany..
It gets even worse when some of he dealers try and tell you how wonderful all this equipment is,ok sometimes it can be bang on correct,but ive seen on quite a few occasions you may as well ask the dog....bark 4 times for crank sensor,bark 8 times for abs control relay....and then sometimes for absolute comedy you get....undocumented code?....It was possible to something with fuel injection and abs that never realy went that wrong....but it's very bad for economy and its much better to churn out this junk that's finished or unviable to fix it once its 4 years old,to ensure the sale of new vehicles..:helpsmilie:...this may seem a bit negative about certain German machinery....but my experiences with the French vehicles I wouldn't even be allowed to post as I may get into trouble...fuu...........d.....sh.......e..

Yup........ That's why I ride a 20 year old Honda :smartass:

You've got no excuses for not getting to work on that then..ha ha..no warning lights flashing up saying..... achtung do not ride or sky will fall in...

I took my bike out yesterday. The red triangle light didn't come on at all - even when I used the front brake (which worked fine) UNTIL the very last corner coming home then it came on again even though the brake felt fine.

HOWEVER, I'm still having trouble finding neutral. What I've noticed is that when I turn the bike on, after it's been cold overnight, it won't find neutral. So, I kick it up and down until it finds a gear, then to find neutral I need to pull the clutch in, kick down to neutral and keep my foot on the pedal. Then the computer registers neutral but if I take my foot off the gear lever it loses neutral. Weird.

The worst car I ever had was the only one with electronics was a Volvo estate. It had a habit of stopping completely, and I had to wait a minute then restart it. Twice it did this to me on the northbound M5 M6 interchange. After months of calls to Volvo who denied this could happen they put me through to the engineers. The first thing he said was "What we usually do for this is equip the card with a card with 17 LED,s connected. when it stops just write down those that are lit and those that aren't".
I thought about it and have to say there was no appeal to sit 5 lanes out parked on the M5/M6 junction writing down details of LED's. so I part exchanged it for a non electronic Citroen diesel XM estate. Best car I ever had.
The Volvo also had a warning light that came on every time I switched it on. It was a picture of what looked to me to be a butterfly. Sometime after I got rid of it I mentioned this mysterious light to a Volvo owner. It turns out that it was the warning light for the lights. Bit silly as they were wired to come on with the ignition with no way to turn them off. As an aside the bulb holders failed often as they were really only meant for intermittent use, not to be on always. I really don't want a vehicle with electronics, but It may just have to happen. I had hoped to buy a mid 90-'s Mercedes non electronic diesel estate but they were nearly all destroyed by the scrappage scheme. How is it green to scrap cars that were good for another 10-20 years ???

Hi,
This sounds like a gear potentiometer (or what ever it is called).
At least in 2005 model it is on the back of the gearbox, just behind a swing arm.
It is black box and there is one connector. Try to take that connector out and use contact cleaner.

Yup.. Almost certainly the sensor on that year of bike.

It would not create the ABS fault though...

I would disconnect the battery, wait about 15 min and then hook it back up. If the error goes away, cool beans. If it comes back on when you apply the brake, better get it checked.

By this point...I'd disconnect the battery,pour ten litres of fuel over it,flash the terminals then walk off and claim on the insurance..:oops2:

The plot thickens. I used my bike today and - no red triangle. However it still wouldn't recognise neutral unless I pushed down on the pedal. I rode to work and got off the bike with it on the side stand and within a few seconds it cut out. Weird, it has never done that before.

Come on man.. How many times do people have to tell you..

You've got a dodgy gear sensor. It's not a big job to change. Takes about an hour and the sensor is about £90 I think.


As for the ABS issue. I think that is also probably a sensor. They go on/off before they finally give up. Unless it was just dirty and the dirt has cleared.

As for the "disconnect the battery" advice. I don't think that will work. Fault's are stored in the BMSKP which has it's own battery.

Yeah, I know that, but I was now wondering why the bike suddenly decided to cut out agter being put on teh side stand.

Anyway, it took my ten minutes to find neutral this morning (I seemed to be able to kick through the gears without holding the clutch in, which isn't right) so I'm going to have to get it fixed.

Thanks for all the comments and help. I'll try to remember to post back here when I've got it fixed.

If your gear sensor is faulty, the bike won't run AT ALL if it any time it thinks it is in gear at the same time as the side stand being down.

With the faulty sensor, the bike thinks you're in gear even when you're in neutral.

The ONLY time a BMW will run with the side stand down is if the dash is showing the green 'N' light OR the clutch is pulled in..


It's a safety feature and cuts the ignition circuit.

You still riding your beast on Alaska plates? I've finally got rid of my flashing and steady brake/ABS red lights which I had learnt to live with over the last few years plus assorted other spurious amber warnings. After the moto had 2 years in the Americas under a kick the tyres and change the oil service regime I put the bike into the BMW dealer in Dundee for a good sorting, they ended up changing most of the electrical loom and then showed me the loom, lots of places where the insulation had been rubbed away by chafing and now I can dispose of the pieces of bodge tape that I had been using to obscure the offending lights. Mind you, the moto has now done over 330,000k so yours which is 1yr younger than mine might be suffering also from the same problem. Ride safe.

I had to get UK plates when I imported it back into the UK. Done 90,000 miles so it could be anything really. Better get a professional to look at it.

Cheers

Dom

Problem solved. It was, indeed, a faulty gear potentiometer (£99) and I also needed a new brake micro switch (£18) which is what was causing the brake warning light to come on.

All fixed and back on the road today.

Happy days...

Unbelievable - it's happened again. And this time I'm in France on my way to Romania!

I did 200+ miles today from Dunkirk down to Verdun. 30 miles short of Verdun I took a corner to quickly and slammed the brakes on. The Red warning triangle lit up. Nothing else and not flashing, just the red warning light. The brakes felt fine after that but the light stayed on as I rode in to Verdun.

I'm going to assume that when I ride it tomorrow the light will come on when I use the brake and I'm going to have to find a BMW deal with a computer. What a great start to my holiday.

Having just said that, I just took the bike out for a spin and it was fine. No red triangle, even when I broke hard. Reading the manual it says the red triangle means ' the engine is running in emergency operating mode....the engine electronics control unit has diagnosed a fault. Have the malfunction corrected as soon as possible.'

Of course it doesn't say what the specific fault is but I'm thinking it might just be that a slammed the brakes on too hard and this temporarily affected the ABS???. So the red triangle can on but having turned the engine off an then back on again perhaps it's cleared up???. Just a thought?! I'm open to ideas... But my plan is to research BMW dealers on my route and head off tomorrow as planned trying to avoid using the front break. not idea as I'm heading off on a 4 week trip to Romania and back but not sure what else I can do. if it happens again I'll just have to stop off at one of the BMW shops along the way.

The abs light will stay on if its an abs problem.. Just stamp on the back brake and see if you can slide it. If it skids, your abs is disabled. If its a newer non servo assisted abs type then your brakes will still work fine.

Thanks Ted. The ABS hasn't flashed up at all, I was just speculating. Of course, if it was ABS related then I'd expect the ABS to flash. All I have is a Red triangle. Nothing else.

Does it not bring up any codes on the dash with that red light ??

No, nothing. Just a solid (ie, not flashing) red triangle.

Yeah.. You need a dealer..

Bring
Me
Workshop

:(

Or perhaps not! Looking at my manual I found this on page 30 - 'General warning lamp lights up red = There is a defective brake system. The brake switch is defective, the BMW ABS detects the braking request from the pressure buildup through the brake lever. There may be an unusual response from the brakes. You can continue to ride but the brakes may respond in a Manner to which you are not accustomed.'

of course if the light was still on I'd find a dealer ASAP. But the light has gone out so I assume it came on after I was heavy on the brakes but is now Ok.

I'll continue to monitor it for now it looks like it's alright. thanks for the help, as always.

If you're interested. I'll be putting a trip report on The Dom way round. Soon

cheers. Dom

But the abs goes out ?? Stamp on the pedal and you will know if the abs is working as it judders through the pedal if it is.

I just had a similar case fixed at BWM service. The whole ABS unit was changed - fortunately I didn't have to pay for the unit (1100€) just for the labor. In the beginning the warning light came on occasionally after some riding, then it stayed always on and the ABS did not work. The brakes worked otherwise well. The fault codes indicated an ABS problem which was obvious without reading them. My bike is a non-servo model (2007 GSA). There are instructions how to fix the ABS motor yourself but now I didn't need to do it.

ABS
 

I have a 2007 model and the symptoms are the same as mine. Intermittent or sometimes constant red triangle.
The problem was the ABS unit. It is well known that there is a problem with the ABS up to 2008.
I was lucky as my service agent got BMW to replace the unit and I only had to pay for the labour to fit it.
see: ABS system showing "brake failure" indication