Screen and dials not lighting up until handlebars straight?

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tengu122

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Hey everyone,

Got a really weird issue with my R18 Bagger (3000ish miles) that seems to have started suddenly - for some reason after being parked and off, if the handlebars are not straight, when I turn the bike on the gauges and screen will not turn on. The headlight and taillights turn on, but it's like the whole gauge cluster area doesn't turn on. I can start the bike and the screens/gauges will still stay off indefinitely.

Now when I grab the handlebars and turn them straight, they will boot up. It's only when they're turned completely straight that they will turn on. This is more of an annoyance issue but would be rather interested to see if anyone knows what the issue might be.
 
To be honest this is the first time I hear about this although I don’t believe there is much slack on the wires running at the front of the bike, at least not on my B.
I am assuming that you are parking it and by default the handlebars are leaning towards the left hand side. Try moving the handlebars to the right and then switch the ignition on to see if you have the same results. My first thoughts here are a false contact/connection. Maybe there is a wire or loom that is stretched a bit when the bars are in the left position, hence I mentioned moving them to right to see what happens.
Regardless this is not normal and you should have it checked out by the dealership.
 
Sorry for late follow up on the issue - dropped it off at my local dealership and they found a couple issues. Two wires that seem to have been plucked apart right by the handlebar, and a connection/wire plugged directly into the brain of the bike. They sent a message out to BMW to see how to proceed, whether to replace the sub harness. Sorry for the high-level overview, this was all over a quick phone call and I'm sure I'll have more details later on when I get a chance to review with them in person.
 
Thank you for the update. Do keep us on the loop when you get more news. Every little detail that is shared will help other owners to identify potential issues. I hope you get the problem sorted with little to no troubles.
 
Quick update - the bike had multiple breaks in the wiring harness and needed a completely new replacement. Unfortunately the dealership said BMW didn’t have any in stock last week so they were having a little bit of back and forth to get one manufactured and sent over. I just got word that they’re shipping that now, which should arrive after a week or two.

All and all I’m looking at about 2 months of the bike being out of commission since I brought it in. Missing the last chunk of the riding season around here is pretty rough, but what can you do. Hopefully this is an isolated incident.
 
Was the wire harness damaged by rodents?

My buddy's RT1200 wiring harness had to be replaced, due to rodents chewing it to pieces..

Did you purchase it new or used?
 
Hey Scott,

Purchased new, no mention of animal damage from the folks at the dealership. I keep the garage pretty tightly sealed and maintained so I don’t think they would’ve gotten in - I’ve got a good bit of computer hardware and such in there too and didn’t notice any nibbling on those wires.
 
Rodent tip:

Place a roll of toilet paper around your bike. After a while, do you notice any nibbles? If so, you have a rodent problem.

🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

Seriously though, never hurts to place a few traps around just in case ;).

Mike
 
Just updating again for those interested - bikes been in for 52+ days and still not done being repaired. Wiring harness replacement they're saying is very complex on the bike. Anyone else have anything like this performed in the past and have a time frame?

Not so sure I'm feeling too good about this. It's a shame since I love the bike, but it's been sitting in there for quite some time. Some have been recommending I take some more serious options to handle this but I'll have to think it through. Love the dealership it's at so I don't doubt they're trying their best.
 
Check your state's lemon law; perhaps, reach out to BMW North America and see about having the bike replaced.

Your situation seems very one-off (fingers crossed); in my opinion, it's unacceptable at 52+ days.
 
I am having a similar issue. When I’m using the heated seat on my TC the icon at the bottom of the screen goes on and off depending on the position of the handlebars. I can grab the big harness on the right hand side by the steering head and make the icon go on and off by manipulating the harness. I suspect a broken wire in the harness. Also today I got the Adaptive Headlamp failure warning with random blinking of the dash lights. Luckily it’s not my only bike since I expect it to be in the shop for months.
 
tengu122 said:
Just updating again for those interested - bikes been in for 52+ days and still not done being repaired. Wiring harness replacement they're saying is very complex on the bike. Anyone else have anything like this performed in the past and have a time frame?

Not so sure I'm feeling too good about this. It's a shame since I love the bike, but it's been sitting in there for quite some time. Some have been recommending I take some more serious options to handle this but I'll have to think it through. Love the dealership it's at so I don't doubt they're trying their best.
Click to expand...
I would not want a new bike that has to have a new wiring harness installed, and it's not done correctly at the factory. If your state allows it, I would lemon law the bike. It's completely unacceptable that they can screw up a brand new electrical harness on a brand new bike on the assembly line.... that's a serious quality control issue.
 
Hey everyone, just got the bike back yesterday. I explored the lemon law for my state and would have worked if I submitted earlier, but now that it’s back in my hands I figured I might as well see if it’s all good now.

Rode back and the bike worked just fine, but then a little later in the evening I can’t get it to start. Attached a video here. Fuel pump sounds really weird. Not sure if it’s relevant to the wiring issue or if maybe something wasn’t plugged up right, but I’m definitely considering lemon law at this point if this problem spirals into something insane again.
View attachment 929ef059-d8e2-4bee-8bd3-666427606950.mp4
 
Apologies @Scott Semone I completely forgot to ask them! I’ll try to get a specific answer as to what the breakage points were, but from what I’ve been told initially there were multiple throughout the bike. I’m very curious now that you mention it as well so when I bring the bike to the dealership tomorrow I’ll make sure to ask
 
tengu122 said:
Hey everyone, just got the bike back yesterday. I explored the lemon law for my state and would have worked if I submitted earlier, but now that it’s back in my hands I figured I might as well see if it’s all good now.

Rode back and the bike worked just fine, but then a little later in the evening I can’t get it to start. Attached a video here. Fuel pump sounds really weird. Not sure if it’s relevant to the wiring issue or if maybe something wasn’t plugged up right, but I’m definitely considering lemon law at this point if this problem spirals into something insane again.
Click to expand...
That does not sound right at all. In fact, I have never heard that noise before. Is like a combination of the pump and the cooling fan in the tank compartment. Did it make that noise when you gout back or has it just started? You have fuel according to your gauges so I can only assume the fuel pump, although appears to make a weird noise, it is not pumping the fuel?
Take it back, is not right.
 
The first whirling sound in the video is something I've never heard before on my R18 B; however, the 2nd sound is the cell phone cradle within the tank compartment.

The cell phone cradle has a fan that runs based on a thermostat within the compartment in order to move air around to keep your phone somewhat cool.

You can easily test this by removing the cradle from the compartment and unplugging the 12V connector; the cradle pops up & out by pulling up on the upper flip down securing latch and see if the 2nd sound is eliminated.

Wiring issue: again, I find this extremely hard to believe (multiple locations); try and get the specifics, perhaps pictures of the damaged wiring harness.
 
Sorry about that second sound y'all heard, was the leaf blower from a neighbor - @Scott Semone am meeting with the dealership today to discuss some of the deeper details as to the warranty work in a bit. But yes, that first sound just started yesterday and was extremely unusual. And thanks for the info on removing the cradle, I actually never use it since my iPhone camera is pretty susceptible to the vibrations down there so I was looking for a way to disable it! @Anibal I too think something may be up with the fuel pump.
 
I'd be interested in purchasing the phone cradle if you decide to remove it and repurpose that space; I've been working on a project of converting the existing OEM cradle to a wireless charger.

I've converted my cradle for wireless charging of an iPhone; however, I use a Google Pixel 7 and it doesn't charge the Pixel as efficiently as the iPhone.
 
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