In the dark!

[kitkat]

Help (only two days to Wales trip )

Had dipped beam bulb fail (Lampf! message) on my 1200S. Replaced bulb but it just flashes when ignition turned on and then goes out. Have swapped full beam bulb and does the same thing. Full beam all ok.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Also my backup plan is to jury rig the full beam and extend the connector to reach over to the dipped beam - any reason why that won't work (obviously no full beam but lesser evil etc)

Thanks

Dave

[stoney]

BMW Assist might be able to fix it. Is it worth a call?

[Boxadog 2000]

Disconnect battery for 10 mins and try again

[Stevie]

I might be being daft here, but did you just turn the ignition on, or did you start the engine? On my R12S, when I turn the ignition on the light does what you describe and doesn't come back on until the engine is running.

[kitkat]

Thanks for the replies guys. Will try them all in the morning!

Dave

[kitkat]

Thanks Boxerdog!

Did the battery thing and it worked but still got Lampf message let alarm reset and then unset a couple of times and turned ignition on/off a couple of times and then message went away and works ok now.

Confused but visable!

Dave

(but have made up jury rig cable just in case......)

[Boxadog 2000]

From my understanding of this wonderful new technology of Can bus if you disconnect the battery for long enough all but critical error codes will disappear.

Of course I could be talking bawlocks as usual.

Bob

[RoLoo]

...I also replaced a bulb...




…I thought ; let us change a light bulb for something somewhat brighter than stock…
…a five minutes job maybe…

…well ; not on a R1200S…

…according to the manual, changing a bulb is a ‘pull it out ; shove it in’ job…
…and I tried…
…for some 10 minutes I pulled the OEM bulb ; and nothing happened…
…the bulb was soooooo very tight in its housing ; my finger and thumb still hurts from pulling…

…and I don’t know how I managed it, but the bulb finally snapped out…

…time to put the new one in…
…I thought…

…but the new one wouldn’t fit…
…same hassle as when I pulled the old one out…

…I thought, let us use a bit more pressure…
…and I wish I hadn’t done that, cause the complete headlamp mirror snapped loose when I tried that…

…two problems now ; a loose mirror, and a non fitting bulb…

…getting the mirror back in its place shouldn’t be that hard…
…I thought…

…just pull the black cover from the headlamp, and secure the mirror again…
…I thought…

…the black cover didn’t came off, though…
…somehow it looked as if it was stuck somewhere…

…well, just pull the dash off…
…I thought…

…and yes, you guessed it right, pulling the dash off wasn’t that simple…
…so ; time for some ‘serious’ wrenching…

…I took the whole front fairing off…




…took the headlamp frame off, and found me a nice place under the sun…

…the black headlamp cover turned out to be glued on to the headlamp…
…so taking the cover off, wasn’t an option…

…and I could see how the mirror once was fitted over the adjustment screws …
…getting the left-right adjustment screw back in its place, wasn’t the problem…
…the up-down one was…

…finally I drilled two holes in the black plastic cover, and with fiddling around with a screwdriver and bend long nose pliers, I managed to get the tiny bracket, which is attached to the back of the headlamp's mirror, back over the up-down adjustment screw…

…but, all this work, and still without having that new bulb in…

…very carefully I managed to get bulb in its place without causing the same problem again…






…after another hour or so, everything was back in its place…
…what should have taken me some 5 minutes, took me some 3-and-a-half hours…



…hope this new bright-white bulb will last very, very long…

[Stevie]

The black cover was glued on? WTF??? When I got my R1200S the first thing I did was change the bulbs for extra bright ones (it was winter), and it really did only take me 5 minutes, to do both bulbs. Since then, one blew (Lampf! message), which I changed - 5 minute job, though like Kitkat, I was initially confused by the bulb coming on momentarily when you turn the ignition on, I thought I had blown it again. Took me a while to realise that the light doesn't come on properly until the engine is started .

[kitkat]

Sorry Roloo but you don't fool us! I think you found a dusty corner on the bike you couldn't get to and couldn't resist taking the bike apart ! Like Stevie the bulb swap was a bit fiddly but not a problem.

Dave

PS just how DO you keep your bike so clean? - genuine question!

[RoLoo]

1) Sorry Roloo but you don't fool us! I think you found a dusty corner on the bike you couldn't get to and couldn't resist taking the bike apart !

2) PS just how DO you keep your bike so clean? - genuine question!

1) ... ...
2) ...very simple ; don't ride in the rain, keep it is much as you can in the garage, and clean it after every ride... (genuine answer )

[kitkat]

1) ... ...
2) ...very simple ; don't ride in the rain, keep it is much as you can in the garage, and clean it after every ride... (genuine answer )

1)......
2.1) ok
2.2) yup
2.3) you must clean it with majic cleaning products then.......or be a wizz at Photoshop

Dave

[RoLoo]

1) ... ...
2) ...very simple ; don't ride in the rain, keep it is much as you can in the garage, and clean it after every ride... (genuine answer )

1)......
2.1) ok
2.2) yup
2.3) you must clean it with majic cleaning products then.......or be a wizz at Photoshop

Dave

...had this same kind of question a while ago from Pelican member Mike...
...an 'no' ; I'm not a Photoshopguru...

____________________________________________________________
Mike wrote :
In all seriousness I want to know how & what you use to clean your bike?
____________________________________________________________
...I replied :


…Mike ; take a seat, and give me 2 minutes…

…cleaning a bike isn’t that hard Mike…
…first of all, I try to avoid rain…
…if it even looks like we will have rain coming down ; the bike stays in…
…very simple, I ‘use’ this bike for my pleasure, and riding around in the rain doesn’t give me fun at all…


…so…
…after each ride, I wipe the complete bodywork and wheels off with a (clean) kitchen cloth, and some warm water…
…nothing more…
…maybe a 15 minutes job…
…I don’t use any kind of soap, or aggressive stuff, and I don’t rinse the bike off…


…for the dash and the throttle bodies, I use a (clean and dry) paintbrush with (soft) bristles made out of pig hair (nope ; not a joke !)…
…and to get rid of the dead flies on the cylinder heads, I use a (slightly soaked) brush…


…the exhaust…
…OK ; I’ve got a hugger, and this dry weather thing, remember…
…so, I’m not familiar with a stained exhaust…


…and once in a while I wax the bodywork and wheels, using Meguiar’s wax (this stuff)


…keeping the engine parts look like new, I use a cloth and a bit of silicone spray…


…oops ; I almost forgot…
…I always use a flannel cloth when I wax the bike…
…and after I've used it, I put them in the washing-machine…
...every time a fresh, clean, cloth...



…good luck !...
...when using these methods from day one ; your bike(s) will keep on looking like new...

[Parky]

My R1100s went for it's Mot the other day and the dip beam was o.k. when I set off but had blown at the test centre,Failure.Not a problem I had a spare one under the seat as it seems to eat them so last time I bought two.I'll swap it now,easy job,I thought but would it hellers like go in the hole when I compared the bulbs (same make,bought at the same shop at the same time)one was slightly wider in the glass bit and was just too big.
Parky.

[Gromit]

Parky - if the bulb's too big it sounds like it's an H4. Can't remember off the top of my head but on the S one bulb is an H1, the other an H7 (it's been a while!). Someone will no doubt correct me/verify this.