Boxerworks.com

I want to get an idea of the types of electrical problems y'all have experienced when away from home.
It might point to a prioritised list of bits to take away on a long ride.

I've had 2 rotors fail (still managed to get home)

I've had wiring connections fail...or close to.

I've had a regulator play up. (loose earth)

My hall effect sensor left me stranded less than 10 minutes from home once.

I've had a fuse blow, and the low beam fail.

I'm guessing other things like diode boards/batteries/coils may make someones list.

My left coil fell off once.
My starter motor took up smoking, but managed to kick the habit.
My tail light blows.
I've had a good run electrically speaking.
But jeez I've paid for it elsewhere!!
Still only come home in a trailer once though!

One coil with a crack on the G/S : sometimes hard to start
One broken starter noze cone for the 100RS

R100S starter relay went TU for no reason at all.
R100/7 Dyna hall sensor rotor slipped--and I'm blaming Dyna
R100/7 Turn signals quit working on R/H side several times (cold solder joint by P.O.)
R100/7 Lost dash lights and ignition just outside my gate (but I was away from home) 'Twas cruddy connection at stater relay socket.
R100S Headlights quit due to bad headlight relay.
R100/7 One dash light (neutral?) sometimes glows dimly after turning the key off (Still haven't figured that one out)
R75/6 Coil failed intermittently as it heated up (took me forever to wise up about coils)
R100S Key broken off in ignition switch by heavy handed rider (not me)


Ken

Once experienced a short to ground in the + coil wire –
The insulation rubbed on the frame under the gas tank until it was gone.
This shut down ( suddenly ) all the electrics on the bike at 3 AM in the middle of nowhere Florida.

At roadside:
A test light helped to locate the problem.
A jumper wire ( with alligator clips on each end ) verified the problem and a cure.
Electrical tape fixed it.
These items are "regular luggage" and carried in a small Strypeze can that has had it's top removed
( used to hold gas or any fluid, and doubles as a makeshift funnel ).

Other items in the "can":
Syphoning tube / spare fuel line, miscellaneous metric fasteners, two spark plugs, points set & condenser.
The can & it's contents fit snugly next to the tool roll in the tool tray under the seat.

Other emergency items always on the bike:
The ( modified ) BMW tool kit, of course.
Spare headlight bulb, spare tail / brake bulb ( used on the test light ), fuses,
tire plug kit & one of those gizmos to inflate a tire using an engine cylinder as a pump.

+ wire connector melted off the diode board of my /7, about 30 years ago.

I've had a bunch of minor problems at home with my /2 conversion. All could be trace back to the crazy builder (me) .

Yeah, everyone whines out loud about all the stupid things the previous owner did.

We all just grumble quietly about all the stupid things the current owner has done...

1992 R100GS, complete charging system failure twice.

1st failure, Mexico about 100 miles north of Guatemala , bike just died while riding. I was not able to find a problem, rotor OK, diode board OK, battery OK, voltage regulator OK, no loose or corrode electrical conections found. Strapped an auto battery to the luggage rack and rode home recharging the battery each night. The problem corrected itself and the charging system started working again.

2nd failure, one year later, on a dirt road midle of nowhere, pulled up to a T in the road pulled the clutch in and the engine just died, completely dead battery. I ended up walking almost 5 miles before I found a ride back to camp where I could get help. Members of the Minnesota BMW club and I went to retreave the bike. Jump started the bike and it started charging 13.8V at the battery. My wife brought me the battery that I purchased in Mexico. The next day I lead a 100 mile GS ride with a auto battery strapped to the rack, just in case the charging system failed again. Rode the bike home the charging system was working fine again?????????????????

I had no more problems with the charging for the rest of the summer. That winter I was replacing the timing chain. Pulled the front of the engine off long with the wiring harness. I was removing the wire from the B+ terminal on the diode board to the starter stud. Bent the wire and it went snap, WTF, I stripped the heat shrink tubing off the wire and found that the red wire had burnt to a crisp under the heat shrink tubing, both the spade and eye terminal where clean and nice bright, no signs of over heating. Stripping the burnt insulation off the wire I found the wire to be burnt and corroded (green). I wonder what resistance I had through this wire.

I am sorry to say that the contractor that made the harnesses for BMW did a poor job on the crimps. They didn't use NO-OX and some were just plain poor. Keep an eye on the battery connections for a less flexible wire starting at the terminal. If it is more flexible about 1" back, then you have corrosion under the insulation. Fix it or it will eventually bite you in the ass when you least need a problem.

You would be surprised to see just how many of the older bikes suffered from this. We would sometimes find it in the first few years. Imagine how bad it can be these 35 years later.

2 rotor failures seems like a lot. Were the replacements new? General wisdom is to carry a spare when you are touring.
The other stuff is nearly normal for a 30 year old bike. Once you have wiring connection problems, they "usually" get sorted-out when you finally find the bad guy and fix it. (I'm assuming you go through a lot of other connections before finding the REAL culprit!)
Everyone knows the possibility of some sort of failure increases as a direct function of how far you are from help.
BTW, electrical problems never "fix themselves"; they go into hiding until the above rule is in effect.