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Bike completely dead, no clue what's wrong

28K views 65 replies 30 participants last post by  Old310er 
#1 ·
Hi,

Two weeks ago, I was going to work and as I was on low fuel (6km left) I stopped at the fuel station. When I arrived my bike stalled (and I got the battery signal on the dash). I thought it was because I had no more fuel left. I fuelled up and when I tried to restart, nothing.
I had nothing at all. The fuel pump didn't worked when turning on the bike. When I pressed the starter, I had no noise of it turning, nor the relay. I decided to start it by pushing it as there is a sligh slope at the fuel station but when it started, it stalled instantly. Of course I check at the kill-switch to see if there were a bad contact but no.
So I got my bike towed to the garage where I bought it.
From what the mechanic said, the battery was completely dead when he got the bike. He changed it, the bike started once but the battery drained and the bike was pumping current. It seems that there is an electrical leak on the bike.
This is the situation from now.

I will let you know what happened to the bike when it will be fully repaired. For now, I got a loan bike : a brand new g310r with 36km on it (so I have to run-in it)
 
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#2 ·
Well that's odd. Only one start from a new battery then it's completely dead?
That's one big draw. Could be so many different things, from TWO crappy batteries, to bad connections, etc.
Upside is, it's under warranty and you got a loaner until the seller figures it out.
 
#3 ·
Quick update,

As the mechanic said, it seems to be the starter's stator which produces an electrical shortcut.
But it seems to be a month and half for a new starter to be delivered (to France).. So I will update later when the bike will be repaired (hope it will).

And the loaner bike I got is already at 1000 km so I should bring it for first check up. By the way, there seems to be changes from the loaner bike which is 2018 and mine which is a 2017 essentially the gearbox and also it's strange but I feel it is more powerful than mine.. maybe I forgot how mine was behaving. I will be fixed when I will get it back.
 
#4 ·
BMW G310GS Bad Alternator/Stator

I had something similar happen to me. My bike has 2560miles on it and on 9/4/18 on my way to work, the bike just died. Thankfully I was close to a gas station and I was able to push it there. BMW had the bike towed to a BMW dealer that was not the one I purchased it from, because it was more than the 50 miles for the road side assistance. After some testing, they found that the Stator was bad. The story gets better, because they tell me that the part will not be available til the end of November. So now my bike will be at the dealer for about 3 months before I will get it back. I called BMW customer service and they say the same thing. They also say that there are no loaner bikes available. They said that they will look into some type of compensation for me, but they make no guarantees. So here I am, with no bike for probably 3 months.
 
#5 ·
Same thing happened to Zente and me on the same day this summer.

Stator bad, battery dead and replaced on warranty.

Insist, call BMW regional or national office. Waiting 3 monts not acceptable.

In both our cases, BMW ordered the dealer to take parts off a unsold bike to put us on the road again.

And that's what we expect from BMW...no less!
 
#7 ·
Time to read the warranty, I'm sure it says something about this type of situation. Plus I am sure that they can Fedex a bunch of new stators from whichever supplier these come if really they wanted to. Has got to be cheaper than providing a loaner for 3 months.
 
#8 ·
Same issue here, Stator. Bike died on me last Monday, pushed it 2.5 hours to a friends place (closest place, no nearby station or anything open at 10pm), not sure how long the bike will take to repair, the place I bought it from has been garbage with communication, even ringing them and sending them emails get's nothing more than a simple reply. No loan bike either or even a mention of anything like that.



I just hope I get a new part for my near new bike as I was told they would "find me a part".
 
#9 ·
Hi Pen,
Sorry to hear about your bike. Having to push your new bike 2.5 hours to a safe place must have been aggravating and a little embarrassing. I'm glad to hear that you are safe. Have you had any update on parts for your bike. I hope they can fix yours faster than what they are saying for mine. If they can't, I would start to wonder if something is going on. Please let us know what happens. I will keep the site updated as things progress with my bike.


Best regards
 
#10 ·
Hi Timekeeper,


No I haven't heard anything yet, they never gave me a time period either, I couldn't get a word in over the phone before they hang up on me. Sent them emails as well and nothing, when ever I ring I either get put on infinite hold or get told they will ring back, they don't ring back. I've taken the hint and will just leave it in their hands.


Bike broke down out West Auckland, hills, busy back-roads, lucky my friend was there to go get his car so we had some hazard lights to help with safety, after an hour of pushing we both saw the funny side of it and started having a good time, definitely a crazy story to tell in the future.


If you don't mind how long did they (I'm assuming your from NZ and sent yours to Cyclespot?) give for your bike repair/service?



I'll update this when/if I ever hear back, at this moment I fear my bike has been forgotten in a corner of a workshop forever.
 
#14 ·
Pen
Glad to hear your back in business. The last communication I received said that the part will not be available until "Maybe" the end of November. I live in the US so it seems it is even harder to get parts over here. I'm going to have a serious talk with my BMW rep next week. I'm at the point where I want them to just buy back the bike for what I paid for it. The 750GS are starting to hit the market over here in the US and I think it's time to move on to a BMW that is actually made in Germany. And maybe, just maybe if something happens to that one, they will be able to get parts for it. There seems to be some kind of disconnect between India and Germany. BMW says that Germany does not have the part for my bike and they are waiting to receive it. I know Fed-ex can move parts around the world in a couple of days, so I really don't get whats going on. I hope everything works out for you! Maybe I will get my bike back, I guess I will have to wait and see what happens.
 
#15 ·
I just got my bike back from our local dealer as I had a strange problem where the battery was flat (looks like the lights were left on) and after jump starting it and riding it 20 - 25min into town. The bike wouldn't start again, you could hear the fuel pump but nothing else ticking over. After a few tries, the engine light and teh battery light came on.

They picked the bike up, found the battery was dead flat again and after 2 days investigating they couldn't find anything wrong and the bike was starting up as normal.

I've had it for 2 days now and now no problems yet....

They did mention that they had another g310 in with a dead stator and it's a very odd part to die, so they wanted to run extra tests on it, but found nothing - no faults, logs, nothing.
 
#16 ·
Hi Timekeeper, I know it is extremely frustrating, I myself got to the stage where I felt like saying "stuff it, I'll order the part myself and do the repair" even though I wouldn't have a clue how, I felt it would be done in a few days tops, part ordered and received straight to me within days. Screw the warranty right, whats the point of having a bike you paid for (paying for) that can't be used. Also hard when you have no other bike to ride. Thought I was just share some of my frustrations so you know you are not alone. I'd do what you suggested, get in touch with a BMW rep and see what they can do, this customer service is very very bad (the repair shop in the end represents BMW) and will push people to other brands.


DRTDVL,


My bike's rear light (G310R) went out entirely months before my Stator died, I pulled over at that time, re-seated the connections under the seat and that fixed it, or so I thought until the Stator died, which happened exactly how you described it, flat battery while riding, just after riding, lights still on but very dim, electricity sound going through the bike when ignition pushed but bike stays dead. I wouldn't ride your bike at all, too dangerous, until the shop you take it to repairs it.
 
#17 ·
Timekeeper, i would be requesting a loan bike at that stage. It's my only practical form of transport to work, so unless I wanted to drive my car in, pay for parking and spend $120+ per week over the $18 per week I currently pay (free bike parking at work)...

Pen - I had a flat battery because the key was left on, I suspect - I can't remember turning on, but I was tired and sleepy when I did try and start the bike. they did say it sounded like what you have said but they can't fault it again. I've had it for 2 days now and nothing has gone wrong so far, as they can't fault it there is nothing more they can do.
 
#18 ·
Hi DRTDVL,


Sorry to say, but the US market will not give you a loaner bike. I am at a disadvantage being that my bike was not brought to the dealer where a bought it, so sad to say I do not have any leverage and they feel no obligation to me. I asked BMW customer service for a loaner bike and they said no. I will be calling them next week to see what is going on. That will mark 3 weeks since a received any update from them and mark 6 weeks without my bike. :-(
 
#19 ·
Looks like I have a similar problem. 2018 G310GS with just over 500 miles in the US. Starter making a whirring noise that it never had previously but would start the bike. Stalled later after a short ride and would not start again, starter would not crank, battery light lit on dash.

Dealer told me to expect a prolonged repair time period since no spare parts are on hand. Brand new bike, perfect riding weather... very disappointed.
 
#20 ·
Boy to think I bought my R as a backup when my BMW C650 GT with under 2,000 miles started acting up (dealer did not tighten battery connection, defective cam chain tensioner). Seems like I should now be worried about both! Luckily I just picked up my third and final bike, a 1976 (!) Yamaha XS650. That just might turn out to be the most reliable of the trio ...
 
#21 ·
UPDATE:


Still no bike.:frown2: The dealer who has my bike sent me an email and said that the part is due for release today 10/24. So I don't know how long it will be for the part to come in. BMW had said that the parts were not due until November so I guess I will see who is right. The sad part is, I decided to go down to the dealer to see my bike and what a mistake that was. The dealer is not the one I bought the bike from or where I get service. This place has a 2 1/2 star rating review and the place was a Joke. I was there for 20min and nobody came up to us to help us out. I found where my bike was and it was 4 feet from the open garage door. The bike was covered in dust and dirt and the tank cover was off sitting on the floor on a 2nd floor wooden platform. Needless to say, it was a little disappointing. At this point I am at a loss for words with this whole experience. I am curious to see what type of compensation BMW will offer if anything after this is all over.
 
#22 ·
Attempted to start 2018 310GS this morning. Has 155 miles on it. It cranked and just kept cranking I attempted to shut it down with the kill switch (no dice) tried shutting down by turning key off (no dice). It essentially kept cranking until the battery died. Now the battery is roached. Has anyone else experienced this? I've had plenty of bikes and this is a first.
 
#23 ·
Wondering if anybody has the part # for that Stator for a 2018 G310 GS?
I was thinking it might be a good idea to just carry one around in case
my decides to puke out & then hopefully I don't have to wait for weeks to

get it fixed.
I tried looking online at a parts fiche/diagram & I don't see the stator listed --
though could be looking in the wrong area (was looking in the electrical/alternator
section).
Thanks very much!
 
#26 ·
Both listings have the same part number on the links above. The P/N supersedes the previous one. While the VR could cause no charging, the information on this site and my own experience indicate the stator is the culprit. Hopefully the new one solved the problem. VR is around $150.00 US while I didn't find a price on stator, but would expect it to be a lot more.



JRG it sounds like a relay is stuck, but an '18 should still be under warranty. Call roadside assistance or carry it on you own to your dealer and let them sort it out and give you a new battery while at it. This is not a commonly reported problem on this bike.
 
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