ABS indicator light, burnt? + Brake drag?

[D.Wolf]

New to this forum,

Just got a new to me 2005 FJR1300a (ABS) model. I sold my 1985 Yamaha Maxim x 750 and got the FJR, big difference!

2 questions.

1.In the owners manual it says that the abs light is supposed to light up when you first turn the key on. I never see this light come on, is that the way it's supposed to be?

If the bulb is burnt out ( hopefully that's all there is wrong, the previous owner a friend of a friend swears that the abs works and the bulb probably is burnt) I haven't been able to find the right thread to do the easy method to remove the front cowling to access the bulbs on the instrument panel (apparently there is a hard method and an easier one where the whole front end comes off by removing r screws or something like that). The thread that I did find brings me to a broken link on this site and cannot access the information.

2. I seem to get some brake drag in the front and back when I spin the wheel. even when riding you can hear a bit of noise coming from the bralkes at low speed. If I take my calipers off the tire spins freely, no noise. When I put the calipers back on, pump the brakes then turn the wheel the tire spins about a half to one turn before stopping. When I took the calipers off I tested the piston and they retracted with little effort which tells me that they seem to work and don't stick.

How much brake drag is normal?

Any help on this would be appreciated 

 

[Canadian FJR]

Welcome to the Forum.

Easy to test the ABS - find a safe parking lot and test those bad boys out.  Just be d sad mart about it and be ready to release just in case they do lock up.

I would also pull the calibers and give the pistons a good cleaning to ensure they are retracting properly.



I do this every winter.

Canadian FJR

 

[D.Wolf]

Thanks I will clean my calipers today! 

So if my brakes lock up when testing my abs then I have bigger issues.

Is the light supposed to light up when you start the bike however or only if the system detects a problem?

 

[Canadian FJR]

 I can only speak on the’18 since my first FJR had no ABS.

My abs light stays until I reach 5 mph and then goes out.  Never noticed it coming on when abs is in use but I typically have other things in my mind if I need the abs

Canadian FJR

 

[infrared]

New to this forum,  Just got a new to me 2005 FJR1300a (ABS) model. I sold my 1985 Yamaha Maxim x 750 and got the FJR, big difference!  2 questions.

1.In the owners manual it says that the abs light is supposed to light up when you first turn the key on. I never see this light come on, is that the way it's supposed to be?

2. I seem to get some brake drag in the front and back when I spin the wheel. even when riding you can hear a bit of noise coming from the bralkes at low speed. If I take my calipers off the tire spins freely, no noise. When I put the calipers back on, pump the brakes then turn the wheel the tire spins about a half to one turn before stopping. When I took the calipers off I tested the piston and they retracted with little effort which tells me that they seem to work and don't stick.

How much brake drag is normal?  Any help on this would be appreciated 

 D.Wolf,

1. Not sure about 2005 ABS lights, but I would assume the manual is correct about when it should come on or not.  There is a cheap jumper wire that you can plug in, to test the ABS system, in the shop.  You can make the jumper yourself; it is just one wire in a connector; some people simply use a wire with electrical clips to make the jumper connection in the bike ABS test connector.  I do not recommend trying to do a road test for operation of the ABS, until it passes the in-shop ABS test.  Yamaha and some FJR riders make and sell the dedicated ABS jumper/test gadget.  The in-shop testing will have the ABS running long enough to pump clean brake fluid though it, which is a GOOD thing to do, on occasion.

2. The wheel should not turn freely for half a turn, then drag to a stop  at the other half.  If that is what it does, you (very likely) have a warped rotor.  Since one side of the rotor will get too hot at every ride, the warping will only get worse, to the point of being unsafe.  Don't tempt fate, there.  It's a straightforward fix, to replace the rotor.  The brake pads may touch the rotor very slightly, all the way around, with no brakes applied.  If the rotors do not get hot when you ride (not using that brake at all), that is normal.  When you re-install the caliper, install all of the bolts, but do not tighten them yet.  Have an assistant (or a bungee cord) hold the brake lever, so the brakes are firmly applied, then tighten all of the caliper bolts to final torque values.  This trick prevents the caliper from being "bolted" into the wrong position (which would make the brake pads drag at all times, and that's BAD).  When the brake is released, the wheel should turn freely then.

If the pads drag enough to make the rotor very hot when riding and you do not use that brake at all, that would mean your calipers need rebuilding, with new seals and pistons.  That is not a job difficult either, but feel free to have an expert do that work, if you wish.

.

 

[FJR Flyer]

A female connector spade fits perfectly as a jumper.

 

[D.Wolf]

Based on your comments, It would seem then that the ABS indicator light is burnt or the previous owner may have pulled it if the light was on rather than deal with any ABS issue.

I guess it doesn't matter right now since I never had abs on my previous bikes, and they behave like normal brakes when the ABS doesn't work and can deal with this over the winter months.

What is the easiest way to change this bulb?

As indicated earlier the link to the instructions on how to remove the front cowling doesn't work!

 

[BigOgre]

Just to put more on your list, which ever way you go when servicing the calipers et al add servicing the front lever and the rear pedal.  Maybe the previous owner was on top of everything but for a bike of that age the rear pedal especially is known to get gummed up and drag the brakes by not returning to the full release position.  This would screw up the ABS and also annoy the rider behind you if they see your brake light on all the time.  Of course if kept like that for awhile it could also warp those rotors.  Easy enough to squirt a little lube around the pedal but do it the right way and pull the three (?) bolts, move the bracket and take the pedal completely off.  Threads here showing how but fairly easy enough by just eye-balling it.  Oh, and if you'll be keeping the bike long enough you might be interested in doing the below mod.





You might already be aware but Gen Is were/are notorious for frozen ABS blocks.  General consensus is that unless one regularly moved the fluid in them, either by locking the wheels up or test jumping in your garage, most were going to fail.  By the time that consensus was reached however it was too late for most and there's no repair of those blocks that I know of.  As you stated if that is the case here the only difference is you now have a non-ABS bike.

As far as the light goes, I'd doubt someone would go through the trouble of pulling that bulb.  A piece of electrical tape on the gauge yes but not by pulling it.  Too much work.  Are any of the other bulbs out that stay on full-time around the gauges?  Doesn't help with the disassembly but if you are going to get to that cluster though here's something you may be interested in.

 

[D.Wolf]

Thanks everyone, much appreciated, a lot to learn regarding this bike compared to my old Yamaha.

I did the brake maintenance as described by Canadian FJR (I'm near Ottawa by the way)

I was just about done doing the second side when one of the pistons came out/ came off completely and spilled some brake fluid on the rag on the floor. I didn't notice that the piece of wood I was using to put in between the pistons to prevent the pistons from coming out moved while squeezing the lever! Pop goes a piston! Boy that got me upset! I have no DOT 4 fluid with me and everything is closed today. No ride for me today.

BTW my reservoir basically emptied and will probably have to bleed the whole front brake system for both sides! Unless I don't have to worry about the other side.

I assume based on another post that all you do is put the piston back into place and bleed the brakes following the brake bleed procedure to get the air out of the system? I don't think I have to worry about the seals since it seemed to go back in fairly easy. Is there anything else I need to worry about? 

 

[RossKean]

Is there anything else I need to worry about? 

Not really.  Hopefully you didn't get air into the ABS block.  It can be a pain to get them all out!  There are a few tricks that may help if you run into trouble getting a firm front brake.

 

[D.Wolf]

Thanks everyone

Man do i feel stupid for not paying more attention to the pistons!

ABS block? What is that?

When I started bleeding the brake line I pumped then held the lever in, opened the bleeder valve and the lever went flat against the throttle, as per instructions this allowed air to escape. I was keeping an eye on the reservoir window but it emptied faster than the see through window  of the reservoir and emptied the reservoir. My son pumped it a bunch of times after with the bleeder closed, not happy about that! It was just empty, no pressure. Would this cause the ABS block to have an issue. The service manual for my 2005, which the guy I bought it from gave it with the bike, does not have any ABS info in it because it was an option back then. I do have the ABS model. 

I feel this easy maintenance of cleaning my calipers just became more of a headache than it should have been. Will remember that next time for sure.

I would appreciate it if someone could provide the steps that I need to take to rectify this situation. Here is what I know so far, don't get me wrong I'm pretty handy but I'm getting bits and pieces here and there. Just want to make sure I follow the proper process 

1. push piston back where it fell out. I believe the seals are ok

2. Put pads back in, pin, clips and so on.

3. Put clear tube over bleeder valve, other end in container to catch the fluid.

4. Open the reservoir, fill with dot 4 fluid, don't know if I keep it open to bleed the system while filling it or close it every time I fill it to keep bleeding till I don't  see bubbles.

The instructions say to keep pressure on the lever when opening the bleeder valve and it will move against the throttle when the fluid comes out the bleeder valve. Close the valve release the brake,  repeat this process until no more bubbles.

5. Do I repeat the same on the other side?

6. ABS block never heard of this one not sure what's involved.

 

[Intech]

Speed bleeders make the job really easy as you don't have to open and close the bleeder. However, if you introduced air into the ABS block, you will not be able to bleed the air out of it with speed bleeders. Found this out after replacing an ABS block on someone's bike. Fortunately, I still had my stock bleeders. Put them on and was able to do a proper flush and bleed of the hole system. The ABS block resides by the reservoir for the rear brake.

 

[Canadian FJR]

- The reservoir cap does not need to be on while bleeding but be cautious that fluid does not blurp out, it's hard on painted surfaces.  You can lay a clean blue shop towel over it or drop a coin in there.

- Do not release the brake lever until you snug up the bleeder screw.

- It may take a long time and more that one container of brake fluid so don't get discouraged, it will come around.

- Both calipers need to be done.

Good luck, keep us updated.  

Canadian FJR

 

[D.Wolf]

Good news for me,

I put the piston back in,  put every thing back together and bled the brakes on both sides. There was a lot of bubbles and went through about 600ml of new fluid.

I also did the abs diagnostic by doing the jumper trick,. The front brakes, then the rear , then the front pulsated, according to the you tube video by two wheel obsession, my abs works and has cycled through some fluid. I then bled more fluid and that came out clear.

I just don't know how to know if there would be air that got in the abs system? If I understand a bit more how it works, the abs is a closed system until something requires it to get actuated such as braking hard. So if I had air in the brake system and took all the air out there would be no issue with air in the abs block.

Am I correct in my understanding?

Also, since my abs seems to work, I guess I answered my other question about a burnt abs indicator bulb!!!

I just don't know if I want to go through the trouble of pulling everything off to change a light bulb!

Thanks again everyone.