ABS light stays lit

[majicmaker]

My ABS light comes on at start up and doesn't go out with the rest of the dash lights. Bike is standing still the whole time. At a certain point it'll go out all by itself but, it'll do the same thing at the next start up. I've ridden the bike and I have no issues with the ABS system.

Any thoughts?

 

[Just Krusen]

It's not suppose to go out until you start riding & reach about 6 mph. Check the owners manual.

 

[majicmaker]

What? I didn't know that. I've never noticed that before. Wow, Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better. I'll see how it goes tomorrow.

 

[RadioHowie]

It's not suppose to go out until you start riding & reach about 6 mph. Check the owners manual.

Maybe with one of those hand-holding, don't-run-with-scissors Gen IIIs, but not true with the earlier "certain suicide" models.

 

[majicmaker]

I've put 81K+ miles on this bike and I've never seen the ABS light stay on while idling. It has gone out after a few seconds at the same time with all the other idiot lights. Like I said, no issues with the operation of the ABS. This one has me puzzled.

 

[AlleyCat]

Harley-Davidson motorcycles have the ABS light on until the speed hits somewhere around 20 km/h. My light does not stay on for the FJR at idle.

 

[Wlfman]

Gen 3 the light goes out after traveling at a speed of 6 mph or higher. As stated in the Owners Manual on page 4-3

 

[majicmaker]

Ok so, that's a GenIII thing with it staying on until you reach 6mph. That never happened on my GenII. I'll have to get that looked at. Thanks for all the input. I learn something new every day.

 

[RadioHowie]

The Gen III also wipe your nose when ya get a sniffle???

 

[Wlfman]

No but you can set the cruise control and then both hands a free to wipe your nose.

 

[ionbeam]

My ABS light comes on at start up and doesn't go out with the rest of the dash lights...Any thoughts?

Yes, is your bike on the center stand when you start it? If the rear wheel turns and the front doesn't it can set an error condition.

Pull the two ABS sensors from the wheel housings and inspect for metal flakes or any other abnormal conditions. Unplug the harness from the ABS sensors and look for corrosion.

If it passes these simple inspections you would need to jump two wires in the ABS test harness to view codes and run tests. I believe this now surpasses the time you want to spend troubleshooting so it's off to the shop. If you do want to take on 30 minutes worth work and do the tests LMK, I have a procedure here in the Forum.

 

[majicmaker]

My ABS light comes on at start up and doesn't go out with the rest of the dash lights...Any thoughts?

Yes, is your bike on the center stand when you start it? If the rear wheel turns and the front doesn't it can set an error condition.

Pull the two ABS sensors from the wheel housings and inspect for metal flakes or any other abnormal conditions. Unplug the harness from the ABS sensors and look for corrosion.

If it passes these simple inspections you would need to jump two wires in the ABS test harness to view codes and run tests. I believe this now surpasses the time you want to spend troubleshooting so it's off to the shop. If you do want to take on 30 minutes worth work and do the tests LMK, I have a procedure here in the Forum.

I just spent 4 hours riding it around town. Stopped and got off to do errands about a half dozen times and half the time the light stayed on and the other half it went out as usual with the others as it should. I stopped by the dealer and told the guy who does all the FJR work what was happening. He said don't worry too much about it because I have plans on dropping it off for a week when I head to Alburqurque in a few weeks. He said he thinks it's the sensor. He'll dig into that problem while I'm getting new fork bearings installed. I'm ok with that!

 

[supertankerm60a3]

OK, my question is: How do you know the ABS is working?

The only way to know the antilock parts ARE in fact working is to ride it in such a way that it actually has function to avoid a tire locking up. I assume you do not normally ride in such a way that you are (or would be) locking up a tire often. I would put it to you that if the light is on the system is probably not fuctional, the brakes are working fine, but the antilock function may not be. ABS failsafe is to not function at all leaving the brakes to work old school, the other option is to function too soon, be too sensitive or function too long, all of which actually stop your brakes from working.

ABS works by blocking the pressure, created by your hand from getting to the caliper and pumping some fluid out of the caliper side of said block back to the pressure side of the block, getting the tire to roll then allowing the pressure back through, several times per second, only while it is actively trying to avoid a lockup condition. Mine has no ABS (though I am thinking to try to retrofit it just for the mechanical challenge)and my old 93 K100rs never had the system fuctioning so it is not absolutley neccessary for a ride, but be careful in slippery areas till you know for certain.

 

[majicmaker]

Thanks Tanker. I'm well aware that maybe my ABS might not be working and I've been riding accordingly. It might just be the sensor but, I'm not taking any chances until I have it looked at.