Fire Hazard !!???

[jrd]

While changing the air filter unit I discovered this (after only 3300 miles).
This bunch of wires contains a big red one from the battery.
Luckily, no wire insulation was cut.

[Kempy]

thanks for the heads up - I'll be doing some work in this region on Tuesday (if I can get away from the wife and work).

[MarkC]

Just checked mine yesterday while examining the battery’s water level. My bike's wire cover looked just like yours after I removed the plastic electrical wire tape that the dealer had installed prior to my purchase (bought mine as a dealer demo with 2,300kms...So the damage occurred within that short period of kilometer travel). It appears that the 'turned-down-lip' on the battery tray, where the rubber strap attaches, is the cause.

MarkC

[jrd]

IS this not an important issue with the r1100s ?

There seems to be an endless amount of debate on "wheel center cap covers" but almost no comment on what I think is a big problem.

What would have happened if I never looked in there? It seems to me that the wires would eventually rub and lose their insulation- that would not be a good thing.

IS this a recall issue?

[Joe]

I just had my battery out for a chip change over, 20k mi. I didn.t see this problem.

Was the wire pinched or just rubbing?

Was the wire in the frame plastic clamp?

[jrd]

I've never removed or reconfigured that wire bundle. I wouldn't have brought it up if I knew it was my doing.


Looking close. there is no plastic clamp in that area. Just a black nylon wire tie installed ahead of this wire bundle.
This wire bundle just sits in the space between the battery tray and the frame side rail.

I just worrry about what might have happened.

[Raven]

Interesting! Looking at the picture it looks more like battery acid has eatten the cover up.

Two reasons I say that;

1. That much movement to cause the cover to chaff thru would
be of major concern.

2. Why isn't the tube that it rubbed against damaged?

Just a couple of thoughts.

I will be checking mine out the first chance I get!

[jrd]

The battery was replaced last fall, but no evidence of battery acid anywhere....

This wire is up against the battery tray and the frame rail. No other wire or tube around the area had any sort of decay...

Maybe a mouse had a nibble at the wire....

[Derry Walsh]

Hey Raven,
You are indeed right and I say this because right before my trip to Daytona this year I discovered that I had substantial damage to the same portion of the wire harness that JRD shows in his pictures and MORE!. What you see in JRD's photo close up is damage caused by battery acid and NOT abrasion. This is evidinced by the "nawed" effect around the edge ot the damage. The damage to my bike is much more significant and precipitated a new battery under warranty courtesy of the new dealer in town "Miller's BMW Tallahassee Florida" the Service Manager there, Paul Shillito, suggested that battery acid damage was present after I pointed out to him damage to the wire sheath that covers the wires to the TPS on the left side of the bike. After removing the body work I observed that the battery vent/drain tube was in place and not obstructed, Paul suggested that I bring in the battery for inspection. His diagnosis was a cell plug that did not seal corrctly. All damage incurred from this leak will be covered under warranty.

[MarkC]

Well, the wire harness on my S looked just like the wire harness on jrd's bike and looked like abrasive wear to me. Like I wrote in a post above, the wire harness damage was located right where the small lip on the bottom of the battery tray is located---The battery tray lip I write of, is where the rubber battery strap's metal clip attaches to the tray.

However, after looking at jrd's pics more closely, it appears that the damage to the wire harness cover is in the same location where it touches the battery-overflow-tube. The damage to mine was closer to the front of the bike, and matches perfectly to the battery tray clip...Perhaps battery acid had accumulated there and eat through mine? Regardless the cause, I owe jrd a big thanks for pointing this out.

Thanks jrd!

MarkC

[graham_cj]

The wiring loom cover on my bike was also damaged by acid,the same as in the pictures,the battery died after 6 weeks from new,this was replaced by the dealer,who forgot to plug in the vent plug.The acid also splashed on the frame but this is covered by the induct
The good news, the small amount of acid which leaks does not damage the PVC insulation of the cables

Colin

[jrd]

While I have not seen white battery acid stains, consider this:

The vibration of the wire covering against the battery vent tube - thats what it looks like to me, now that I've looked closer at the picture - AND some vented gas from the battery. That's probably the cause.

I'd like to know if anyone else found this problem.....

[tvrla]

One of mine has the sheath eaten away just like the picture. I was wondering how battery acid got to it there. I also thought it kind of odd that battery acid would be able to attack it like that. But it doesn't really look like it was done by abrasion. I don't know how it would have happened - it's a 99 and I got it a few months ago. It had been wrecked, but the battery is still good and not leaking acid. It must have happened earlier in it's history. My other ones are fine, so I don't know. I'll probably put some shrink wrap over it and call it good.

[CarlosT]

Hey Joe is that the Motronic...where the new chip goes?

[Joe]

Carlos

That's it and 4 anti tamper screws later to wheelieville