The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: suecanada on September 12, 2013, 11:35:25 AM
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After letting my bike fall over >:(and the headlight fell out and the bulb broke, I had a failure of the top ceramic fuse. Turn signals not working was the first clue and the VOM showing no reading was the second clue. So not the flasher unit. Also no horn, nor taillight or brake lights. Sure enough top fuse blown.
Attempted to replace without removing gas tank at hamburger joint along road on way home from Finger Lakes rally. My fingers just small enough to fiddle under the tank, remove the fuse cover and remove busted fuse. Pushed new fuse in.....BUT.....pushed wrong way! There is a right direction??? Yup, I think so in these circumstances where ya can't see and hardly can reach. The old VW ceramic fuses can have the metal easily displaced by pushing the fuse in with the metal strip facing you. Push it is the other way and then turn it to have the metal strip facing out. Better still wait until you take the gastank off for easier access and then you can see what your doing and get the one end of the fuse properly in the wee receiving hole in the holder and then the other end can go into it's receiving hole with a little lateral spreading of the fuse bracket.
Just thought I might save someone some trouble. My turnsignals lasted two waggles and the fuse was blown. Got the job done right at home and tested it just in case the reason the fuse blew twice was a short somewhere and not my carelessness. Seems it was me...as usual! LRB is perfect..didn't ya know??! Yeeesh!
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I think replacing the OEM fuse holder is something that should be seriously considered by an airhead BMW owner .
My '87 Guzzi has the same ceramic fuses as the airhead BMW's, on my list of things to replace, when the 'furnace' finally leaves the Phoenix area in November and it's pleasant to go back outside again . :D :D :D :D
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Aaah! sorry to hear about your tipover, Sue! LRB 's plasticware fairing parts are still intact?
I wanted to do the Finger Lakes rally, but I forgot it was Labor day weekend (kept thinking it was a week or two later) and then we ended up with a bunch of houseguests all weekend. Grr!
You may want to consider doing the automotive blade fuse replacement that Monte, I, and others have done - it definitely makes things much more reliable and vibration/shock resistant as far as those vital fuses go.
Hope that you are doing fine and that all YOUR fuses are still intact!
-Mike :D
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Good idea guys...I even have the proper fuse holder...a small one Rob Valdez recommended ages ago.....only problem is I wouldn't/don't know how to go about it.
And Mike, LRB went down in a paved parking lot and only got some wee scratches on the back of the Napoleon mirror on the rt. side and lost a bit of blk paint on the rt. engine guard and maybe got a few more burrs on the cylinder head. Tiny rub on a corner of the rt. old classic BMW bags....strong suckers. The sound LRB made when he hit the pavement was awful and one would swear I'd be picking up smashed everything! Not so...a self healing and resilient beasty. All the impt. henna red parts got no marks whatsoever!! Yeeha!! And whew! :-[ : :( But :-*
I was thinking how lucky I was nothing went wrong at all during the epic Salen Oregon ride. I guess things happen in bunches...as I am pretty sure the fall didn't help the fuses....or the burnt headlight was connected to the blown fuse. There is a connection I am pretty sure. The fuse didn't blow right away. It was even after I left the rally on the Monday. The headlight and bike topple was on the way to the rally.
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The headlight in on a circuit that is not protected by a fuse .
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Well there ya go....headlight and those ceramic fuses are not connected! Hmmm....a pile of rain on Sunday night...naw..there fuse would have blown immediately. Hmm...just the fuses time to blow?? Got old like me?
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I replaced mine with a couple of inline fuse holders, that I can reach from the area behind the side panel. They take glass fuses.
But these days it might be better to use the new push in, blade type fuses in individual holders I have seen for automotive uses.
Rev Light