Electrical fault, please help

[kurren]

Hi everybody,
I need some advice here as all the BMW mechanics I know here in Barcelona (Spain) are currently on vacation and my R65 needs some help.

Last week end my bike just died while driving on a local freeway (I was on my way back from the beach), symptoms where already there as when I parked the bike the generator (red) light on the instruments remained on even without the key inserted. Also even previous symptoms included faulty neutral light (the bike was in neutral but the green light won't turn on unless you operated on the clutch).

When I leaved the beach I had to start the bike the running way (luckily a nearby road provided enough downhill), but as written above it then died while driving back. The battery was ok, since both the lights and the horn were alright, it was just a problem of ignition. Now, after one night out, there's no signal of battery charge...

I checked the fuses and they are ok. Could be a earth (mass) problem?

As I told you the only to BMW guys in town I have reference for are on vacation, any help would be greatly apreciated as I 'd like to use my bike this summer.

Thank you

[nhmaf]

We've had at least a couple of people with somewhat similar problems in the past 3 months,
all related to a broken or intermittent ground connection under the tank.   It may be that
the bracket which holds the coil is cracked, as on certain model years that is also the point
at which several ground wires are tied to frame ground through the bracket.   What model
year is your R65 ?    I would suggest that you remove the gas tank, if you are able to do so,
and inspect carefully the area around the coil(s).   Also try to wiggle them slightly to see if the
bracket to which they are bolted appears to move, and look for loose or broken wires/damaged
insulation on wires.

[xeffer]

I had a similar "problem"... it wasn't a problem actually - but I think that the only reason for that was that I was lucky enough to find the fault BEFORE it became a problem. I noticed that my neutral (green) light didn't work either, but since there was no other adverse effect I thought that all it was, was a burnt-out globe, and figured I'll fix it sometime in the future... Eventually I took the bike to a mechanic for a totally unrelated problem, I didn't even tell him about the neutral light. Anyway - he phoned me back to tell me he noticed the neutral light not working, and upon investigation came across a faulty starter relay. He replaced it and the faulty neutral light was fixed... Auto Electrics is not my strong point (meaning I know absolutely NOTHING about it), but you might have a similar problem... I'd be interested to know if this helps - please let me know

[kurren]

Thanks guys,
I'll have a look under the tank later today.

P.S. My BMW is a 1981 R65