"Oldbie" coming back around for another go

Just bought a 2000 R1100RT-P after 20 years away from motorcycling.

The old leathers don't fit, the helmet is so much fiberglass dust, and the boots pinch my feet but it feels so good to be back in the saddle.

I live 50 miles south of Sacramento and 2 hours east of Yosemite, in the little bedroom community of Manteca, CA.

This bike is a both a project and a stress reliever, though not at the same time.

Previous owner decided to take it upon himself to remove all the 'Authority' wiring and now I have no headlamp except on the 'flash to pass' button.

I thought it would be easy to find wiring diagrams, etc online but I guess my hearts just not in it!

Any help or suggestions are appreciated and welcome.

Welcome to the forum.

I've not visited lately, but I bookmarked this site that used to have a lot of tech info on the authority bikes: http://www.bmwmc.net

Your headlight dilemma is likely the result of wiring removal, but it's also possible you are suffering a common failure with the RT switch gear; it can sort of reconfigure itself when crud builds up inside and the resistance increases - the usual result is as you have: headlight only works on flash to pass.

Good luck!

Just bought a 2000 R1100RT-P after 20 years away from motorcycling.

The old leathers don't fit, the helmet is so much fiberglass dust, and the boots pinch my feet but it feels so good to be back in the saddle.

I live 50 miles south of Sacramento and 2 hours east of Yosemite, in the little bedroom community of Manteca, CA.

This bike is a both a project and a stress reliever, though not at the same time.

Previous owner decided to take it upon himself to remove all the 'Authority' wiring and now I have no headlamp except on the 'flash to pass' button.

I thought it would be easy to find wiring diagrams, etc online but I guess my hearts just not in it!

Any help or suggestions are appreciated and welcome.

Morning Frank

It is not difficult to find wiring diagrams but on the RT-P Authority Bikes it is very difficult to find the CORRECT wiring diagram.

You will find that electrical & wiring issues on the RT-P bikes are one of the most difficult things to work with because Authority Bikes were built in a number of different configurations due to different police department requirements. Then, once in service many were modified to meet certain requirements or duties, or were quickly/improperly reassembled after removing authority parts or equipment before end-of-duty auction or sale.

On your headlight?-- 2 simple places to start is; most Authority Bikes have a headlight on/off switch (usually on the R/H handlebar switch pod) so find that & verify that it is turned on.

Also some Authority Bikes have (or have added) a 2nd switch to turn off all the lights for certain duty requirements (could be anywhere but look on the L/H handlebar switch pod first.

The good news is (at least on your Authority Bike) is that most 1100 headlight wiring is pretty well the same on both the civilian & the police models with the R/H headlight switch not being on the civilian bikes but using a jumper in place of the on/off switch.

In most cases the headlight 12v power runs to the R/H handlebar first then through a switch or jumper on that side , then over the L/H side hi/low switch. The headlight hi/low switch has slightly different power inputs for flash-to-pass vs the normal high/low input (2 separate 12v inputs).

As a rule (no set rule on an RT-P though) 12v comes out of the load relief relay on a green/blue wire, then splits, one leg goes to the R/H handlebar switch pod (for headlight on/off switch, or through a jumper to operate the basic hi/low beam).

That same green/blue wire splits off & also goes directly to the Hi/Low switch on L/H handlebar for 12v in to operate the flash-to-pass. (the flash-to-pass doesn't go through the R/H handlebar switch or jumper).

The green/blue wire that goes to the R/H handlebar switch (on/off switch or jumper) then comes back across to the L/H side on a white/yellow wire as the 12v power in feed for the headlight hi/low switch (normal high beam or low beam operation NOT the flash-to-pass)

If your tail light works then that can help to isolated the problem to a smaller part, or specific part, of the system.

If you have flash-to-pass but no normal hi or low beam then that usually (but not always) points to a problem on the R/H side switch pod, or the 12v (green/blue wire) going into the R/H switch pod. Or to a problem in the R/H side on/off switch (or jumper if no on/off switch), Or to a problem in the white/yellow wire coming back across from the R/H side on/off switch or jumper to the L/H side hi/low switch.

If your bike has an added all-lights-off switch then all bets are off.

So dodged a bullet there! Thanks for all the tips! Turns out I had a bad bulb AND a LH switch issue. Still trying to decipher what each switch does since all of the signage has rubbed off with age but that's another thread for another time. I got light, so I'm going for a ride!

Frank, as others have reported the headlight switch is a known weak point, because the entire current to the headlight goes through the switch, and the contacts eventually pit to the point of unusability. An Eastern Beaver H4 headlight harness will allow you to solve two problems at one go:

1) Avoid the pitting problem by routing high amp current through relays

2) Heavier harness wiring allows you to run a 100/55W bulb without overloading the wiring.

Mounting the relays on an R1100RT is quite straightforward:

Selden,

Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely look into this.

Frank A, WELCOME BACK to biking!! Lots of changes. I'm a returnee myself.

You could fix several things with one change here. An LED headlight bulb would draw considerably LESS current thru the switch greatly reducing the pitting on the contacts. A huge benefit is MUCH better lighting if you are into that kind of thing, plus much better (longer) bulb life. It's an easy swap-out. Nothing to rewire, just plug-and-play. Lots of H4 LED choices on fleabay for $15.

I replaced the OEM bulbs on my '99 RT (and R11S and K12RS) with LED's. ALL the bubs, blinkers, instruments, headlights, but that's just me. The main benefit is the greatly improved lighting and visibility at night. I also installed a high-beam modulator as a safety/visibility enhancement. LED's work very nicely with modulators.

There is a possible issue with changing to an LED for the generator light as the current for the field winding comes thru the light. D.R. will know better that me.

+1 for the Eastern Beaver relay mod.

Pretty sure you are right Eckhard. Not sure about the indicators and tail light either.

There is a possible issue with changing to an LED for the generator light as the current for the field winding comes thru the light. D.R. will know better that me.

 

.

Afternoon Eckhard

Correct, the voltage regulator uses the current from the dash generator light to initially excite the alternator rotor to start the charging sequence.

In fact we used to replace the 1.7 watt generator light bulb with the 3 watt dash illumination bulb to start the initial charging as a lower & sooner RPM.

Later (after the 1100/1150 bikes were out of production BMW caught on & now only services the 3 watt bulb for the generator light replacement.

If an LED bulb is placed in the generator light socket it should be AT LEAST 1.7 watts & preferably around 3 watt draw (not light output rating but actual current draw)--- (I doubt any small dash bulb size LED will meet that requirement)

They WILL start charging with an LED generator light bulb but not until the engine is running for while & the RPMs are brought way up.

First thing I bought after the headlamp came on was an H4 LED. Much improved light. Haven't gone to the balance of the bulbs, but I may look into this.