Bmw R1200r 2016

[Laurelino Braendel]

In47,000 miles the fuel strip on my 2012 R1200R has been replaced eight times and is bad again. I just recently purchased the bike, and my tech tells me the fuel strips in the R bikes always go bad so replacing them is never a permanent solution. So I'm looking at alternatives.

I am about to install the fuel strip spoof devised by TXJames over on ADVrider, but before I do I thought I would ask if anyone has replaced the fuel strip with the warning switch (p/n 16 14 8 547 989) that BMW uses on the later model R bikes and R nine T bikes up to 8/16. From what I've read the instrument panel is different on those bikes and I'm sure the computer is programmed differently for switch than it is for the fuel strip, but perhaps there is a way to modify the circuitry of the warning switch and/or reprogram the computer to make the warning switch turn on the low fuel warning light. If not, the spoof should at least keep the warning light from staying on all the time.

You are not going to be able to reprogram your computer or dash but with some research & some trials you might be able to get that low fuel switch to change the circuit resistance in the fuel strip spoofer enough to allow it to make the dash show low fuel level & have the low fuel light to come on.

I just found a modified spoofer on ADVrider that adds a third resistor to simulate the heater which makes it possible to spoof the computer without cutting into the wiring harness. I'm going to give that a try and see if it works on the R bikes like it does on the GS models, and will post my results.

I tried the fuel strip spoof (see above) this afternoon and it worked! It took about a minute for the gauge in the display to rise and the warning light to go out, just like it used to do when I filled up the tank when the fuel strip was working. It will be a week or two before I can get some time on the bike to see if it continues to work (I tried it today with the ignition on but the bike not running).

Just to be clear, I used the modified spoofer mentioned above which avoids cutting into the wiring harness. The spoofer uses a 2.0 k ohm resistor across pins 2 and 3 (the sender part of the fuel strip) to simulate a full tank.

Now the intriguing part... In later models of the R1200R, and some of the R nineT models, BMW substituted a "warning switch" (p/n 16 14 8 547 989) in place of the fuel strip, which makes me think maybe, just maybe, the switch could be substituted for the 2.0 k ohm resistor in the spoofer. (It's possible BMW programmed the computer differently for the switch since I think these models also have a slightly different dash configuration.) I routinely reset the odometer as a 'safety' check, but I have come to rely on the warning light activated by the fuel strip to remind me to fill up.

The parts fiche for the R1200R (10-14) shows the switch (#10) with a harness and plug that appear identical to the fuel strip. I have half a notion to buy one ($130) to see if it plugs into the back side of the fuel pump assembly in place of the fuel strip. Assuming the switch is closed with a full tank, and open with an empty tank, wiring it in series with the 2.0 k ohm resistor in the spoofer should keep the warning light off with a full tank, but activate the warning light with an empty tank. This assumes that the warning light comes on when I break the circuit between pins 2 and 3, and I'll check that out this afternoon.

So it appears if the switch were inserted between the 1.0 m resistor and lead 3 the warning light would stay off when there is gas in the tank (switch is closed) and come on when the tank is empty (switch is open). If I understand the discussion in the forums this would remove the bias the 2.0 k resistor needs to spoof the computer. Is there any reason to think connecting and unconnecting the bias would harm the computer or anything else?

This is the spoof I am using on my 2012 R1200R (in place of the defective fuel strip) that spoofs the console into showing a full tank of gas and no low fuel light. Thanks to TXJames and dad2bike for figuring out what was needed and showing how to fabricate the device, and thanks to dirtrider for explaining what the switch does. I'll keep my eye out for a used switch (p/n 16 14 8 547 989) from a late model R1200R camhead or R nine T so I can see if I can get the low fuel warning light to come on when the tank is low.

In my never ending quest to replace the faulty fuel strip in my 2012 R1200R I came across some photos of the fuel pump and warning switch from an R nine T Pure listed on ebay. The photo shows the warning switch (blue) and the two wires from it attaching to the electrical connector that plugs into the back side of the fuel pump assembly. Interestingly, one of the photos (not uploaded) shows a resistor between one of the leads from the switch and a lead from the pump (like the 1 meg ohm resistor between pins 3 and 4 of the spoof?).

The fuel pump/warning switch assembly for the R nine T Pure (pictured above) and later models uses only one connector for both the pump and the switch whereas my 2012 R1200RT has two connectors, one for the fuel pump and one for the fuel strip. The fiche for the R1200R (see my February 27 post above) shows the switch connector simply replaces the fuel strip connector, making it easy to access outside the fuel pump assembly. Although the later R nine T models use just one connector it looks like it would fit in the fuel strip socket, so either version of the switch should work.

I bought a new low fuel warning switch ($130). The wiring harness plugged directly into the back side of the fuel pump assembly where the fuel strip had been, and the switch itself attached to the body of the fuel pump. I disconnected the 100 ohm resistor that bridged the two leads from the switch, which left a simple SPST switch that was open when submerged and closed when the fuel level fell below the switch.

I connected the leads from the switch to pins 2 and 3 of the spoof, which effectively removed the 2.0 k resistor when the switch was closed and turned the low fuel light on (and the gauge showed empty).

I discovered that the connector on the O2 sensor for this bike (I found a used one) fit the plug on the bike harness, and the connector on the removed fuel strip fit the connector on the fuel pump assembly, making it possible to fabricate a simple plug-and-play spoofer that utilized the fuel switch in the tank to turn on the low fuel warning light.

The fuel strip connector had a ridge on it above pin 1 that I had to shave off (see below) to make it work. It is not a moisture proof design, however, and if that becomes an issue I can replace it with pn 83 30 0 402 337, a replacement connector that connects to the O2 sensor.

This makes for a nice plug-and-play work around for a defective fuel strip. Many thanks to TXJames and dad2bike for their work on the spoofer, and to dirtrider on this forum for advice on the switch.

To get a sense of when the fuel light comes on I ran the bike completely out of gas and poured in exactly one gallon. The fuel light went off so I know the warning light indicates less than one gallon of gas remaining. The specs for the bike indicate it has a reserve of .79 gallons and I'll get a better read on this next time I fill it up. I had 250 miles on the tank when it ran dry and it took 5.27 gallons to fill it up to the bottom of the neck. This suggests I should get a little over 200 miles before the light comes on, and then have another 30+ miles before running out of gas.

I've run the tank empty several times now and verified that the low fuel light consistently comes on when there is about 3/4 gallon of fuel left, enough for about 35 miles before running the tank dry. It is reassuring to know that I'll get a warning when I get low on gas, and to know that I have 30+ miles to find gas before running out.

The hardest part was disconnecting the connectors on the fuel pump. The warning switch had to come from Germany, so order it in advance. I managed to find an O2 sensor on ebay for $10, and used its female connector to mate with the original wiring connector and the connector from the faulty fuel strip for the connection to the warning switch on the external side of the fuel pump.

3a8082e126