ABS warning at various speeds

Akratis

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Sep 11, 2021
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Istanbul, Turkey
Hello everyone,
I have been following this forum for a good while now but only recently I've decided to register and join the community.
I bought a 2015 XT1200ZE last week. I like the bike a lot. For the past few days ABS light has been popping on randomly. There is no steady pattern but I feel like it happens in lower speeds for a brief time (5 to 45 seconds); especially when I am pulling/releasing clutch or closing throttle. And also sometimes just like that... The bike has been having difficulties with cold cranking too. The battery is actually only few months old (Yuasa YTZ14S). The previous owner built a switch directly connected to main power cables and as far as I can tell he has been disconnecting the battery with that during off season.
As the brake system goes: The front brake pads are ok. I replaced the rear pads recently. The brake fluids have been flushed 1 month ago by previous owner (I have the receipt). The brake pedal and lever has enough tolerance. I sprayed the clutch and brake switches with WD-40 just in case; couldnt locate the rear brake switch yet tho. I will look into that and get it done. Afaik, the clutch fluid hasn't been flushed; thats what I am gonna do next.

I cleaned the ABS sensors, the problem still occurs. Sometimes it doesn't for 20-30 kilometers. But then it is there again.
It's not a persistent warning; it disappears upon change of speed ( feels like it); but it's been bugging me nevertheless . Did anyone experience anything like this? Any insight would be most welcome.
Regards,
 
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Jlq1969

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Let's separate the post in 2. Regarding the battery, it is the one indicated (better than the original), but since you say it is practically new, you should charge it 100%…. those batteries usually have good performance for 4-5 years… and check the spark plugs, perhaps they have already reached their useful life and lose performance, thus affecting starting.
The asecond part (referring to the abs light)… .it's strange…. ”normally”… .the abs light, when it turns on, “stays on” until you turn off the ignition again. if there is a fault "it will never turn off" until you erase the fault ... the light that can blink is the TCS ligths... are you sure the ABS light blinking ???
 

Akratis

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Joined
Sep 11, 2021
Messages
44
Location
Istanbul, Turkey
Let's separate the post in 2. Regarding the battery, it is the one indicated (better than the original), but since you say it is practically new, you should charge it 100%…. those batteries usually have good performance for 4-5 years… and check the spark plugs, perhaps they have already reached their useful life and lose performance, thus affecting starting.
The asecond part (referring to the abs light)… .it's strange…. ”normally”… .the abs light, when it turns on, “stays on” until you turn off the ignition again. if there is a fault "it will never turn off" until you erase the fault ... the light that can blink is the TCS ligths... are you sure the ABS light blinking ???
Hey Jlq,
Thanks for your answer!
Regarding the battery, I am planning to do exactly what you described. Already made an appointment with my dealer for tomorrow. Apart from that, there is a grotesque power-cutter installed by the previous owner. I am gonna have it uninstalled too. After that I will have a more clear idea if it's electric related. The bike threw some random error codes (suspension etc.) when this whole thing started. I reset the suspensions they are fine now. One of my friends hinted that the battery or terminal connections might cause this problems. We will see..

Regarding the second part; yea, it is really strange. Today it hasn't come on whole day, then when I was on my way home, it came on, stayed way longer than before. But it never stays on, always disappears after a while. So I am assuming it's a momentary reading error that occurs, which then disappears. Nothing is blinking, the ABS light comes on and then disappears (during drive). Apart from that the ABS is engaging if I lock the tires, so it's working. The traction control is working fine as well. I cleaned the sensors again , they had some sort of powder-like white residue on them. It wasn't much. Didn't make a difference either. My mechanic says that the sensor should be slowly failing; so he recommended to wait. We will retrieve the error codes too.
When I interact with the clutch, warning light appears to come on more often. Or when I turn the throttle down. Or at least this is how it felt like for me. But there is no steady logical pattern there. It happens mostly below 60-70kmh. Faulty speed sensor maybe? No idea...
 

Jlq1969

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The rear abs sensor is the same as the speedometer sensor. But, I repeat to you ... the abs light indicates a fault, and when it comes on, it never turns off, until you turn off the ignition, or until you clear the fault. but assuming that your case was something "exceptional" ... you would have to check the abs fuse ... and check that the previous owner may have installed a system that allows disconnecting the abs (a fuse holder extension, a switch, etc) ... that can be causing the abs light to turn on/off
To discard, you should also check that both tires correspond to the factory measurements, some users tend to put wider / taller tires on the back and this can alter the measurements of the sensors
 
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Akratis

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Sep 11, 2021
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Location
Istanbul, Turkey
What is that?
Lol!
The original cables were butchered and this switch was loosely installed. That what I was trying to tell :)

An update on the issue:
I had my battery charged today, and removed the aforementioned power cutter. I rode the bike all day and The ABS problem didn't occur. It's too soon to tell if it was indeed battery related or not but I am hopeful.
On the other side my auxillary lights seem to have stopped working. Probably a connection issue that occurred during un/reinstallation of the battery for charging. I will have it checked tomorrow.

cheers
 

Akratis

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Joined
Sep 11, 2021
Messages
44
Location
Istanbul, Turkey
The rear abs sensor is the same as the speedometer sensor. But, I repeat to you ... the abs light indicates a fault, and when it comes on, it never turns off, until you turn off the ignition, or until you clear the fault. but assuming that your case was something "exceptional" ... you would have to check the abs fuse ... and check that the previous owner may have installed a system that allows disconnecting the abs (a fuse holder extension, a switch, etc) ... that can be causing the abs light to turn on/off
To discard, you should also check that both tires correspond to the factory measurements, some users tend to put wider / taller tires on the back and this can alter the measurements of the sensors
Thanks for all the info you provided man!
As I stated in my previous post, the problem seem to be disappeared upon charging battery. Let's hope it stays that way!
 

MIKE R

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Feb 5, 2012
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Lancashire, UK
Late to the party but I think your problem originated from the 'power cutter'

A few years ago whilst on tour I had the abs light randomly flashing on and off. Then the bike was difficult to start at a petrol station. It turned out to be a loose connection on the negative battery terminal (my fault!) which must have been operating as a 'power cutter' as the bike went along. The power loss must have been very slight as there was no obvious loss of power or misfire

Sorry I didn't see your post earlier

Mike
 

Akratis

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2021
Messages
44
Location
Istanbul, Turkey
Late to the party but I think your problem originated from the 'power cutter'

A few years ago whilst on tour I had the abs light randomly flashing on and off. Then the bike was difficult to start at a petrol station. It turned out to be a loose connection on the negative battery terminal (my fault!) which must have been operating as a 'power cutter' as the bike went along. The power loss must have been very slight as there was no obvious loss of power or misfire

Sorry I didn't see your post earlier

Mike
Thanks Mike, you are right. And no need to apology! That thing was definitely prone to cause problems. I rode the bike whole day and no ABS warning! -happy-Finally I get to enjoy it!
 

TOS

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Nov 19, 2016
Messages
53
Location
Southern OK
Does anyone have an idea/answer for my problem (2015 Super Tenere ES 20K miles)?
Recently I disconnected the battery and installed a fuse box to power a relay to power my airhorn. I rode about 50 miles and the ABS light came on, constant. I did find later that my negative battery connection was slightly loose. I tightened it and checked for anymore possibilities causing my problem. So another test ride yesterday and I learned that the rear brake will activate the ABS correctly. However, it the front brake is used the ABS warning lights up and stays on until reset with key switch. So today I used the connector under the seat to jump the blue and black wires to "exercise the pump" (as mentioned here). It cycled the rear and front brake system. Today I changed brake fluid, installed new brake pads, cleaned front ABS ring and sensor and a new tire. Test ride detected no improvement. Rear brake good if used first, use front brake and ABS warning stays on and neither front or rear brake have working ABS.
ANY SUGGESTIONS ?
 

Jlq1969

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First of all, you should check the fault codes. Secondly, if you say that the abs light comes on "only when you apply the front brake"... it is likely that the brake pressure sensor is failing (this sensor, supposed only measure the front brake pressure, to activate the rear brake, according to that pressure, in the UBS system)
 

TOS

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Joined
Nov 19, 2016
Messages
53
Location
Southern OK
First of all, you should check the fault codes. Secondly, if you say that the abs light comes on "only when you apply the front brake"... it is likely that the brake pressure sensor is failing (this sensor, supposed only measure the front brake pressure, to activate the rear brake, according to that pressure, in the UBS system)
I forgot to mention that I checked all fuses also.
Thanks for the response... I don't know how to check fault codes. I don't have a Shop Manual, only the booklet that comes with the bike. I'll look on You-Tube and see it there's a video on it. I figured a Yamaha Diagnostic Device at the dealers was required for fault codes.
Thanks,
 

Jlq1969

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I forgot to mention that I checked all fuses also.
Thanks for the response... I don't know how to check fault codes. I don't have a Shop Manual, only the booklet that comes with the bike. I'll look on You-Tube and see it there's a video on it. I figured a Yamaha Diagnostic Device at the dealers was required for fault codes.
Thanks,
On youtube there are several videos that show how to access the diagnostic menu and be able to check the fault codes. Since yours is a 2015, you can access it by pressing the dash buttons
 

TOS

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Nov 19, 2016
Messages
53
Location
Southern OK
On youtube there are several videos that show how to access the diagnostic menu and be able to check the fault codes. Since yours is a 2015, you can access it by pressing the dash buttons
This morning I was able to access "diag" once by holding down the TCS and RESET buttons simultaneously. The display then showed ECU and UBS only, no codes. I could not access either one using the select or menu buttons.
 
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