EWS! Error

E

Edumakated

New member
So I disconnected battery to charge it up on battery tender. When I reconnected battery in bike it won't start. I get an EWS! Error message which according to the manual is the immobilizer. Neither of my keys work.

Any experience with this? Guess I'm going to have to call dealer to come pick it up.
 
JaimeC

JaimeC

New member
Check the owner's manual first. It's the security system, so I'm sure there's something in there about it. I'd look myself, but the snow is almost a foot deep between the house and the garage (and the owner's manual is under the seat in the scooter).
 
E

Edumakated

New member
The manual doesn't say anything. Just says possible cause: the key being used is not authorized for starting or communication between the key and engine electronics is disrupted. Remove other ignition keys located on ignition key. Use the reserve key. Have defective key replaced.

There is nothing in manual about disabling immobilizer or if disconnecting battery means you need keys reprogrammed. Seems odd the act of taking battery out would wipe key memory clean and it would need to be red flashed or something.
 
justscootin

justscootin

Member
Edumakated said:
So I disconnected battery to charge it up on battery tender. When I reconnected battery in bike it won't start. I get an EWS! Error message which according to the manual is the immobilizer. Neither of my keys work.

Any experience with this? Guess I'm going to have to call dealer to come pick it up.
Click to expand...

This may sound like a stupid question but did you also try your spare key?
 
JaimeC

JaimeC

New member
You know what? I just remembered something... when the battery completely died on my LT I was unable to jump start it because the immobilizer on that bike wouldn't reset either. However, the "fix" that worked for me won't work in your case because it involved disconnecting the battery (which you already did) and bleeding out any residual charge left in the system. Reconnecting the fully charged battery "rebooted" the system and I was fine after that.
 
Doraemon

Doraemon

New member
I had my battery out for the last day charging, and taking off the mirrors and the whole front of the sport (hardest part was the mirrors). I put back togeather this afternoon and started right up.
I would check with you dealer, or else "greta" is just a lucky girl I get to ride alot....:O.
 
yellasei

yellasei

New member
you normally see EWS up if the battery is beyond servicable condition, if the voltage is too low it will show this and not start. have the battery drop tested.
 
E

Edumakated

New member
yellasei said:
you normally see EWS up if the battery is beyond servicable condition, if the voltage is too low it will show this and not start. have the battery drop tested.
Click to expand...

I discovered it is probably the battery last night. I put it back on the tender and now Ithe tender is saying something is wrong with the battery. I guess the cold weather here killed the battery. Whopping -15f today. Surprisingly though, my Vespa started right up with no problem and it hasn't even been on the battery tender or cranked in like almost 2 mos. I guess the Vespa doesn't have as much parasitic draw. I don't get why motorcycle batteries are so wimpy.

I was looking at one of those lithium batteries as a replacement. Does anyone have any experience with one?
 
yellasei

yellasei

New member
Edumakated said:
I discovered it is probably the battery last night. I put it back on the tender and now Ithe tender is saying something is wrong with the battery. I guess the cold weather here killed the battery. Whopping -15f today. Surprisingly though, my Vespa started right up with no problem and it hasn't even been on the battery tender or cranked in like almost 2 mos. I guess the Vespa doesn't have as much parasitic draw. I don't get why motorcycle batteries are so wimpy.

I was looking at one of those lithium batteries as a replacement. Does anyone have any experience with one?
Click to expand...

ive not used a lithium battery myself and not had much experience with them. all the models of bm's in this day need to be kept on top of with battery maintainers.
 
E

Edumakated

New member
JaimeC said:
Two words: "Odyssey Batteries."

Expensive, but worth it... ESPECIALLY in colder climates.
Click to expand...

I ordered a Shorai lithium. Pricey, but I forgot I had a $50 credit I hadn't used at Revzilla so it wasn't too bad. Lithium batteries are less than half the weight of their lead counterparts and also hold voltage better. My other hobby is racing 1/10th and 1/8th scale remote controlled cars and we use up to 22 volt lithium polymer packs for power. You don't get the voltage sag like on conventional batteries. They can also usually sit much longer with little to no power loss.

Some of my RC car batteries can sit unused for two years and still be just as strong as the day I bought it.

Hopefully, this cures what ailes my blue baby. Now that Chicago has seen -17 degree temps, maybe spring will come early so I can get back to riding.
 
B

bill steele

New member
I use my battery tender year round I plug it in through the lighter jack in the left hand glove compartment I also live in Vermont and have had -15 and -20 the last few days and the battery is fine, as far as the lithium motorcycle battery if they are exposed to extreme cold and are not on a maintainer you will most likey have to warm them up before you will get enough voltage to turn over the bike.
 
E

Edumakated

New member
It was the battery. I got my new lithium battery and it cranked right up with no issue. The start was way stronger than with the stock battery.

The EWS error went away.
 
W

wickham

New member
I'm getting the EWS error on both keys, while it does work by recycling the ignition key, I'm worried that it might get to a point where i might get stuck. it seems to be random and not happen each time. I did recently replace the BMW OEM battery with a Shorai Lithium Battery and I'm still having the problem. I'm wondering if anyone has brought it to a dealer and what they replaced to fix it or if they are simply recycling the ignition key each time as a fix and hasn't gotten stranded yet. I'm guessing it's ignition switch or CONTROL MODULE FOR RDC - DWA/RDC (I'm not running an alarm, so I'm not sure if that applies to me) that is causing the issue.

My warranty just ran out on 11/13/2015, unless I can plead with BMW to replace this I might have to cough some money to replace the switch or the control module.
 
exavid

exavid

Member
JaimeC said:
Two words: "Odyssey Batteries."

Expensive, but worth it... ESPECIALLY in colder climates.
Click to expand...

Very true - I've used Odyssey batteries in a couple of my Goldwings. Long lasting as well, one of them was five years old when I sold it a couple of years ago and the new owner is still using it.
 
JaimeC

JaimeC

New member
Sadly, unless something has changed, I can't find an Odyssey model that will fit... It's supposed to be the same battery as the F800ST, but they don't have a battery listed for that bike either.
 
W

wickham

New member
Update on my EWS error, I think i might have resolved it. i read somewhere that the key might be prone to electrical interferences that might cause the EWS error. Well, on my key ring I had a key to my 2014 RT in addtion to the GT and i seperated them to two sets of keys the other day. Since then i haven't received any more error messsages since I've speperated them and it's been firing up fine, so I'm thinking that might have been the problem. It was happening about one out of three times when i started the scooter and so far I've started over a dozen times and no errrors yet.
 
exavid

exavid

Member
Getting at the battery sounds like the GT is better the Sport. Only four screws out of the right fairing panel and the battery is easily removed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
✖
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock
No Thanks