EWS Immobilizer antenna threadfest

[ylexot]

Originally Posted by motoreiter

I'm tellling you, it's the gas station emissions!

In all seriousness, some pumps have RFID readers for key-ring payment tokens--I wonder what frequency those readers operate on? I suspect that these readers are passive antenna and thus not capable of jamming anything, but the guessing game is kind of fun...

Actually, that could be possible. The key ring piece would be the passive part and the pump reader would be active (it has to energize the key ring piece).

[jpalamar]

Originally Posted by ylexot

Actually, that could be possible. The key ring piece would be the passive part and the pump reader would be active (it has to energize the key ring piece).

Yeah, that's gotta be it. There was a gas pump about 1 (one) mile away for both my failures!

[ylexot]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

Yeah, that's gotta be it. There was a gas pump about 1 (one) mile away for both my failures!

I almost changed it to "that could be possible in some cases", but figured that went without saying. I guess I was wrong.

[jpalamar]

Originally Posted by ylexot

I almost changed it to "that could be possible in some cases", but figured that went without saying. I guess I was wrong.

I was attempting some humor, but guess I was just not one of those cases, as in 'some cases'.

[motoreiter]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

Yeah, that's gotta be it. There was a gas pump about 1 (one) mile away for both my failures!

Well, there you go, what more proof do you need? As Bond says, "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action."

[Wallowa]

I agree with someone who suggested if we stop the in fighting and assemble the commonalities or patterns in the "EWS" stranded bikes perhaps we can arrive at the cause and fix it.

BMW has specific knowledge of at least part of this puzzle, but we can not communicate with them so it is up to the owners to do it.

I doubt if it is Crop Circles that strands our bikes...but there is a logical sequence of events that disables our ignitions and generates the "EWS"...with the brain power here we should be able to assemble a data basis to produce the linking factor that crashes this system.

So forget about BMW and by extension forget about BMW dealers...if we, the members on this forum, systematically catalog information we should be able to solve this problem.

Lastly those that dismiss the "EWS" strandings as insignificant or "statistically" meanless can not be expected to contribute to the solution.

I hope folks pickup the challenge and in the mean time we can continue to carry extra antenna

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by Wallowa

I agree with someone who suggested if we stop the in fighting and assemble the commonalities or patterns in the "EWS" stranded bikes perhaps we can arrive at the cause and fix it.

BMW has specific knowledge of at least part of this puzzle, but we can not communicate with them so it is up to the owners to do it.

I doubt if it is Crop Circles that strands our bikes...but there is a logical sequence of events that disables our ignitions and generates the "EWS"...with the brain power here we should be able to assemble a data basis to produce the linking factor that crashes this system.

So forget about BMW and by extension forget about BMW dealers...if we, the members on this forum, systematically catalog information we should be able to solve this problem.

Lastly those that dismiss the "EWS" strandings as insignificant or "statistically" meanless can not be expected to contribute to the solution.

I hope folks pickup the challenge and in the mean time we can continue to carry extra antenna

Don't forget to ask how many had the EWS, how many had a no start that later started, and how many EWS subsequently started without repair?

I suspect that many non-EWS failures are being attributed to the antenna ring when it was an interference issue, or something else. I bet the dealers in some cases replace the antenna ring unnecessarioy as well.

NOT that I am saying the EWS issue is not a problem, just wanting facts straight.

Jim

[GB]

If the EWS system is undefeatable, why do they have "security" one way fasteners holding it in place?

Thanks for the pics Jim.. I was a Mosport race track last summer and the BMW 1200S factory race bikes competing in the Canadian Thunder series all had the stock EWS antennae there as did Chris Pfeiffer's 2 stunt F800 bikes..

C'mon BMW, let's get a bypass code figured out and mailed out to all owners.

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by Gadget Boy

If the EWS system is undefeatable, why do they have "security" one way fasteners holding it in place?

Thanks for the pics Jim.. I was a Mosport race track last summer and the BMW 1200S factory race bikes competing in the Canadian Thunder series all had the stock EWS antennae there as did Chris Pfeiffer's 2 stunt F800 bikes..

C'mon BMW, let's get a bypass code figured out and mailed out to all owners.

Good question Rick!

Oh, and does anyone know what color, and how many, the regular wires are that go to the ring antenna?



Maybe green and red/white?

Jim

[Wallowa]

Originally Posted by Gadget Boy

If the EWS system is undefeatable, why do they have "security" one way fasteners holding it in place?

Thanks for the pics Jim.. I was a Mosport race track last summer and the BMW 1200S factory race bikes competing in the Canadian Thunder series all had the stock EWS antennae there as did Chris Pfeiffer's 2 stunt F800 bikes..

C'mon BMW, let's get a bypass code figured out and mailed out to all owners.

Excellent point...if the antenna is just a transmitter of a signal from the key to bike's BMSK/ECU why would removal of it allow anyone to steal the bike?

Jim...If tabulated the pattern of failures will of necessity include all of the permutation you mentioned and many others. But unless they are diligently and systematically cataloged and analyzed we, the owners, will just continue to be guessing about why and what is failing.

And I do agree with you...it may be found that the antenna is not the issue..but only a link that is getting disabled and replaced..like treating the symptoms rather than the disease.

I would look to the folks on this forum with solid technical information on the bikes and electronics to be mainstay of any meaningful analysis.

Just my ideas but here are some data points I would tabulate:

1..Year, model of bike
2..Mileage at time of failure [s]
3..What were numbers on failed/replaced antenna
4..Were there any restarts after an "EWS" stranding
5..If there were restarts, what was the sequence of the re-start [s]
6..Any other electronic failures on the bike
7..Any electronic additions or alterations to the bike
8..Type of riding and approx start-ups before failure
9..Any UFOs in proximity of bike..[just kidding folks, lighten up]

I am certain that those with a better grasp of the inner sanctum of these bikes can generate more useful questions...

[tagesk]

Originally Posted by Wallowa

Excellent point...if the antenna is just a transmitter of a signal from the key to bike's BMSK/ECU why would removal of it allow anyone to steal the bike?

As you might have heard, if someone removed this part, it becomes surprisingly hard to start the bike. Probably the screws are there to pretect it from being removed.

My 2 centesimi.

[TaSK]

[Wallowa]

Originally Posted by tagesk

As you might have heard, if someone removed this part, it becomes surprisingly hard to start the bike. Probably the screws are there to pretect it from being removed.

My 2 centesimi.

[TaSK]

Hi TaSK,

Exactly...why make it difficult to remove a device that if removed stops the thief from stealing the bike? Unless BMW cunningly is enticing a thief to beat these apparent anti-theft screws so that the bike can't be stolen...

Naw!

[Poolside]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

Yeah, that's gotta be it. There was a gas pump about 1 (one) mile away for both my failures!

[Poolside]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

Oh, and does anyone know what color, and how many, the regular wires are that go to the ring antenna?

I checked that when I saw the picture you posted.

Green/Brown . . 0.75mm²/≈18AWG
Yellow/Brown . . 0.75mm²/≈18AWG
Yellow/White . . 0.75mm²/≈18AWG
White/Blue . . 0.35mm²/≈22AWG

[Poolside]

Originally Posted by Gadget Boy

If the EWS system is undefeatable, why do they have "security" one way fasteners holding it in place?

Originally Posted by Wallowa

Excellent point...if the antenna is just a transmitter of a signal from the key to bike's BMSK/ECU why would removal of it allow anyone to steal the bike?

Hey, some people are reading my posts, who'd a thunk?

Maybe the motor starts without an EWS antenna, with a termination resistor in place of the EWS antenna. (I head that somewhere )

Or . . . It could be that the EWS can be switched off by a command from the BMW GT1 diagnostic computer.