ABS light flashing

[Flying Fish]

Hi guys.
I have a Suzuki Gladius 400 ABS
The abs light always stays on for a few minutes after start up, particularly in the cold.
Recently I've noticed it blinking intermittently.
I've checked the brake fluid and its fine, I took it to a local mechanic and he said not to worry about it but its a warning light and I have a long 1500km ride planned next week.
Does anyone have experience of weird brake light flashing on Suzuki ABS bikes?
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Cheers.

[black-k1]

You'll need to get the codes read on the ABS system to find out what is wrong as I expect a flashing light can be an indication of s number of possible issues.

My previous BMWs used to give a flashing warning if either the battery was low (risk of not enough volts to work the servos) or one of the wheel rotation sensors was not working correctly. I think it also flashed if one of the servos failed but I never had that problem so can't say for sure.

[jackh707]

Try locking up the rear on the way in, will let you know if your ABS is working in the short term. Better than grabbing a handful of front in the went and going down expecting the lovely dudder dudder dudder through the leaver to keep it up.

[moanthebairns]

Wow. Someone actually bought the gayest sounding motorbike of all time. That's almost as shocking as someone buying a suzuki these days.

Sorry. I'm just kidding.

[Prof Prolapse]

black-k1 said:

You'll need to get the codes read on the ABS system to find out what is wrong as I expect a flashing light can be an indication of s number of possible issues.

This is the only sensible answer. Take it to Suzuki.

If nothing else you want a clean bill of health for a long ride or it will just play on your mind the whole time.

[LoonR1]

Have you considered that you might be a bit clumsy when braking and are triggering the ABS?

[Hooli]

Have a look at the sensor rings on the wheels & clean them. I doubt it takes a huge amount of dirt to upset the readings from them.

[Fleegle]

Are you sure that's not the indicator?

[moanthebairns]

serious question, does abs only cover the front?

and is there any complications when servicing certain abs models as oppose to non abs

[DuraAce]

Front and rear on my BMW. Servicing it is slightly more complicated on some as you need the computer to bleed fluid through the ABS module (not all bikes, some you just bleed as normal)

[moanthebairns]

DuraAce said:

Front and rear on my BMW. Servicing it is slightly more complicated on some as you need the computer to bleed fluid through the ABS module (not all bikes, some you just bleed as normal)

is yours linked?

[DuraAce]

Yes, using front brake adds a little rear. Using the rear on its own just operates the rear.

Just means I have to keep checking the rear pads, I never use the rear pedal but the pads wear down due to link with the front.

[jackh707]

moanthebairns said:

serious question, does abs only cover the front?

and is there any complications when servicing certain abs models as oppose to non abs

Works on both wheels, even in unlinked brake systems.

[Flying Fish]

Hooli said:

Have a look at the sensor rings on the wheels & clean them. I doubt it takes a huge amount of dirt to upset the readings from them.

Thanks I'll try this.
Its not my braking as it happens when I'm not on the brakes at all.
Its tricky trying to find a mechanic that speaks English as I live in Japan and my Japanese is not good enough to explain this problem.
Thanks for the useful replies.

[Prof Prolapse]

Try pointing and speaking slower and louder.

[Hooli]

[Stone Cold]

Prof Prolapse said:

Try pointing and speaking slower and louder.

You joke but I actually did that years ago when lost in France, when I got back in the car the wife and kids were pissing themselves and then explained, I was so embarrassed as I had no idea I was doing it, fortunately it was long enough ago that no one had smart phones

[Flying Fish]

Hi all,
Following on from you guys' advice, I got a Japanese mate to find me a Suzuki Dealer and explain the situation.
I ran the bike in today and what I thought was going to be a main dealer turned out to be a pretty crappy looking scooter shop with 2 old geezers there who didn't have a clue about the ABS light and couldn't speak any English and basically didn't want to arse around on a Saturday morning helping a dumb Gaijin.
After an hour of mugging and polite smiles and trying to talk with our hands, I am ever so politely asked to bugger off and make this someone else's problem.
They find me a real Suzuki dealer half an hour away who they think can help.
I manage to convince them to ring the next place and tell them to expect me and at least explain what the problem is so I might have a better chance of them understanding me than in I just walk in cold off the street.
I arrive at the main dealer half an hour later and a guy practically runs out across the forecourt to greet me.
"A-B-S Lampu?" he inquires.
"Hai" I respond, demonstrating my confidence and fluency in the Japanese language.
"Testo Daraivu?" asks the man. He wants a test drive - I give him the key and off he toddles. He's gone for about half an hour during which time I drink 2 scalding and awful coffees from the machine and smoke 2 cigarettes. The dealership forecourt is pristine, so I hide round the corner in the sunshine in the access road to do this to avoid being stared at like a leper. (Its bad enough being white in this country..)
Anyway he comes back, and typically claims not to be able to find anything wrong.
I mug and smile and wring my hands some more, and when it becomes clear that I'm not just going to fk off he plugs the bike into a laptop.
Half an hour after that he comes back and says the diagnostic is clear, it was probably just some dust in the sensor. (Well spotted Hooli!)
They have cleaned the sensor. All of this is done by taking turns typing into Google translate at the front desk. The entire staff of the dealership is involved in this by now and I think its quite an entertaining Saturday morning for the guys. They spent ages looking after me and testing the bike, they even took it out again after they'd put it back together to check again
Then when I asked (Using Google translate) about payment they refused!
I rode straight to the local convenience store and got a 12 pack of Asahi beers and dropped them back at the garage for the guys who had looked after me.
They were grateful, I'm happy and my bike is fine.
Great Saturday in Japan and I'm all set for the Nagoya - Fukuoka leg of my Japan bike tour.
Happy days.

[GTIR]

Stone Cold said:

Prof Prolapse said:

Try pointing and speaking slower and louder.

You joke but I actually did that years ago when lost in France, when I got back in the car the wife and kids were pissing themselves and then explained, I was so embarrassed as I had no idea I was doing it, fortunately it was long enough ago that no one had smart phones

Or intelligent dads.

[Hooli]

Flying Fish said:

Hi all,
Following on from you guys' advice, I got a Japanese mate to find me a Suzuki Dealer and explain the situation.
I ran the bike in today and what I thought was going to be a main dealer turned out to be a pretty crappy looking scooter shop with 2 old geezers there who didn't have a clue about the ABS light and couldn't speak any English and basically didn't want to arse around on a Saturday morning helping a dumb Gaijin.
After an hour of mugging and polite smiles and trying to talk with our hands, I am ever so politely asked to bugger off and make this someone else's problem.
They find me a real Suzuki dealer half an hour away who they think can help.
I manage to convince them to ring the next place and tell them to expect me and at least explain what the problem is so I might have a better chance of them understanding me than in I just walk in cold off the street.
I arrive at the main dealer half an hour later and a guy practically runs out across the forecourt to greet me.
"A-B-S Lampu?" he inquires.
"Hai" I respond, demonstrating my confidence and fluency in the Japanese language.
"Testo Daraivu?" asks the man. He wants a test drive - I give him the key and off he toddles. He's gone for about half an hour during which time I drink 2 scalding and awful coffees from the machine and smoke 2 cigarettes. The dealership forecourt is pristine, so I hide round the corner in the sunshine in the access road to do this to avoid being stared at like a leper. (Its bad enough being white in this country..)
Anyway he comes back, and typically claims not to be able to find anything wrong.
I mug and smile and wring my hands some more, and when it becomes clear that I'm not just going to fk off he plugs the bike into a laptop.
Half an hour after that he comes back and says the diagnostic is clear, it was probably just some dust in the sensor. (Well spotted Hooli!)
They have cleaned the sensor. All of this is done by taking turns typing into Google translate at the front desk. The entire staff of the dealership is involved in this by now and I think its quite an entertaining Saturday morning for the guys. They spent ages looking after me and testing the bike, they even took it out again after they'd put it back together to check again
Then when I asked (Using Google translate) about payment they refused!
I rode straight to the local convenience store and got a 12 pack of Asahi beers and dropped them back at the garage for the guys who had looked after me.
They were grateful, I'm happy and my bike is fine.
Great Saturday in Japan and I'm all set for the Nagoya - Fukuoka leg of my Japan bike tour.
Happy days.

Glad it's fixed.

I've had problems with ABS on a few cars & it's always been dirty sensors or broken wires to the sensor, hence it's where I start looking. Never had a bike with ABS.

Communicating via google sounds a laugh