Servo replacement or buy Servo Buddy

[richy170]

I have a full Akra system which has been on the bike for three years. For two years there was never any Engine Management Fault lights. Recently the bike starting making a horrendous buzzing and crackling noise on start up. I took it to BMW and I believe they disconnected the servo. Bingo the noise immediately disappeared, however the downside was I was left with the Engine Management light permanently on.
I have just had a PC5 fitted and remap at PDQ. Now the Engine Management light is off but the buzzing and crackling on start up is back. I took the bike to Bahnstormer and they have advised the servo unit is defective. Unfortunately it is not a part that is covered under my extended warranty. They can replace it for about ?250 including labour etc. Although it is not actually doing anything on the bike at least replacing it will get rid of that horrendous noise. My question is should I replace the servo or just invest in a servo buddy. How much time would it take for a BMW technician to fit the rear servo buddy (after I have given them the hint to replace the rear brake bracket).

 

[alex]

It's just a small dongle to terminate the connection - you can do it yourself. 2 mins once you find it. Yes I would go this route if mine was making that noise.

 

[bmwbadboy]

It's just a small dongle to terminate the connection - you can do it yourself. 2 mins once you find it. Yes I would go this route if mine was making that noise.

It's not 2 mins job, but can be done yourself yes.

To remove the rear servo one need to remove the gas tank and raise the subframe, at least on Gen3.

Servo buddy is about 40-50 gbp.

 

[alex]

I meant to plug in the buddy - you don't have the remove the servo itself...

 

[JamieMac]

On the Gen 3, you just need to remove the bracket that the rear reservoir mounts to. If you remove that bracket from the subframe, the rear servo slides straight out.

Hope that helps, J

 

[bmwbadboy]

On the Gen 3, you just need to remove the bracket that the rear reservoir mounts to. If you remove that bracket from the subframe, the rear servo slides straight out.

Hope that helps, J

On my gen3 it looked like it was soldered to a subframe.

 

[mibridger]

Hi,

Mine is doing exactly the same.

It's a 2015 and has a Full Akrapovic sustem, I have a servo buddy on the front.
On the rear, I put the servo back on, because at the time, early 2016 when I fitted the system, there were no servo buddies for the Gen 3.
I have a new servo, I bought it recently on ebay for ?35, it's NOT a 2 minute job to change the servo, but it can be done yourself, I removed mine, disconnected the cables and then put it back on.
I'll probably fit the servo buddy myself to the rear, to stop the horrible noise on startup, and then fit the new servo later when I remove the exhaust system.

BTW, you Don't need to remove the tank, or the subframe, removing the RH footrest hanger helps, it's not a pleasant job, hence why your dealer wants to charge ?250 to fit a new one.

Your simplest answer, if you don't need the servo, is to put a servo buddy on instead, just remove the electrical connector on the bottom of the servo, you will need a long flat screwdriver to get the connector off.

 

[preynol1]

How can the servo not be included in the extended warranty? Cables I can understand but effectively a stepper motor?


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[JamieMac]

How can the servo not be included in the extended warranty? Cables I can understand but effectively a stepper motor?


BMW's extended warranty is not supplied by BMW. It's just an insurance policy you'd get with any secondhand vehicle from a dealer. It covers a lot less than the original warranty.

 

[Tattoobob]

I got a Healtech exhaust servo eliminator off Ebay for ?44.99.