Uh-OH dreaded red triangle

[Ncdan]

First things first, Happy Easter to all.
Now the issue. As many times this has come up here goes again. For the past few weeks the red warning triangle has been coming up in the first start of the day, on my 2015 1400 Tourer. I can turn if off and back on a couple times and it’s been going away for the rest of the days riding. I was talking with one of the knowledgeable guys here and possibly may be a low voltage issue like maybe the battery getting weak as it’s 5 years old but still starts with vigor. So a few days ago I put the trickle charger on it and for the next couple days the triangle did not appear. However as of yesterday it’s coming on even when hooked up to the charger. With the assistance of one of the guys here I’m going to hook up to the laptop and run the codes,ASAP.
Any other observations on this issue with other 1400 owners required and appreciated, except for Luap as he’s probably had enough for now:(
Thanks guys.

[Bulldog9]

First things first, Happy Easter to all.
Now the issue. As many times this has come up here goes again. For the past few weeks the red warning triangle has been coming up in the first start of the day, on my 2015 1400 Tourer. I can turn if off and back on a couple times and it’s been going away for the rest of the days riding. I was talking with one of the knowledgeable guys here and possibly may be a low voltage issue like maybe the battery getting weak as it’s 5 years old but still starts with vigor. So a few days ago I put the trickle charger on it and for the next couple days the triangle did not appear. However as of yesterday it’s coming on even when hooked up to the charger. With the assistance of one of the guys here I’m going to hook up to the laptop and run the codes,ASAP.
Any other observations on this issue with other 1400 owners required and appreciated, except for Luap as he’s probably had enough for now:(
Thanks guys.

Dan,  Christos Aneste.....Alithos Anesti!!!

A few issues I saw on the MGX and a couple of other 1400's included loose grounds mainly at the ground strap behind the starter, and the power lead at the starter. Some had no start issues, some had error codes. One issue I had was an intermittent triangle of death with the little oil can, turned out the connector for the oil pressure was put on by a gorilla and had loosened the female side of the spade connector. I had to pull the tank and use pliers to tighten the crimp. With all the electronics on this beast, it can be a challenge to track down. With a 5 year old battery, that may be the issue, but it will be interesting to see what GD says.

[SIR REAL ED]

Dan,  Christos Aneste.....Alithos Anesti!!!

....... but it will be interesting to see what GD says.

Where's the WG hats that say WWGDD?  Fundraising idea.....

[Ncdan]

Dan,  Christos Aneste.....Alithos Anesti!!!

A few issues I saw on the MGX and a couple of other 1400's included loose grounds mainly at the ground strap behind the starter, and the power lead at the starter. Some had no start issues, some had error codes. One issue I had was an intermittent triangle of death with the little oil can, turned out the connector for the oil pressure was put on by a gorilla and had loosened the female side of the spade connector. I had to pull the tank and use pliers to tighten the crimp. With all the electronics on this beast, it can be a challenge to track down. With a 5 year old battery, that may be the issue, but it will be interesting to see what GD says.

Thanks Bulldog, I’ll pull the seat and start checking for loose fittings first.

[Ncdan]

New clue to this insanity!!
I was discussing this issue with a fellow 1400 owner here about the red triangle I’m dealing with now and something else developed. It’s our understanding that the red triangle is tied in with the alarm system. When I hit the tourer it came with a by-pass connection that eliminated the need for the key fob and alarm system and I have had no issue in two years. So I decided to remove the by pass connector and clean the prongs and replace. Before I did this the triangle would blink occasionally, now it blinks every 4 seconds like clock work!
During all this I decided to leave the battery tender hooked up just in case the there is an issue with the battery being weak thus causing a code.
Any ideas guys???

[elvisboy77]

Mine did it.  Bad/corroded battery terminal.  At 5 years it's time to get a new lawn tractor battery.  "Cranking fast" doesn't mean anything.

[Ncdan]

Update***** with the assistance of my buddy pal, we hooked the laptop to the 1400 and with the Guzzidiag program ran a Diagnostic check which no present or past codes came up. Tomorrow I am going to remove the battery and have it load tested which as Elvisboy Suggested could possibly be the issue. I’ll offer an update as more info comes to light. Thanks guys and happy Easter 👍

[Huzo]

Approximately every 60,000 k interval, my Norge does the same thing.
In my case it’s a dying oil pressure switch. I can confirm this by waiting ‘till it manifests, head off down the road and when up to 60 mph, roll off the gas, and with your RIGHT hand, flick the key to “off”.
Allow the engine to spin over for a few seconds against compression, and WITHOUT opening the gas, AGAIN WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND, flick the key back to “on”.
The triangle will go away...

[Ncdan]

Approximately every 60,000 k interval, my Norge does the same thing.
In my case it’s a dying oil pressure switch. I can confirm this by waiting ‘till it manifests, head off down the road and when up to 60 mph, roll off the gas, and with your RIGHT hand, flick the key to “off”.
Allow the engine to spin over for a few seconds against compression, and WITHOUT opening the gas, AGAIN WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND, flick the key back to “on”.
The triangle will go away...

You trying to get me killed Huzo! I can’t even walk and chew gum at the same time let alone preform that act the way you described. Thanks but I’ll just pull off the side of the road. 👍👍👍

[Kiwi_Roy]

My Griso throws up the red Triangle if an indicator bulb goes out, hopefully it's something equally important.

[Ncdan]

My Griso throws up the red Triangle if an indicator bulb goes out, hopefully its omething equally important.

Thanks for the response Roy. According to the guzzi daig report there are no codes thrown and the bikes runs flawlessly. I won’t say who but one of the guys here said it could always be fixed with a small piece of electrical tape, placed over the triangle. Dang I’ve got good friends 😂😉👍

[Ncdan]

****update****
Since there was a possible of the five year old battery causing the issue I took it out and had a load test preformed and it tested good as a new battery.
So no codes thrown, battery up to spec, no loose wires detected and no other issues found.
The good news is that since the triangle is tied in with the alarm system and key fob, which I bypassed with the bypass connector that came with the bike, I removed it and cleaned the prongs. After replacing it and changing out the ignition key, I have a change in the system.
The red triangle blinks every 4 seconds now when turned off which it had not been doing. I have started it several times since I did these troubleshooting efforts and the triangle has not reappear since.
You guys with the 1400 bikes please check and see if your triangle blinks when the bike is not running and the key is out. Remember you could be next to suffer the curse😂

[Kiwi_Roy]

 
The red triangle blinks every 4 seconds now when turned off which it had not been doing. I have started it several times since I did these troubleshooting efforts and the triangle has not reappear since.
You guys with the 1400 bikes please check and see if your triangle blinks when the bike is not running and the key is out. Remember you could be next to suffer the curse😂

Oh, that red triangle, mine has always blinked, when off, I assumed it was just a theft deterrent
I think my Honda SUV does the same thing.

[Bulldog9]

****update****
The red triangle blinks every 4 seconds now when turned off which it had not been doing. I have started it several times since I did these troubleshooting efforts and the triangle has not reappear since.
You guys with the 1400 bikes please check and see if your triangle blinks when the bike is not running and the key is out. Remember you could be next to suffer the curse😂

That blinking while off is the 'anti-theft' light. You can go through the maze of options to shut off. It was on all my CARC bikes and my MGX (1400)  I thought it was on or blinking while you were riding.

[Ncdan]

That blinking while off is the 'anti-theft' light. You can go through the maze of options to shut off. It was on all my CARC bikes and my MGX (1400)  I thought it was on or blinking while you were riding.

If it’s on or blinking while you are riding the bike something is definitely wrong, mine does not.

[Bulldog9]

If it’s on or blinking while you are riding the bike something is definitely wrong, mine does not.

If the only time that it's blinking is when the bike is turned off there's nothing wrong.

[et18]

Yep, same as my '14 Touring, blinks whenever the bike is shut off.   Sounds like you fixed it!

[Ncdan]

Yep, same as my '14 Touring, blinks whenever the bike is shut off.   Sounds like you fixed it!

Yes sir, but I’m not sure which change fixed the problem. Was it cleaning the bypass plug, changing the switch key or removing and replacing the battery? Possibly the guzzi gremlin just died, who knows with these creatures??😂😂

[lucian]

Hmmm, I've been thinking,  Did the light start blinking about the time the Honda showed  up?   Nothing more unpredictable than a jealous Italian   

[Bulldog9]

Yes sir, but I’m not sure which change fixed the problem. Was it cleaning the bypass plug, changing the switch key or removing and replacing the battery? Possibly the guzzi gremlin just died, who knows with these creatures??😂😂

My guess is swapping the battery could have cleared the setting to shut it off. I know that the Norge and Griso had that capability (owned for 5-6 years) but not 100% I saw that capability in the MGX menu.  Either way, you are GTG!  And I agree with Lucian, Italian bikes can be.... well... a bit jealous. The VERY FIRST day I pulled my Norge in the garage and tried to put on the center stand, it fell over on my newly painted Porsche 912..... The Mirror gouged the door..... lol

[Ncdan]

Hmmm, I've been thinking,  Did the light start blinking about the time the Honda showed  up?   Nothing more unpredictable than a jealous Italian   

Lol Dave, as always you may have a legitimate point👍

[Ncdan]

My guess is swapping the battery could have cleared the setting to shut it off. I know that the Norge and Griso had that capability (owned for 5-6 years) but not 100% I saw that capability in the MGX menu.  Either way, you are GTG!  And I agree with Lucian, Italian bikes can be.... well... a bit jealous. The VERY FIRST day I pulled my Norge in the garage and tried to put on the center stand, it fell over on my newly painted Porsche 912..... The Mirror gouged the door..... lol

Now that is an interesting possibility. Removing the battery probably triggered a total reset of the entire system thus eliminating the glitch. Thanks Bulldog!

[Ncdan]

Back to square one. Decided to take an evening ride thinking the 1400 warning triangle issue was fixed and guess what? Turned the ignition on and there it was, a big pile of red triangle &#|+ blinking all the way up the driveway. I stopped at the end of the drive and turned the ignition off, waited a few seconds and restarted. Low and behold the gremlin was gone. I could learn to despise this bike😡😡😡😡

[lucian]

Hey Dan, I got a feeling it might be the connector to your oil pressure sensor. its in a tight location right in the front right hand side of the sump behind the fan, It has a single spade connector that is probably loose or crudded up or both.

[keener]

Hey Dan, I got a feeling it might be the connector to your oil pressure sensor. its in a tight location right in the front right hand side of the sump behind the fan, It has a single spade connector that is probably loose or crudded up or both.

This was the reason on my Griso 1100 , cleaned up the terminal....tighten ed up the fit and applied a dab of silicone...no issue since     

[Bulldog9]

Hey Dan, I got a feeling it might be the connector to your oil pressure sensor. its in a tight location right in the front right hand side of the sump behind the fan, It has a single spade connector that is probably loose or crudded up or both.

I would agree. Had the same exact issue on the mgx. This clamp side of the Spade connector was loose and would cause the problem intermittently. pull off the tank pull off the Spade cover tighten them up with a pair of pliers put a little vaseline on the spade and slid it back on.

Not sure of the instrumentation on your 1400, but I also had the little oil can icon come up. I knew that I didn't have a problem with oil pressure so figured it was either a bad sensor or loose connector. It ended up being a loose connector.

[Ncdan]

Thanks guys. Tomorrow I am going to see if I can get on my mechanics bike rack and check it out.

[Moparnut72]

I would agree. Had the same exact issue on the mgx. This clamp side of the Spade connector was loose and would cause the problem intermittently. pull off the tank pull off the Spade cover tighten them up with a pair of pliers put a little vaseline on the speed and slid it back on.

not sure of the instrumentation on your 1400, but I also had the little oil can icon come up. I knew that I didn't have a problem with oil pressure so figured it was either a bad sensor or loose connector. It ended up being a loose connector.

You are right on. I had the same problem with my Audace when I first got it. The owners manual said if the red triangle is flashing it is a problem with the ECU not being able to talk to the sensor. Doesn't necessarily mean there isn't oil pressure. If the triangle is solid red then there is a major issue. It was the second day of my ownership of the bike and I wanted to ride it, the nearest dealership is 85 miles away. I was given the device to pull a rocker cover and if you are getting oil you are good to go. It is amazing how much oil is thrown around in the upper end. These Guzzis are amazing.
kk

[Bulldog9]

You are right on. I had the same problem with my Audace when I first got it. The owners manual said if the red triangle is flashing it is a problem with the ECU not being able to talk to the sensor. Doesn't necessarily mean there isn't oil pressure. If the triangle is solid red then there is a major issue. It was the second day of my ownership of the bike and I wanted to ride it, the nearest dealership is 85 miles away. I was given the device to pull a rocker cover and if you are getting oil you are good to go. It is amazing how much oil is thrown around in the upper end. These Guzzis are amazing.
kk

Another big clue to it being either a bad sensor or bad connection is that the light and oil can comes on after 10 seconds or so with just the key in the on position, not even started. I was in the middle of a ride when it first happened. Hit a bump and it went off... Rode for another month before it happened again, then I pulled the tank. Took 10 minutes. No need to put on a rack Dan, can be done anywhere. 

If this is the first time you are taking the tank off, remember to lift the tank, disconnect the electrics for the fuel pump, then turn on key and cycle the starter a bit. This will relieve pressure in the system and make removing the fuel line disconnect easier. It is a strange combination of pressing the line slightly towards the tank connector and pulling the ring back. This detaches the latches. The Collar comes off WITH the fuel line, leaving only the barb sticking out of the tank. Be aware it is plastic and likes to break if you put too much pressure on it.

[Moparnut72]

After pulling the tank on my Harley a few times to upgrade the manufacturer's shortcomings I found the Guzzi tank removal a breeze. No crossover for one thing.
kk