DCT paddles stopped working

[nigelspencer 15]

Has anyone else had their DCT paddles stop working? I only noticed recently as I always drive in D (London traffic), even if I put it into manual mode they still do nothing. All the fuses are ok - any ideas?

[bazza 3,629]

new one on me!

[fred_jb 10,264]

You could try tracing the wiring from the LH switchgear back and see if any connectors are loose.  The wiring diagram shows that there is a separate connector for the paddles, so if you can locate this it would be worth checking.  It has three wires - green/blue, yellow/red, and light green/red.

 

Fred

 

PS:  On the other (wiring loom) side of the connector the green/blue wire turns to blue/yellow.

Edited October 7, 2015 by fred_jb

[embee 7,288]

What happens in manual mode? Does it not engage a gear or does it select first gear then stay in it? I presume you mean it won't downshift in D or S? Normally it won't upshift on demand in D because it changes up as soon as it can anyway, not sure if it will upshift on demand at full throttle in D, can't say I've tried it.

 

From what you say I am guessing it was working fine then stopped working for some reason, so you are use to what it should do?

 

Do you get any error coding coming up? The gear indicator panel should show a fault (check the manual for what to expect). If the paddle (+ & -) buttons are simple switches there may not be a check function on them, no way for the electronics to check if an open switch is actually connected.

 

The answer to your question, no, haven't had any issues. I'd think the other suggestions about connectors are the first things to check, you need to delve in behind the panels. Not heard of this particular issue before.

[Guest sykospain]

Another expert response on wiring issues from Fred.

 

Having just got the August-purchased brand-new NC750S-DCT dream bike home to my villa on the s.e. Med coast of Spain, may I endorse the many threads here in praise of this amazing vehicle.

 

A great 1,400 Km trip south after collecting the bike from my son off the Santander ferry,  handing over to him the last BMW I'll ever own, the 10-yr-old F650CS belt-drive Scarver which I'd ridden north via Madrid to Santander, we had some great father-and-son touring days cruising round the phenomenally spectacular roads and dramatic scenery of the Picos de Europa in Asturas / Cantabria.

 

Throughout the 5 day trip, both tootling and blasting by turns, on either smooth almost-deserted motorways or the equally sparsely-traffic'ed top-quality-maintained by-roads that sweep through the mountains and lake-sides, incorporating by turns thousands of predictable and well-signposted sharp- and gentle-bends,, the NC proved itself yet again to be a fine touring motorcycle - perfectly comfortable ( with the Shad comfier seats ), nimble, supremely easy and intuitive to drive, adequately fast ( 120 to 165 kph motorway cruising hour after hour,  keeping a wary eye out for the Spanish helicopter-radar patrols and fixed cameras when exceeding the national speed limit, and unbelievably economical on 95 RON fuel - an overall full-tank to full-tank score on repeated fill-ups of two-point-eight L /100K, or in your terms more than SEVENTY-FIVE mpg.

 

Only problem was the remarkably pessimistic fuel gauge - on no occasion could I ever squeeze more than 11.8 L into the tank. Maybe Fred will know if there's a little resistor somewhere that one can tweak to replicate the traditional method of bending the float-arm inside the tank in order to make the reserve indication more accurate.

 

Now, all that remains after having installed all the multitude of extras on the bike whilst it was in the UK, is to seek out ways of making the rear lighting more noticeable - maybe strips of red LED lights around the number-plate and a better LED stop/tail bulb than the ten-euro one I first bought.  And somewhere in the mountains on a coffee stop we met a pair of Brits on Beemers - one of whom had a pair of phenomenally-bright LED driving spot-lamps that he said cost him £18 from China via "that" auction site.  The two tiny 3-watt Crees that I'd fitted under the mirror stalks are not quite enough to warn waiting tin-boxes that are likely to pull out and T-bone me.

 

Any suggestions for frame-tube mounted lamp fitments would be much appreciated, plus ideas for stuff designed for dazzling following cars with the bike's brake-lights.

[noj 365]

Nigel.

Ive posted your Q on the stateside forum, not sure if you was a member on there.  Hope Ted doesnt mind.

[Tonyj 6,907]

Be brave Alan on the juice front , I've run mine up to2.8 ltr on reserve . You can get more in the tank

[noj 365]

If shift switch (paddles) malfunction there should be DTC error code #42 (shift indicator on display blinking "-"). First thing, check connectors from paddle switch and to PCM. There is a separate set of wires to 3P connector coming from LH switch assembly. Service manual would be helpful p. 12-32 (2012).