BMW Charger

[jniemuth]

I have an '06 and only ride it only on weekends. I found out the hard way that the battery will not last one week without riding. I bought a BMW charger and plugged it in a accessory port.

Does it matter which accessory port, or can I use any on them? I have always seen it used on the lower left side, but does it matter?

Thanks.

[jzeiler]

Lower left is "active" all the time the rear one is switched. You may have something causing a drain as I have left mine alone for three weeks and she fired right up. Also park with the forks locked as that eliminates some of the drain potential. Just don't go too far and turn on the parking lights.

[alindsay]

Agree. Battery should hold for more than a week. Sounds like a bad battery or a drain somewhere.

[GoldRush]

You can pull the ignition key out when it's in Park, which leaves your park lights on. Are you sure you're not draining due to this?

[jniemuth]

The parking lights are off and the handlebars are locked. This actually started to be a problem after I had the dealer install the Navigator II. Maybe the wiring is at fault. I take the Nav unit off each time so I know it isn't that.

[TomMoss]

I know that many of the satellite radios will draw current even when turned off. Although I use the BMW charger most of the time, I have on occasion started the bike with no issues after a week or so off the charger. It should not drain so quickly.

[gsd]

have had it on the charger all day......well, about 9 hours. All the lights come on but it will not turn over. Do I need more time?

[midnitejaz]

have had it on the charger all day......well, about 9 hours. All the lights come on but it will not turn over. Do I need more time?

gsd,

If you have the alarm/convenience package, be sure the engine imobilizer is not active. To do this, press the unlock button once (or until you hear a single beep).

HTH

[PhantomK12LT]

Does anyone have a pic of the BMW charger?

[mwnahas]

Does anyone have a pic of the BMW charger?

A little like this.

http://www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=1357

:bmw:

[JohnnyBSurfing]

I have the same problem!

It seems that if I ride the bike and then do not put it back on a charger before I ride again the next day it will be dead.

I did find out that if you have a deep discharge that it takes more than the trickle charger to get you back up to the right charge.

I posted the question about using a solar charger to keep "Grace" topped off.
I ordered a solar charger from Harbor Freight for $10.

Last weekend I rode 230 miles and the next morning the bike would start but I put it on the charger and it said it was less than 80%. So I charged it for a couple hours before going back home.

I also have ordered the Odyssey PC -680 and the Odyssey charger 6amp.
Now it looks like I need to get a brass L bracket to hook up everything to it.

I am sure with these bikes that there are parasitic items in the mass of electrical gadgets and extras that are taking down my charge.

I will let everyone know how it turns out when I replace the BMW Gel battery and charger with the Odyssey.
I know others here say it has really been a good trade up.

Good Luck

[PhantomK12LT]

I just picked up my LT last week. It had a charger in the top case, but when I pluged it in to the accesory port, the lights on the charger just blink. It acts like it's not getting the charge to the bat. Is there a special place to plug the charger in on the LT?

[PMitchell]

I just picked up my LT last week. It had a charger in the top case, but when I pluged it in to the accesory port, the lights on the charger just blink. It acts like it's not getting the charge to the bat. Is there a special place to plug the charger in on the LT?
Use the port above the shifter on the left. It's alway live.
The rear port is dead until the bike is running.

[McAllister]

Some folks say the port on the upper left side of the back case isn't usable unless the ignition is on but mine works well when I use it for hooking up the charger. The best place to hook up the charger is the battery either by direct connection or by a pigtail. Since the port works good for me that's what I use. If I needed a different connection I'd use the lower left port. Both of these ports are subject to corrosion so if you are having problems getting a good connection and the lights on the charger are blinking the first thing I'd do is check the ports and make sure they were clean.

After four years on my original battery I switched to the PC680. So far so good, no problems. I found the L shaped terminal brackets at the HD dealer. He had some in stock and just gave them to me since HD didn't use them anymore. There is a PC680 with a metal jacket that was for HD use. I think you can also find similar brackets at Home Depot or Lowes in the electrical area. They are used for grounding wire attachment in home CB panels.

[PhantomK12LT]

I tried the lower left port with the same results. charger blinking... Did'nt have time to inspect the port for corrosion but will jump into it this weekend.

[PhantomK12LT]

Port has no corrosion, and the fuses are good. The charger still will not charge bat. I'm confused as to what I should do next.

[Dick]

Port has no corrosion, and the fuses are good. The charger still will not charge bat. I'm confused as to what I should do next.
Hi, Terry - I'm late to the dance here, butt have a coupla questions for ya that may help me provide some info.

1. What year model LT?
2. What kind of charger - Battery Tender, Battery Tender Plus, BMW Gel Battery charger?
3. When you said the charger lights are blinking, are you saying both the red and the green are blinking? If just the red is blinking, thats ok for a short time, then it should go steady light, indicating the charger is charging the battery.
4. When the green light begins to blink, that indicates the battery is at 80% capacity and can be used. When the green light goes steady, charger is complete and on trickle maintenance.
5. And, are you hooking up the charger as described on the case, i.e.: plug the bike connector into the bike port first, then plug the power cord into the AC source? (That's how my B.T. Plus works).

Hope I haven't confused the issue, Terry. If the above doesn't solve the problem, then I'd take the charger and the bike to a dealer and let them check out the system.

[PhantomK12LT]

Hi, Terry - I'm late to the dance here, butt have a coupla questions for ya that may help me provide some info.

1. What year model LT?
2. What kind of charger - Battery Tender, Battery Tender Plus, BMW Gel Battery charger?
3. When you said the charger lights are blinking, are you saying both the red and the green are blinking? If just the red is blinking, thats ok for a short time, then it should go steady light, indicating the charger is charging the battery.
4. When the green light begins to blink, that indicates the battery is at 80% capacity and can be used. When the green light goes steady, charger is complete and on trickle maintenance.
5. And, are you hooking up the charger as described on the case, i.e.: plug the bike connector into the bike port first, then plug the power cord into the AC source? (That's how my B.T. Plus works).

Hope I haven't confused the issue, Terry. If the above doesn't solve the problem, then I'd take the charger and the bike to a dealer and let them check out the system.


1: It's a 2000 LT

2: Its a Battery Tender Plus.

3: The red light is blinking. On the back of the BT plus it says if the red light is blinking, AC power applied...Battery not connected properly.
Now that is confusing because there is no way I could have the battery connected wrong.

This may be another Dealer item to add to the list.

[Dick]

1: It's a 2000 LT

2: Its a Battery Tender Plus.

3: The red light is blinking. On the back of the BT plus it says if the red light is blinking, AC power applied...Battery not connected properly.
Now that is confusing because there is no way I could have the battery connected wrong.

This may be another Dealer item to add to the list.
OK - my B.T. Plus does the flashing red light at the initial plug-in, butt settles to a steady red (indicating charging) after a bit. I haven't timed how long it takes before it goes steady red, butt occasionally, I wonder *is it or isn't it, going to go steady*, and about that moment, it goes!!

I'll run back thru this thread again, cuz I wanna make sure you put a voltmeter on the battery and got a good reading. Or maybe you said it's a new battery - can't remember, butt I'll check. Otherwise, an item for the dealer.

[Dick]

1: It's a 2000 LT

2: Its a Battery Tender Plus.

3: The red light is blinking. On the back of the BT plus it says if the red light is blinking, AC power applied...Battery not connected properly.
Now that is confusing because there is no way I could have the battery connected wrong.

This may be another Dealer item to add to the list.
Idea!! Bring that B.T. Plus with ya to Bastrop. We'll check it, and yore battery, out there!!

[PhantomK12LT]

Idea!! Bring that B.T. Plus with ya to Bastrop. We'll check it, and yore battery, out there!!


Will do.. BT Plus will be in the trunk. And of course the Battery will be in the bike. Your a cool Dude Dick, you have been a tremendous help to me so far. CAn I adopt you as a dad??? :)

[patroa1]

Terry, you might want to check the BMW plug itself on the end of the Battery Tender cable it may have a bad connection internally. If that is ok I would also connect alligator clips to Battery Tender cable and hook- up directly to the battery if both lights still flash you may have a bad charger or a bad battery.

If that is the case I believe you can send it back and they will repair it for a nominal fee or you can just replace it. Check this site http://sunnbattery.com/item.html?UCIDs=559844%7C1256139&PRID=1326028

[PhantomK12LT]

Terry, you might want to check the BMW plug itself on the end of the Battery Tender cable it may have a bad connection internally. If that is ok I would also connect alligator clips to Battery Tender cable and hook- up directly to the battery if both lights still flash you may have a bad charger or a bad battery.

If that is the case I believe you can send it back and they will repair it for a nominal fee or you can just replace it. Check this site http://sunnbattery.com/item.html?UCIDs=559844%7C1256139&PRID=1326028


WOW, never thought of that. Thanks a million Pat. I will check that as soon as I get home.. It's 80 degrees outside right now, so it may take me a few hours to get home from work... :) But I will check this tonight. You guys are the greatest, very helpfull indeed. By the way, Im loving the K1200LT. Very nice ride.

[PhantomK12LT]

Took the bike to wild west dealer and they told me the reason my BT plus was not working is because I have a gel battery and the BT plus will not charge a gel battery. Does that sound right to you? He just happened to have a battery charger that would work however,,,, $80.00

[PhantomK12LT]

Just saw on another post that the gel batteries do require a special charger...

[Tweety1]

BT makes a BT that charges a gel, and for $38.95 will do a trade-in. The phone # is on the BT website, and they will direct you there. I just traded in a 10-yr old unit for a new one.

[wardenross]

Took the bike to wild west dealer and they told me the reason my BT plus was not working is because I have a gel battery and the BT plus will not charge a gel battery. Does that sound right to you? He just happened to have a battery charger that would work however,,,, $80.00 I have a BMW gel battery in my LT. If I plug in a regular Battery Tender Plus...the lights on the charger blink, and the battery will not charge. You must have a special (dedicated) BMW Battery Tender for BMW gel batteries in order to charge the BMW gel battery. Call the Battery Tender folks, they will explain how it works....

Yea, I know...it's a German thang!

[deputy5211]

I have a BMW gel battery in my LT. If I plug in a regular Battery Tender Plus...the lights on the charger blink, and the battery will not charge. You must have a special (dedicated) BMW Battery Tender for BMW gel batteries in order to charge the BMW gel battery. Call the Battery Tender folks, they will explain how it works....

Yea, I know...it's a German thang!

I have a gel battery in my '05 and my BT works just fine. It is 1.25 model. Dealer blessed it, and took the Battery Doc charger ($49.95) back for refund with no problem.

[javandyke]

:confused: I have a '06 with an Exide gel battery. My BT Plus works fine with it. The only thing the battery data sheet says is that the charger should be controlled and not exceed 14.4 volts.

Jim

[wardenross]

Call the Battery Tender folks, they will explain how it works....

Yea, I know...it's a German thang!
The following is a message from the company president.

I will try to end the confusion about the new BMW Gel battery Battery
Tender.

The BMW Gel Battery Tender is in fact different than the normal Battery
Tender Plus. Although the Deltran Battery Tender Plus and the BMW Battery
Tender appear the same they are quite different. Approximately one year ago
BMW contacted us concerning their new Gel battery that is manufactured by
Exide battery in Germany. We were instructed to redesign the charge
algorithm to comply specifically with the new Exide Gel battery. Exide
recommended very specific changes to the charge curve, one being a timed
sequence during the absorption period. Please keep in mind that our
engineering staff has been designing charge curves for over fourteen years
and prior to this design request had never seen anything quite like the new
Exide Gel.

As the old saying goes, "the customer always knows best," we can only
do
as requested. If BWM/Exide says charge it to their instructions and the
battery will last through the warranty period who are we to argue. If it is
any consolation, we have found it to be a very good battery and should give
you many years of service.

We do claim per our packaging that we correctly charge gel batteries,
prior to seeing the Exide battery that statement was true, we are now
changing our packaging to indicate otherwise. Due to the new battery design,
and to comply with the BMW warranty, the customer must purchase a "Gel
Specific" battery charger.

After all these years in the charger business we are still amazed how
every manufacture try's to re-invent the battery. We realize that with all
the different batteries in the market place the customer becomes very
confused and is usually forced to spend more money. Approximately three
years ago Harley-Davidson changed their battery design and manufacturer, it
proved to be a very wise decision and we can only hope it works out best for
BMW, and most importantly, you the customer.

Sorry for the Confusion,
Mike Prelec
President,
Deltran Corp.