Bmw Battery Charger

[PATTERSON]

Just out of curiosity, I hooked up the new BMW charger to the bike after a 20 mile drive to work with a short stop at Safeways. It took almost 7.5 HOURS for the light to go green!! Did that every day for a week.....and it never took less time.........no matter how far the drive to or from work. The battery would always show 12.9 volts prior to hook-up. Upon disconnecting from the charger it would be at 13.9 or 14.0V. What gives? Any ideas?

[RaffyK]

You have:

A) parasitic drain

B) bad battery

C) forgetting to lock the handlebar

It's most probably (B).

[PATTERSON]

I do need to perform a simple test one of these days...... when the battery is sitting at 13.9V, (fully charged) I'm supposed to hit the starter and fire it up for a second.....shut it off, and then check the charge again to see what it says. The tech at the dealership asked me to do this, and record what the numbers are....and let him know. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

I never lock the forks unless I'm "out and about".......why would that make a difference? Are there things that have juice to them, when not locked, and no juice when locked? Interesting........

[RaffyK]

Locking the handlebar kills power to almost all items on the bike. There are a few things that still get power when the ignition is off and the handlebar is not locked.

[Dochatley]

I have been wondering the same thing Patterson. After my 35 mile ride home from work I put ole "Beemer" in the garage and hook the Battery Tender for Gel Batteries up to her and the light blinks for, not sure how many hours. In the morning it is solid green (fully charged). I would think it would be fully charged when I got home.


And Raffy, I gotta know, what things remain powered on the bike when the key is in the off position and not in the fully locked position? :confused:

[Big_E]

I only use my charger if I won't be riding the bike for a week or more. I think using it when you are riding every day or at least a couple days a week may be covering up another problem. If the battery is dead in a couple of days it is going bad & needs to be replaced or you have something else wrong draining it. On the other hand in cold weather, which we don't have much of, I would plug it in.

[meese]

And Raffy, I gotta know, what things remain powered on the bike when the key is in the off position and not in the fully locked position? :confused:The radio and alarm have power even with the key off. There are other things, but I can't remember and don't have my schematic handy.

[Dochatley]

The radio and alarm have power even with the key off. There are other things, but I can't remember and don't have my schematic handy.

DUH....., I listen to my radio while I fuel up and key is off. Never thought about it being powered. WHERE IS MY BRAIN :o

[wilbar00c]

Do you know that you can just turn the key about 30 deg CCW from the off pos (as far as it will go with the bars centered) and the power is cut to the radio and CD player!! Try it with the radio playing and you will see what I mean. I do that when I share the charger with another toy for a few days.
Also as has been noted, an old tired battery will take longer to obtain the required voltage then a new healthy battery. That is why I bought a new battery after 5 years and instead of taking over night to go green, it only took a few hours or less with the same type of riding pattern. Barnett