2003 1200 Lt " Dead Battery

[adamscf0]

I went to start my Bike and the new battery was dead. When I attempted to jump the battery I attached the red to red and when I attached black to black the starter start's engaging and tired to start the bike. The key was in the off position at the time. I removed the black end of the jumper cable and it stopped. I turn the key to the on position and placed the cable back on the black post and the starter engaged again and the bike started. I let the bike run for a while and when I got on it the lights and turn signals would not work. I rode the bike for about a half of mile thinking that battery would re-charge, but the lights and signals did not work. I rode the bike back to the house and when I went to cut it off it would not go off and continue to run with the start's now engaging. I tried the kill switch and got the same result. I finally turn the key of and let the start run until the battery went dead with in of ten seconds. This is the first time this has happen. Have anyone expirance this or have and idea of what is going on.

[BradfordBenn]

Did you charge the battery before installing it? Not all batteries come charged, so it might need a deep charge.

[adamscf0]

It was installed at the dealership four weeks ago and I have been riding daily, but had not been on it in two days.

[johnes335]

My K75 is quite a bit older but did the exact same thing this past spring. I had tried to start it with a very close to dead battery. After replacing the battery, as soon as I made contact with the ground the starter started cranking. Turns out (I think only on K bikes) that this exact chain of events will cause you to weld the starter relay in the closed position. While I ordered the relay I was unwilling to wait to ride so I accessed it (under the tank) and managed to get 3-4 good whacks at it with the rubber end of a screw driver. This freed the relay and I rode all summer problem free. I am not a mechanic but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

(MAX BMW's on-line diagrams were a huge help in locating the relay.)

[gadwal]

At the outset, your battery (new-old-otherwise) did not have sufficient voltage to start the engine; this resulted in a stuck battery relay; this in turn causes the starter to keen moaning & groaning in attempt to start the engine. Hopefully, you have not screwed something else up during your attempt to rectify your problem.

Fully charge the battery, and be certain that it is fully charged; then take an adjustable wrench (or something similar) and knock the hell out of the battery relay. Good chance that this will free the contact, and if so it will likely not give trouble again until you attempt to start the engine again with a discharged battery; if not a new relay will cost about $60.00.
Hope this helps.

[adamscf0]

Thanks I will give this a try.

[PHMarvin]

Hi, adamscf0,
What you have described is a classic case of the starter relay points welded. When this happens, the only ways the starter will stop turning is for the battery to run out of juice or the battery to be disconnected. Remember that if the motor starts and the relay points are still welded together, the starter motor will still be turning and will not stop until current is removed! Find the starter relay and hit it. Maybe the weld will break. If not, remove it and take apart and separate the points. You might file them a bit, too, then reseal the case and reinstall the relay. Or you can replace the relay with a (pricey) new one. Before you try to start the bike again, make sure the battery is fully charged or replace it with a new one. The points welded because you hit the starter button with a weak battery.

[jdiaz]

The big problem here is that the starter relay is BURIED on K1200LT's. Everything has to come off to access the relay underneath the gas tank.

Since battery rundown was a common occurance on LTs a few years ago, BMW released a retrofit kit replacing the standard K bike relay with one that won't weld its contacts together in a low-voltage situation. I thought the '03s came with this new relay already installed, but maybe the change was made in 2004. I spent the $100 and did the work myself with BMWLT.net....the instructions should still be there.

[adamscf0]

Thanks for the information, I was able to fully charge the battery and I will try ti install it and see if the start is still doing the same thing. If it is than Iknow that I have to remove the body parts,,,Thank again to everyone

[cjack]

Thanks for the information, I was able to fully charge the battery and I will try ti install it and see if the start is still doing the same thing. If it is than Iknow that I have to remove the body parts,,,Thank again to everyone

If the relay is still stuck and the bike is now running, tap the starter button and sometimes this energizing the relay coil will unstick the relay. If you do not unstick it, disconnect the battery until you do get it unstuck to avoid overheating the wiring and the starter motor.

[adamscf0]

I put the battery in today and the bike started and everything works fine. I thank everyone who gave me advice. This is a great forum to belong too.