Battery charger dilema

[artsnyder]

I recently purchased a battery charger for my R1200R, 2008 model, manufactured in 2007. The charger is a BWM charger manufactured by Deltran for BMW, sold to me by an authorized BMW dealer. My problem is I can't get the charger to work though the port. When I hook it up the light glows red, indicating charging, after about 3 minutes the red light blinks, indicating the charger is not connected properly. Sometimes the green light comes on, indicating fully charged, for about 30 seconds and then the red light starts blinking again and the green light goes out. I've tried hooking it up after turning on the ignition, etc but to no avail. I took the charger back to the dealer and they hooked up a differnent charger to one of theri bikes and it did the same thing so it evidently is not the charger.

My question is, does anyone know how to make the charger operate through the port? Any advice would be appreciated.

[108625]

Have you ever used the port for any power accessories? If you did and it worked, that would at least rule out the bike half of the equation.

[wsteinborn]

I'll bet you got the $80 "battery tender plus" in BMW livery and not the CANBUS-compatible $130+ dollar version.

If so, do what I did and add another powerlet (I filled the empty spot in the tail) and wire that directly to the battery. Or just use the battery harness that connects directly to the battery.


The CANBUS version keeps the port "alive" by sending signals to the CANBUS. The Battery Tender Plus version does not do that.

[iver404]

This is what I was told by the parts guy at Chicago BMW that sold me the BMW battery charger for my 2008 R1200RT.
1. Plug into the socket on the bike.
2. Plug into wall outlet.
#. Turn key on, wait for computer to check system, when finished with system check turn key off.
4. Charger will start charging.
The red LED light will light first showing the highest charge, than the green LED 1/3 showing that the battery is now in the first 1/3 of the charging process. Next green LED 2/3 will indicate the battery in now in the 2nd third of the charging process. The last green LED 3/3 will be for the final 1/3 of the charging process. This normaly takes a few hours to compete. The last green LED 3/3 will stay on until you unplug it from the wall outlet. I charge my battery when I done riding for the day and just unplug it the next day. I normaly charge my battery once a week.

Hope this helps you, Greg

[TourNut]

I have used Battery Tender , Shumacher, Vector, EverStart, Black&Decker and NAPA battery maintainers. Have had minimal service from all of these, Black & Decker and the Battery Tender brands didn't even work new, right out of the box !! I have had best luck using the Sears battery maintainers , 3 for 3 bikes, the warranty on them have been the best , backed up the best by the Sears store people. However, ALL of the above are being made in CHINA the last few years and that seems to be the root of the problem common to all the brands now. I wish I could find a brand that truely is American made.

[moshaffer]

Its Smoky Mountain National Park.

[Semper_Fi]

I'll bet you got the $80 "battery tender plus" in BMW livery and not the CANBUS-compatible $130+ dollar version.

As noted for CanBus equipt bikes you need this type of charger

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm43/Semper_Fi_LR/Junk/71607688865.jpg


The CANBUS version keeps the port "alive" by sending signals to the CANBUS. The Battery Tender Plus version does not do that.


Not to be a smart-ass but what actually happens is that the charger sends a signal via the CanBus to the ZFE module to keep it alive.

CanBus is just a single wire conduit system - all the magic is done by the various modules.

[MPMARTY]

I just wired leads to my battery post on my R1200RT and plug in any one of my battery tenders in the late fall and unplug in April. No worries. I've got so many electrical farkles on it now I sometimes think I need a second battery like in an RV.

[timay]

I'll bet you got the $80 "battery tender plus" in BMW livery and not the CANBUS-compatible $130+ dollar version.

If so, do what I did and add another powerlet (I filled the empty spot in the tail) and wire that directly to the battery. Or just use the battery harness that connects directly to the battery.


The CANBUS version keeps the port "alive" by sending signals to the CANBUS. The Battery Tender Plus version does not do that.



Double-checking:

I have an 07 K1200GT and the BMW branded Battery Tender. I have installed a new accessory socket and have hard-wired it directly to the battery (fused, of course).

I can safely charge the battery with the Battery Tender while the bike is connected to the battery, correct?

I've seen plenty of contradictory / confusing info and lots of opinions on this. I'm hoping to hear from someone who has done this to tell me it's OK before I go nuke my bike's electronics. ;o) It sounds like there are lots of people doing this.

Thanks!

[stkmkt1]

Yes. You should have no problems charging the battery directly while it is connected to battery. Just make sure you always plug in the charger to your 12 volt outlet, then plug the charger into the 120 volt wall outlet. When removing the charger, unplug it from the wall first, then unplug it at the bike.

[kidtwist29]

Double-checking:

I can safely charge the battery with the Battery Tender while the bike is connected to the battery, correct?



I'm nervous about this too. I have a Battery Tender Jr. which I used on my previous bike and thought I would use it on my 2009 R1200R but the motorcycle's manual says to disconnect the battery first (no matter what kind of charger you're using). For that reason I haven't used my charger yet.

[motorman587]

I thought, and will double check, but I thought the Canbus will shut itself off when the battery is 80%? I thought I read this in MOM.

[marchyman]

The CAN-bus is just a bunch of wires that connect the various controllers on the bike. Like any other pieces of wire they don't have the ability to shut themselves off unless you put so much current through them that they melt.

The controllers, on the other hand, control what is connected to what. Among other functions they act as smart switches. A controller such as the ZFE might well shut down one or more functions as the battery voltage gets low.

When connecting a charger directly to the battery you bypass the controllers. The question is can that do harm to the bike? Well, yeah, but.... so can your alternator. A properly operating battery charger will do no more damage to your bike than a properly operating alternator/voltage regulator. The difference is that if your alternator takes out your electrical system on a new bike its covered by the warranty. Not so if your third party charger does the damage.

So what's your tolerance for risk? I plug my charger to a pigtail connected to the battery through a Fuzeblock. I don't see much risk in doing that. Your level of risk may be different than mine.