BMW Gel Battery Performance

[Fireant]

I have a 2001 R1150GS (purchased used this January) that has a < 6 month old BMW Maintenance Free Gel Battery installed. I notice that, even after a long ride at highway speed and engine RPMs, it takes several hours and sometimes overnight to bring the battery back up to full charge with a BMW Battery Tender made specifically for this battery. Batteries in my other two bikes produce the green light within minutes under the same conditions.

Are there some issues with this battery / charger combination that I am unaware of, or are there some underlying issues (loose alternator belt, alternator problem, etc.)?

[BuddingGeezer]

1st thing I would check is the alternator output voltage. Take a reading at the battery terminals, voltage should be around 13v at idle and 14-15 at 3000 rpm or so. If you have a good charging system, have the battery load tested. It is rare, but sometimes a relatively new battery fails.

I am assuming you have cleaned the battery connections.

Ralph Sims

[PGlaves]

Does anybody remember all the wailing when BMW said it took a special charger to fully charge the new batteries. I heard or read 100 times the plaintive wail - "but they didn't change the charging system on the bike" implying it was pure bull.

My experience with the gel batteries in our three Oilheads mirrors that of the original post. The bike will get the battery to about 85% charged but no more - at least on Voni's R1100RS, R1100S, and my R1150R. But my special charger will do better than that if I choose to bother. Regular use makes it not matter much.

I don't know what, if anything they have done with the 1200s - but with the 1100s and 1150s the bikes don't seem to fully charge the battery.

[BubbaZanetti]

weird, i had the gel in my S, it was, from my best guess, produced in 2004. if i ever plugged the bike in after a ride i was greeted with a green light almost immediately.

[Brownie]

Pretty much samo-samo as Bubba Z...on "Inga":p

[jlaban]

Does anybody remember all the wailing when BMW said it took a special charger to fully charge the new batteries. I heard or read 100 times the plaintive wail - "but they didn't change the charging system on the bike" implying it was pure bull.

My experience with the gel batteries in our three Oilheads mirrors that of the original post. The bike will get the battery to about 85% charged but no more - at least on Voni's R1100RS, R1100S, and my R1150R. But my special charger will do better than that if I choose to bother. Regular use makes it not matter much.

I don't know what, if anything they have done with the 1200s - but with the 1100s and 1150s the bikes don't seem to fully charge the battery.
__________________
Paul Glaves - "Big Bend", Texas U.S.A
"The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution." - Bertrand Russell
http://www.bigbend.net/users/glaves

Paul:
Your response begs the question: Will a battery other than gel get to full charge on a '99 oilhead?

John

[jasonTDI]

yep.

been running an PC680 Oddessey for 2 years no issues. Way stronger than the BMW battery.

[BMorleyW]

I replaced the gel battery on my 1150 RT last year and with the BMW charger never, that's right, never, have been able to get a full charge into it. Usually not an issue because I have always been able to start it on a tour, (have had to use the charger on a cold morning not touring) but geez. The battery always sounds weak, and it's alway iffy to start after a cold night, even after riding all day and when you're camping out by yourself as I like to do, if it doesn't start you're kind of SOL. Steve

[Fireant]

All starting to sound as if the BMW Gel Battery / charger combination is the culprit. The terminals are clean. I have a PC680 in my '98RT, and a standard Yuasa in the KLR650. The Odyssey does not require the Battery Tender unless it sits for ~ 2 weeks...even then it doesn't take much to charge...a matter of minutes. The Yuasa takes a little more, but nothing like the BMW Gel.

Next opportunity I think I will check the alternator output, belt, etc. just to make sure, though.

[PGlaves]

Does anybody remember all the wailing when BMW said it took a special charger to fully charge the new batteries. I heard or read 100 times the plaintive wail - "but they didn't change the charging system on the bike" implying it was pure bull.

My experience with the gel batteries in our three Oilheads mirrors that of the original post. The bike will get the battery to about 85% charged but no more - at least on Voni's R1100RS, R1100S, and my R1150R. But my special charger will do better than that if I choose to bother. Regular use makes it not matter much.

I don't know what, if anything they have done with the 1200s - but with the 1100s and 1150s the bikes don't seem to fully charge the battery.
__________________
Paul Glaves - "Big Bend", Texas U.S.A
"The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution." - Bertrand Russell
http://www.bigbend.net/users/glaves

Paul:
Your response begs the question: Will a battery other than gel get to full charge on a '99 oilhead?

John

Well - I think that depends. Generally yes.

The source for the opinion is a fairly sophisticated Schumaker charger I have, with settings for small (2a) medium (6a) and large (12a) charging rates; settings for "Conventional" wet cell, "AGM", and "Gel"; and readouts of voltage and % charged.

Now I don't recall dealing with a '99 recently, but have dealt with two '94, one 2000, and one '03 Oilheads. All those bikes (ours) have read 100% on either Odyssey, Panasonic, or Westco AGM batteries an hour or so after a decent ride. None of them will result in a 100% reading on an Exide (BMW) Gel cell battery after parking the bike - but the charger will bring the Gel cell up to a reading of 100% when set for "Gel" battery type. So will my BMW branded special Battery Tender. Those are the sources of my personal conclusions about the batteries, in our fleet at least.

All of our K75s will also bring either an AGM or wet cell to 100%. I don't know about the BMW Exide Gel in those bikes because I don't use one in them.

The traditional way to test % of charge is by measuring the specific gravity of the electrolyte with a battery hygrometer. Obviously this doesn't work with either an AGM or Gel sealed, maintenance free battery so we are stuck with voltge and/or the voltage readings of an automatic charger.

[abe456]

I've tried several BMW gel batts, gave up on them. Too expensive, dont last, tricky charging.

Went with Odyssey, no more probs with battery or charger.

[Jankoman]

I recently replaced the BMW battery in my 2003 R1150RT with a Universal brand battery (UB12220). I was having starting problems in the morning when the temp was below 40 degrees. I almost bought the Odyssey battery, but the CCA was only 200. For 53 bucks I got the Universal with a claimed 420 CCA. Anyway, just last night a did a quick trip to the corner store. I parked the bike and plugged it in for the night and took the groceries inside. By the time I got back outside to pull the side bags for the night, the Battery Tender had already stopped blinking telling me the battery was fully charged. Needless to say, I no longer have trouble starting in the morning either. The BMW battery I replaced was fairly new too - the previous owner told me so.

[GlobalRider]

Does anybody remember all the wailing when BMW said it took a special charger to fully charge the new batteries. I heard or read 100 times the plaintive wail - "but they didn't change the charging system on the bike" implying it was pure bull.

Yes I remember, Paul, and it is.

My "gel" battery sits at 12.9V parked (not hooked up to a charger) and lasts 5 or more years. I get 8 full years out of my FLA batteries. As for those using the "special" BMW chargers, are they all getting far more than 5 years out of them? If not, then the charger has very little to do with it.

Paul, can you point me to a BMW Exide spec that indicates what a full charge is?

[GlobalRider]

The bike will get the battery to about 85% charged but no more.

How did you determine this?

[PGlaves]

How did you determine this?

Go back and re-read post #10.

[PGlaves]

Yes I remember, Paul, and it is.

My "gel" battery sits at 12.9V parked (not hooked up to a charger) and lasts 5 or more years. I get 8 full years out of my FLA batteries. As for those using the "special" BMW chargers, are they all getting far more than 5 years out of them? If not, then the charger has very little to do with it.

Paul, can you point me to a BMW Exide spec that indicates what a full charge is?

Nope. It is 12.7 volts at a specific gravity of 1.265 for a wet flooded cell battery - a bit higher for Gel.

You seem to think I dislike the Gel battery. I don't. I just don't care if our bikes fully charge the things or not - as long as the bikes keep the battery charged enough.



Even Deltran - on their website - states that the charging program is different for Gel than for standard and AGM batteries.

See: http://www.batterytender.com/selection_guide.php

[GlobalRider]

You seem to think I dislike the Gel battery. I don't.

No Paul, I never thought that. I'm the one who doesn't have much use for gel batteries simply because they haven't performed as well as my flooded lead acid batteries, which by the way allow me to do some preventative maintenance to them. Gel batteries are sealed...period...can't do anything to them other than charge them properly.

Yesterday after my battery had been disconnected for almost a day and the voltage stabilized at 12.9V I started my GS Adventure up for the first time this year.

All I did was let it warm up to the 1st oil temp bar and check all the lights, including driving lights and my horn. So it never went for any ride to charge up what I had just depleted. Yet today, the voltage reads 13.0V...when these alternators supposedly don't charge at low RPMs. While off idle, the battery voltage read 14.1V (my on-board voltmeter (http://edelweiss.smugmug.com/photos/510948616_8xNox-L.jpg) is connected directly to the battery)

For some reason, my oilheads don't crank over nearly as well as my airheads. Its almost as if there was more load on the starter or the internal resistance of the battery was too high. Maybe I'll use my FLA battery to start my oilhead one day and see if its the type of battery.

[GlobalRider]

Even Deltran - on their website - states that the charging program is different for Gel than for standard and AGM batteries.

Yes, I've pointed people to their charger selection site.

The question is "how different"?

The box that my Optimate III came in lists FLA, AGM and GEL.