K13GT Alternator Failure!

[dwestly]

Just a note for K12/13GT folks: I thought my battery was going bad, so I took it in today. The shop tested it and said yep, bad. However, it was not only the battery but also the alternator that had failed. Bike is an 09 K13GT with 9.8K miles. I don't have a lot of extra drain on the system, just my ZUMO, Adaptiv radar detector, and CooCase LED brake lights. Anyway, they hope to have a new alternator in for me either NLT than Friday....

[dwestly]

Well, if your K13GT alternator fails, it appears there is no replacement part currently stocked in the U.S. My replacement alternator (warranty) is winging its way over from Germany this weekend...hopefully I'll have the bike back mid-week or so.

[Semper_Fi]

That is a bummer - any more information from the dealer other than it is broke.

[dwestly]

Not much. They were as surprised as I was. About 3 weeks ago I wheeled the GT out for a ride after a 2 week layoff, and the battery was dead. I figured I had fallen victim to the ZUMO mounted-drain-the-battery syndrome. So I put the GT on the Battery Tender and it took literally 2 days to fully recharge. So no problems after that. I was careful to pull the ZUMO if I was leaving the bike for more than a day or two. Then I pulled the GT out on a Monday morning a week ago, after a 250 mile ride the Saturday before that, and it was dead again. I never got an engine warning light or anything while riding it. I charged the battery up again and rode it over to the dealer this past Wednesday. They test it and at first say "Yep, bad battery, not carrying a load." Well, I had kind of already figured that part out... Seriously, as soon as they put a new battery in and cranked it up, it started discharging, without a recharge from the alternator. Really bizarre, as we were still not getting any warning lights, etc. Then they went on a search for a replacement alternator, intending to overnight it and get me up and running the next day (I've got a great dealer...). No luck. They had to get Germany to send the part via express...

That new Ducati Multi-Strada 1200S Touring is starting to look pretty good...Maybe I can swap 'em my GT and 1098 straight for one of those...:laugh

[dwestly]

So I'm on the range late today, teaching an MSF class when the shop calls. They've got the alternator, have it installed and the bike will be ready shortly. Not bad, considering the shop was closed Sunday and yesterday. Not 15 minutes later, the shop manager calls again and says "Wait a minute, we're getting some readings on the output that we don't like. We're checking some numbers and we'll get back to you." I tell them no problem, I'm teaching today and tomorrow, and can't pick the bike up until Thursday anyway. That's the last I hear today...

Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode of "The GT Turns".... not. I'm seriously starting to think Multistrada here...:laugh

[Semper_Fi]

Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode of "The GT Turns".......

:lurk

[dwestly]

Ok, today's episode...

So at the end of today's MSF class, we get the students out the door and I'm on the phone to the shop. Shop manager says the new alternator tested out good....however...it seems the bike's computer system is not allowing the alternator to charge the battery below a certain RPM. Once the bike is running 4K RPM or so, the system works right. However below that the battery is in discharge only.
As of the end of today they are trying to reprogram the computer system to see if that fixes the issue. If that works, they'll retest it and I'll have it back tomorrow. If not, they have to email/send all the test results to Germany to try and figure out the next step. Interestingly, when they talked to the BMW N.A. rep today, he said they had recently had another report of a GT alternator/system failure (NFI).

The saga continues....

[Semper_Fi]

It's amazing the level of technology in these bikes, the computer system controlling the charging characterisitics.

Hopefully you will get your bike back quickly and corrected.

[dwestly]

You know, my first bike was a 1970 Yamaha 200 2-stroke street twin (used, $400), when I was 15. It was oil-injected, bellowed blue smoke, the battery occasionally leaned over in its mount and touched the frame, causing discharge, and the carbs were NEVER in synch. But everyday I got up, slapped on my 3/4 Bell Helmet (K-Mart, $19.95), and rode it to high school. I could actually fix the thing on the side of the road, if need be. Sigh...

Anyway, I'll post today's episode once further revelations have been cast from BMW's version of Mount Olympus...

[dwestly]

Today's news....
The shop is still getting negative readings from the computer system and no recharge of the battery below a certain RPM. All data now going to BMW N.A. and Germany...guess I'm riding my Duc this weekend...

[dwestly]

Shop called yesterday and said Germany isolated the problem. It was the ZFE component within the computer system. Evidently this is some firmware/hardware part that controls the alternator output and battery recharge, among other things. Fortunately this part does exist in the U.S. The shop had the part overnighted and they installed it today and tested it. Everything now works and the system gets the right amps at low rpm to recharge the battery.

Tomorrow morning I'm riding over on my Ducati 1098 and exchanging it for the BMW...the Duc has developed a little bit of rough idle...go figure...

[dwestly]

Picked up the GT, rode it home, everything was great. It sat for a week. I went out this morning to crank it up and go for a ride with our local MSTA group. I turned the key and...nothing. No click, no whine, no computer screen lighting up...nothing. Dead as a door nail. Needless to say, the humor in this situation has made a quick exit.

I called my service manager and his first words were "You're kidding!", followed very quickly by "We'll be right there to pick it up". (I have a great service department, fortunately). So soon thereafter the shop's retrieval truck arrived as promised. They have one of those cool bed loaders that deploys from the back of the truck, flat onto the ground. We rolled the bike up onto it and away it went...

Stay tuned...

[Semper_Fi]

Bummer

[dwestly]

Ok, the culprit is now the recently installed ZUMO 665 cradle. Like some others, it apparently is drawing voltage even when the GPS is shut down. Actually, I'm glad its the cradle and not the bike. Fortunately the dealer was able to revive the battery and it is holding a charge. Tomorrow I'm installing the CentTech fuse panel just received, and I'm going to run both the GPS power and the Adaptiv radar power leads into the switched terminals on the fuse panel. This should solve the problem...

[radrider]

Good to see your alternator problem is being solved. I can tell you I have had my Zumo cradle connected first to the outlet and later direct to the GPS connector for 5 years on my RT with no problems with the battery or alternator. Is the dealer insinuating that the GT can't tolerate a direct GPS connection?

[Semper_Fi]

Great news! Happy to hear resolution for you.

BTW ALL my accesories are thru the fuse panel

[dwestly]

Yeh, I guess I was a little late getting mine installed. Anyway, my service manager has offered to go ahead and install the fuse panel for me, since they've already got the bike on the lift and torn apart. Maybe he just doesn't want to see the bike back again, anytime soon... :)

[petemiko]

Is it the Zumo cradle drawing power (with the Zumo removed) or is the Zumo internal battery being charged, drawing down the bike's battery?
I always remove my Zumo 660 from the bike when parked and never have a problem.

[k1600GTrider]

Interesting. I had the same problem-low battery- on my bike with the 550 mount. I took the bike to the dealer and they finally got the battery charged and found no other problem. I have not had any battery problems since I installed the Centech fuzeblock.
Don S

[dwestly]

No, the cradle is drawing 11 volts constantly, without the GPS installed. I'm wondering if the XM radio/antennae is causng that draw? Anyone have an idea about that?

[Semper_Fi]

The XM antenna should not draw anything - it is not powered, there is only one single connector to the cradle, nothing to power.

The Zumo itself is the interface for the XM radio

[41077]

I've left maps in my tank bag for months and they never messed with the battery....
Are our bikes getting too complicated? I like the Air Head motto "Simple By Design"
Glad your issue was resolved sounds like you have a great relationship with your dealer.

[dwestly]

Yes, but is it possible that if there is problem with the cradle, that it is feeding that power to the XM? The 11 volts has to go somewhere...

[petemiko]

There is a thread in the oilhead forum that discusses the Zumo 660 topic as well. One of the guys actually measured the current drain, before the Zumo 660 was installed, and after it was installed (powered off, both cradle only and Zumo on the cradle).
The powered off Zumo draws .84ma, the cradle alone draws .1 ma.

Everyone should be aware that your bike drains a small amount of power in the off state, due to the leakage in all the wonderfull electonic aids we all enjoy.

In the case documented in the oilhead forum, the addition of the Zumo added 33% to the bikes overall power off current drain.

[Semper_Fi]

There could be a probelm with the cradleif it is drawing that much.

I addition to the voltage and way you can check the actualcurrent draw?

Have you checked or posted on the Zumo Forums www.zumoforums.com; they are quite knowlegdeable.

[dwestly]

We're headed out to CA this week for a new bike model intro. Once we get back, I'm going to contact Garmin directly and chat with them about it. Their customer service has been pretty good in the past.

In the meantime, picked up the bike on Sat. Everything is now wired through the CenTech, which is mounted under the seat in the previously empty spot reserved for the alarm system. The GPS and radar detector go through the switched fuses, and my CooCase power runs through the unswitched side. They wired my switched power into the outlet, so I have about a 45 second delay from the time I shut off the ignition until the GPS and radar detector power down. They even did this nice wiring harness for everything, so it looks very neat.

BTW, the yellow wire in the top right is the tap for my CooCase lights, just in case anyone's wondering...

http://bdrfjw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pkd8tkEZMz7cyYA5961JuHvy7n3XGWehTS1OMD8Mx08YqO6Z imcKlCN7XUmRCZlTtiVq2yu3uPUmDwPEBe6gdlbqPfzeUUf2K/DSC02203.JPG

[Bullet]

GPS? XM radio? Radar Detector?

That's a lot of frustration and expense for limited gain.

How about riding for the sake of riding?

Leave all that stuff at home, except maybe a road map, and follow your front tire to wherever it leads you. Problem free touring. It's the way to go.

[Semper_Fi]

I like the technology and the gadgets and having the information they provide.

To each his own. Ride as you like

[dwestly]

GPS? XM radio? Radar Detector?

That's a lot of frustration and expense for limited gain.

How about riding for the sake of riding?

Leave all that stuff at home, except maybe a road map, and follow your front tire to wherever it leads you. Problem free touring. It's the way to go.

Agreed. To each his own. Ride safe!

[Bullet]

... as long as all these electronic gadgets don't distract from the task at hand.

Semper Fi: Did you ever change the air filter on your GT?

[Semper_Fi]

... Semper Fi: Did you ever change the air filter on your GT?

actually I did a few weeks ago when I was installing the auxilliary lights.

No big deal - take of the right side (Throttle) panel, unbolt the computer and remove the snorkle

[dwestly]

... as long as all these electronic gadgets don't distract from the task at hand.

I agree completely...if you can't manage new technology without risking your safety, then you shouldn't use it. Of course, is that any different than sticking a map on your tank and trying to read it while riding?...