BMW Charger

[stokesrl]

I have one of the grey BMW battery charger. Everytime I plug it into my scoot (r1200rt), the green and the red light comes on. The red light says error. I think it's charging anyway. Have you guys seen this>

[gunderwood]

Are you turning the ignition on first, then plugging the charger in, then turning the ignition off? The CANBUS system shuts the port down after ~30secs and that could be the cause of the error. If that is the case, the battery is not being charged.

Technically you can plug the charger in within ~30secs of shutting it off, but I find it easier to just flip the ignition than guess if I was quick enough or not.

[Anyname]

What year and model? My 2005 R1200GS required a odd ritual to enable charging (and would require it to resume charging after power outages), my 2011 R1200R just starts charging as soon as it is plugged in.

[stokesrl]

I tried turning the key on first and them plugging it in but that didn't make a difference. If I start the ending, the red light goes off for a while and then comes back on. Is there a reason why I can't just put a pick tail on the battery and plug a battery tender into it? (2007 rt1200rt)

[Jim Rogers]

Optimate 4 with proper pig-tail connected directly to battery. Use it for all the bikes, the generator, and the '65 Pontiac.

[INDAWIN]

I have the BMW charger for my 1200RT. We have a lot of momentary power outages, one to five seconds, and I'm wondering if that disconnects charging through the canbus. Anyone have an idea?

[Anyname]

I suspect it depends on the year of the motorcycle. The newer ones do not require the CANBUS ritual, older bikes do. I found out about the power outage issue when the battery for my 2005 GS was DOA in the spring. The charge had been plugged in all winder, but it had obviously stopped charging at some point.

[calmil]

optimate 4 with proper pig-tail connected directly to battery. Use it for all the bikes, the generator, and the '65 pontiac.

+1, minus the generator and pontiac, but including the lawn mowers and garden tiller!

[Firenailer]

I'm sorry I cant remember where, but this was discussed on one of the other sites either (BMW Luxury Touring, BMW SportTouring or K-Bikes) and it was a loose or reversed polarity problem to the accessory port.

Once the leads were reversed everything worked fine, including the endless cycling!

[Anyname]

I tried turning the key on first and them plugging it in but that didn't make a difference. If I start the ending, the red light goes off for a while and then comes back on. Is there a reason why I can't just put a pick tail on the battery and plug a battery tender into it? (2007 rt1200rt)

Nope. I added one to my 2005 GS and charged it that way for years.

[Firenailer]

I think we need some more info before we can help you. What year is your motorcycle and after the initial light up, do you just see the power light on the bottom of the charger and the charge sequence across the top?

It will re run the charge sequence again, (red to green) if it senses a drop in the battery.
This seems to be a fairly ongoing thing, not at all like the old red, yellow and finally constant green stage of the older chargers.

It does seem overly complicated though

[stokesrl]

its a 2007 r1200rt. The green power light stays on. I plug it in, the red "1/3 charged light comes on also. After a few seconds, it goes off and the red "error" light comes on.