Trickle charging not allowed direct to battery ????

[bimmers]

I read that we are not supposed to charge the battery by connecting direct to it. We are supposed to use one of the accessory ports. Does anyone know what this is all about. I have always had my bikes wired with a pigtail from battery for charging.

just back after a month in Europe and now it seems too hot to ride here in FL. Battery is ok but would like to have a simple connection not one with the propriary 

lighter connection.

h

[dirtrider]

10 minutes ago, bimmers said:

I read that we are not supposed to charge the battery by connecting direct to it. We are supposed to use one of the accessory ports. Does anyone know what this is all about. I have always had my bikes wired with a pigtail from battery for charging.

just back after a month in Europe and now it seems too hot to ride here in FL. Battery is ok but would like to have a simple connection not one with the propriary 

lighter connection.

h

 

10 minutes ago, bimmers said:

I read that we are not supposed to charge the battery by connecting direct to it. We are supposed to use one of the accessory ports. Does anyone know what this is all about. I have always had my bikes wired with a pigtail from battery for charging.

just back after a month in Europe and now it seems too hot to ride here in FL. Battery is ok but would like to have a simple connection not one with the propriary 

lighter connection.

h

Evening  bimmers

 

It is basically a BMW caution so you don't ever exceed 15 volts during the charging cycle. (supposedly to protect the bike's electronics).

 

You can hook up battery direct with a pigtail direct to the battery but you need to make sure that your battery charger is never able to exceed 15 volts dc. Some chargers have de-sulfation cycles, or other custom cycles that could exceed 15 volts.   

 

I haven't ever heard of a damaged motorcycle but BMW does caution about it. 

 

 

[Skywagon]

...I've been going direct to battery for over 20 years on multiple bikes.... My RT came new from the dealer with a pigtail to the battery. As DR said...check your charger.  I think mine only goes to 1.5 so

[TPadden]

 

... that's amps not volts. 

Tom

[WBinDE]

My dealer (as do many others) puts a Battery Tender pigtail on the bike, wired directly to the battery, as part of the setup process. BMW no doubt hopes to drive some sales to its branded charger which is CANBUS friendly and charges through a Powerlet port, but any decent smart charger won't fry your battery. Older ferroresonant chargers would, though (they're the ones with the ammeter that starts high and goes down as it charges), and as has been mentioned even a modern smart charger can damage one if its desulfation cycle is activated. The fix for that of course is not to activate it.

 

I use a CTEK MXS 5.0. I live alone and last winter I put my 2020 GSA on one for 3 months and left town and it was fine when I got back. Right now my car has been on one for 2.5 months and I expect it'll be fine too when I get back next month.

[bimmers]

That's what I thought, pigtail will get installed.

h

[steveg]

My 2020 RT has a pigtail behind the little cover on the left side, don't know if it was installed by the dealer or someone else,  I bought it from a private seller 

[Hati]

The '21 bike no longer charges through canbus. I have a Motobatt canbus/lithium ready charger that worked fine on the '06 RT I owned  before the '21 bike. So a Ctek pigtail went on the new bike.

[Ultra54]

Hondaline Optimate

 

 I've used this on my S1000XR since new and now on my 21 RT connected direct to the battery through a pig tail.

[ScottT]

On 7/20/2021 at 5:18 PM, bimmers said:

I read that we are not supposed to charge the battery by connecting direct to it. We are supposed to use one of the accessory ports. Does anyone know what this is all about. I have always had my bikes wired with a pigtail from battery for charging.

just back after a month in Europe and now it seems too hot to ride here in FL. Battery is ok but would like to have a simple connection not one with the propriary 

lighter connection.

h

Don't believe everything you read. the problem is not connecting to the battery directly to charge it, the problem is connecting a dumb charger that has no automatic cut-off once a full charge is reached. These days is actually hard to find a "dumb" charger that doesn't automatically charge then maintain.

[PODMAN]

On 8/3/2021 at 2:21 AM, Hati said:

The '21 bike no longer charges through canbus. 

That really is incorrect. My 21 charges absolutely fine using a optimal 4.

[Hati]

6 hours ago, PODMAN said:

That really is incorrect.

 

That really is CORRECT with the charger I have and named. Correct as tested. Again, worked perfectly on an '06 RT but not on the '21 RT.

[Audi403]

So is anyone charging the 2019 RT through the accessory port with a CANBUS compatible Optimate charger? I just winterized my bike and didn't have the correct adapter to plug in the accessory port. I ended up just pulling the battery completely and hooking it up directly. Debating leaving a pigtail connector wired to the battery or buying the adapter to charge through the accessory port...

[wbw6cos]

I do not charge through the accessory port, but I ride year round.  I ride the RT every other week and sometimes I keep it plugged in for the week that it sits, with a CTEK charger, but not all that necessary.

 

I have an SAE 2-pin connector installed on the bike.   It is wired directly to the battery and came like that when I bought the bike new.   It may have been a dealer installed option; I have seen them on many bikes in the showrooms.  This was at 2 different metro Atlanta dealers (one is no longer open).  Mine is located on the right side, just above the footpeg area.

[PODMAN]

I have charged my GSA ,RT and present RS all through the canbus accessory port using the optimate  charger for at least 4 years without any problems.

[garysciascia]

I've used pig tail plug chargers for years too. When i bought my first BMW back in 2017 , a GTL, the dealer told me unless i bought a BMW charger for $130 ( i think it cost) they wouldn't warranty the electrical system. The BMW charger has the same plug as on the right fairiing. A very nice charger(displays amps and volts among other things). It worked out that i got it for free since they forgot to install the LED light bar accessory in my top box. I told the salesman, throw in the charger and ill install the light bar myself. They didnt charge me for labor for the light bar so i got the charger for free.

[Paddler]

I have a 2020 RS. I haven't seen an accessory port.  Does my bike have one, and if so, where is it?  I charge mine direct to battery, the cover comes off in less than a minute.