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Accessory port behavior


Puddles

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Hello all.  I've moved on from my '96 RT, but not very far.  I'm now riding an '05 RT.  Did love the look and character of the '96, but I must confess the '05 feels like a step forward... into the 21st century even.

 

Apparently in that 9 years BMW made the electricals pretty fancy.  Somewhat intelligent, even.  This is probably to my benefit, but until I get it figured out, it's just to my befuddlement.  Two things:

 

1.  I have a battery tender which was absolutely vital on the '96.  It does not seem to be so vital on the '05.  Good thing because I can't get the tender to "find" the bike.  My tender plugs into the accessory port, but neither the "charging" nor the "maintenance" lights go on.  It hums, so I know it's powered.  I've tried plugging it in with the key on (nervously) and with the key off.  Is there a way to put a tender on this way, or should I wire directly to the battery, or should I just say Never Mind?  I know there is a fancy pants BMW tender which no one buys because it's so darn expensive.

2.  I also have a USB adapter for the accessory port.  Key off -> plug in adapter & load = no power.  This is not confusing.  Key on -> plug in adapter and load = power to load.  This is not confusing either.  But Key on -> plug in adapter and load -> key off = power remains to load.  This indicates to me that I can power a device with the key on, and the bike is clever enough to keep power to it even if I turn off the key.  Once I remove the load, the power goes away.  Is the bike this smart, and do I have the behavior correctly deduced?  Will my phone keep charging while I'm taking a break?

 

Thanks...,

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28 minutes ago, Puddles said:

Hello all.  I've moved on from my '96 RT, but not very far.  I'm now riding an '05 RT.  Did love the look and character of the '96, but I must confess the '05 feels like a step forward... into the 21st century even.

 

Apparently in that 9 years BMW made the electricals pretty fancy.  Somewhat intelligent, even.  This is probably to my benefit, but until I get it figured out, it's just to my befuddlement.  Two things:

 

1.  I have a battery tender which was absolutely vital on the '96.  It does not seem to be so vital on the '05.  Good thing because I can't get the tender to "find" the bike.  My tender plugs into the accessory port, but neither the "charging" nor the "maintenance" lights go on.  It hums, so I know it's powered.  I've tried plugging it in with the key on (nervously) and with the key off.  Is there a way to put a tender on this way, or should I wire directly to the battery, or should I just say Never Mind?  I know there is a fancy pants BMW tender which no one buys because it's so darn expensive.

2.  I also have a USB adapter for the accessory port.  Key off -> plug in adapter & load = no power.  This is not confusing.  Key on -> plug in adapter and load = power to load.  This is not confusing either.  But Key on -> plug in adapter and load -> key off = power remains to load.  This indicates to me that I can power a device with the key on, and the bike is clever enough to keep power to it even if I turn off the key.  Once I remove the load, the power goes away.  Is the bike this smart, and do I have the behavior correctly deduced?  Will my phone keep charging while I'm taking a break?

 

Thanks...,

Afternoon   Puddles

 

A standard battery charger won't work on the hexhead through the accessory port (the accessory ports are computer controlled) , you will need a special charger. 

 

If you want to use your old charger you will need to add a charging pigtail directly to the battery posts. 

 

You really should add a pigtail to the battery anyhow as your 2005 only has 5 amps available to the accessory ports. (5 amps will barely run anything).

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5 amps is pretty paltry.  The previous owner ran a heated vest from it though, or at least he said he did.  Is that even possible?

 

Maybe the thing to do the next time the plastique is off is rewire the factory port to the battery.  Kills 2 birds.

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6 minutes ago, Puddles said:

5 amps is pretty paltry.  The previous owner ran a heated vest from it though, or at least he said he did.  Is that even possible?

 

Maybe the thing to do the next time the plastique is off is rewire the factory port to the battery.  Kills 2 birds.

Evening Puddles

 

Yes, a single heated vest usually works OK, a heated vest & heated gloves usually won't work for long.

 

On later 1200 hexheads BMW upped the accessory socket to 10 amps (that is 10 amps total for both accessory sockets if you have 2). 

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8 hours ago, Puddles said:

...

2.  I also have a USB adapter for the accessory port.  Key off -> plug in adapter & load = no power.  This is not confusing.  Key on -> plug in adapter and load = power to load.  This is not confusing either.  But Key on -> plug in adapter and load -> key off = power remains to load.  This indicates to me that I can power a device with the key on, and the bike is clever enough to keep power to it even if I turn off the key.  Once I remove the load, the power goes away.  Is the bike this smart, and do I have the behavior correctly deduced?  Will my phone keep charging while I'm taking a break?

 

Thanks...,

The accessory port should turn off a short time after the key is turned off, but the interval seems to vary a bit, usually between 20 to 60 seconds. Try it and see what happens.

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The Rocketman

If its easier and more convenient to use the port you already have (either the one in the front fairing, or the one back by the passenger seat) rather than adding a new port,  just rewire one of those existing ports and connect it directly to your battery using an appropriate sized in-line fuse. That's been done many times before, and this way it won't time out as it won't be part of the CANbus system anymore. Just as easy to add an SAE or other pigtail to your battery terminals and use that for trickle charging.

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