8 mth old battery is dead

[Mr_Ed]

Yeesh! My 8 month old 2007 GSA wouldn't start yesterday morning. I turned the key and it went through it's normal "boot cycle". When I hit the starter it kind of half turned over and then everything went dead! I watched the screen and the bike seemed to go through another boot process....after that...no response from the starter. I tried turning off the bike and turning it on again...no joy. I put the battery on a charger overnight and still no joy. What's now odd is that normally the headlight doesn't come on until the motor is running....now it comes on as soon as I turn the key goes dim very quickly.

I just happened to run into the guy who runs my local BMW shop Sunday afternoon and explained what happened. He diagnosed it as a toasted battery which is easily addressed under warrenty so in one sense it'll all be OK.

Here's what tweaks me though... The bike is 8 months old, has always been garaged and never goes more than 6 days without getting 6+ hours of good riding. One would think that the battery would be the last thing I'd need to worry about. NOW... I wonder if I should carry a spare battery with me when I go on long trips

 

OK... Going to stop whining now.

[MattS]

I wonder if I should carry a spare battery with me when I go on long trips

Only if you remain an atheist.

[Dick_at_Lake_Tahoe_NV]

My guess is that it's an "Infant Mortality" failure. I'd just get the battery replaced and not worry about it. Since it happened so suddenly, I don't think you have any problem, such as a "small current drain when the bike is off", otherwise it would have shown up sooner.

[Mr_Ed]

My guess is that it's an "Infant Mortality" failure. I'd just get the battery replaced and not worry about it. Since it happened so suddenly, I don't think you have any problem, such as a "small current drain when the bike is off", otherwise it would have shown up sooner.

 

Yep! That's my hope. I did have one other odd low battery incident but I suspect that had to do with someone (not me) leaving the key in the on position once. I'm just glad that BMW warrentees the battery for 2 years (from the original purchase date of the bike).

[BFish]

not that this is any consolation, but 3 years ago mine died after picking up the RT upon comletion of its 600 mi service. owned it for about 10 days! was on my way to a meeting and stopped to get fuel. fortunately the dealership was only 20 min away. new battery installed and it's been juiced up ever since. i've never used a tender. it gets ridden at least 2x's a week for long enough distances to keep it charged i guess.

[JR356]

Hi,

 

When you get the new one make sure it gets a full initial charge,don't just have it installed and take off.

Best bet is to get it home and let it fully charge before using the bike on a routine basis.

Do this unless you can 100% guarantee that you believe you dealer when he tells you it's charged and ready to go.Even then I'd fully charge it at home.

 

By the way,if a battery is fully down,some of the new float chargers,including the Battery Tender don't have enough capacity to bring them back,you need a regular 3 amp or so Auto/MC charger that you can get at any auto parts store/Walmart,Sears,etc.

 

JR356

[notacop]

When the guys tell you fully cahrged they mean plugged into a 1 1/2 amp charger for overnight. Nice slow charge. Anything can fail. Give juice a chance!

If you want to sell a non running GS cheap post it here!

[ScottT]

My battery will be three years old this April. My RT has 50126 miles on it as of tonight. Batteries are like most everything else. Some go bad before they should while most do not. That's life, eh?

[Mr_Ed]

My battery will be three years old this April. My RT has 50126 miles on it as of tonight. Batteries are like most everything else. Some go bad before they should while most do not. That's life, eh?

 

Yep. I'm just glad that mine was replaced under the 24 month warranty. I'm also glad that BMW made the battery much more accessible than on previous years.

[Stir]

My GT's battery is not all it could be either. I have to make sure everything is turned off. Five minutes of accessories will drain the battery completely down.

 

Oh yeah...and it's God's way of punishing your insolence!

[Mr_Ed]

My GT's battery is not all it could be either. I have to make sure everything is turned off. Five minutes of accessories will drain the battery completely down.

 

Oh yeah...and it's God's way of punishing your insolence!

 

I guess you're right. Maybe I should've tried prayer instead of replacement. You still have your battery... Let me know if it works

 

 

Dearest Forum Moderator: Sorry!

[ScottT]

I like that the battery is now under the seat too. Kudos to BMW for moving it. I didn't know they'd made the battery warranty 24 months either. Glad to hear that. I have a close friend who had his battery die early on his '05 R1200ST. After that happened to him I installed a C-Volt voltmeter on my RT to keep an eye on the battery voltage. When the bike is not running with the ignition on voltage should be between 12.4 and 12.5 vdc I think. Mine is almost always 12.49. Hopefully the meter will help me to detect the battery going south before it get's to the failure point. Overall I've been lucky with the stock batteries. On average they've lasted 5 years for me. Hope your new one does just as well for you. Happy riding Ed.