Help needed!!! Totally dead R1200RT

[graemer57]

Have a 05 RT. not run it for the last 3 months but has been connected to battery conditioner all that time (or so I thought, it was connected powered and on!). Went to start it this morning and nothing..absolutely nothing. No lights, no clocks, no clicking from the brake servos or from starter motor solenoid trying to fire. Totally dead. Then had to jump into car and dash to work before I could do any more investigation. Probably a flat battery?? Anything I should know about disconecting the battery, charging it and reconnnecting?? any special button press sequences? If it turns out not to be the battery where else should I start to look? Many thanks Graeme

[Albert]

Graeme,

I haven't done this myself on the RT (yet) so I don't know the effect, but check the kill switch position just the same. In the course of 3 months, who knows. Good luck.

[graemer57]

Hi Al Thanks for the suggestion...did check it 3 or 4 times in case I had overlooked it Sadly thats not the problem

[dancogan]

Did you have the new computerized battery charger? It requires that you have the ignition of the bike on before you plug it in. Then you have to let the bike initialize before you turn the key off. Then it charges. If you had any other charger then it wasn't charging, unless you wired it directly to the battery, as opposed to charging through the power outlets.

[marcopolo]

Did you have the new computerized battery charger? It requires that you have the ignition of the bike on before you plug it in. Then you have to let the bike initialize before you turn the key off. Then it charges. If you had any other charger then it wasn't charging, unless you wired it directly to the battery, as opposed to charging through the power outlets.

 

I just picked up a new RT last week, and the dealer suggested I not get the BMW charger. If I recall correctly, he said that it works fine if you follow the proper sequence for using the accessory outlet, but that once the battery is fully charged, power to the outlet is shut off, so it's not suitable for leaving hooked up for a long time, like I do over the winter. Whether it's acurate, or not, I ended up buying an Optimate charger. The dealer connected the leads directly to the battery and the wire is tucked out of the way. It also seems like there were too many customers who were unhappy with the whole CANBUS/accessory outlet/charger issue that the dealer now recommends against that method.

[TowJam]

If I recall correctly, he said that it works fine if you follow the proper sequence for using the accessory outlet, but that once the battery is fully charged, power to the outlet is shut off..

 

Your dealer is wrong. If connected in the correct sequence, the BMW charger keeps the accessory socket open and will continue to maintain the battery as necessary.

[graemer57]

I used my existing charger following what i thoguht was the sequence that kept the socket open. but there is no way of really telling it is working is there. I hope i havent done any damage to CANBUS :-(

[Pictou]

I kind of doubt you did any damage. Its probably just a dead battery. As others have said only the specific charger that BMW sells will work through the socket.

 

I use a regular battery tender hooked straight to the battery. Not only can I charge the bike this way but I can use it to power other electrical stuff. If you want to power other stuff you do have to change the fuse that comes with the cable since I think the stock fuse is only 2 or 3 amps (at least mine was like that).

 

Andrew

 

I used my existing charger following what i thoguht was the sequence that kept the socket open. but there is no way of really telling it is working is there. I hope i havent done any damage to CANBUS :-(

[SageRider]

If I recall correctly, he said that it works fine if you follow the proper sequence for using the accessory outlet, but that once the battery is fully charged, power to the outlet is shut off..

 

Your dealer is wrong. If connected in the correct sequence, the BMW charger keeps the accessory socket open and will continue to maintain the battery as necessary.

My dealer stated that the BMW charger (not the can-bus controlled accessory socket) shuts off once the battery is fully charged. Dealer further stated that the BMW charger will not automatically turn on again to keep the battery topped off. Dealer recommended one of two options:

1) Use a low current smart charger tied directly to the battery.

or

2) Have one of the accessory sockets removed from the Can-Bus and tied directly to the battery for use with a low current smart charger.

 

In both cases, dealer stated that disconnecting the battery from the remainder from the bike's electrical system is not necessary.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Not for nothin' but, a thought just occurred to me.

 

It has been my experience that a battery will go Tango Uniform at about the 3 year point regardless. Some get more, some get less but let's just call it that.

 

What is that BMW charger, $130 bucks? If you just throw you battery away at the beginning of the riding season and replace it with one of those Panasonic or Odessey type batteries at 80 bucks or so. At the end of three years you will have spent a grand total of 240 dollars and have your entire riding season ahead of you. Take all this care and buy the fancy BMW charger and your battery is still dead at the end of three years and you have to get another one. The BMW battery is about 135 bucks. Way I see it, its a wash money wise and you have the advantage of a brand new battery at the start of each season.

[SageRider]

Very interesting point...

Especially since the one BMW Gel I had lasted 13 months.

[TowJam]

My dealer stated that the BMW charger (not the can-bus controlled accessory socket) shuts off once the battery is fully charged. Dealer further stated that the BMW charger will not automatically turn on again to keep the battery topped off. Dealer recommended one of two options:

1) Use a low current smart charger tied directly to the battery.

or

2) Have one of the accessory sockets removed from the Can-Bus and tied directly to the battery for use with a low current smart charger.

 

In both cases, dealer stated that disconnecting the battery from the remainder from the bike's electrical system is not necessary.

 

There's a 3rd option: Use the BMW canbus compatible charger. I know from first hand experience that it will continue to maintain a live connection with the battery if properly connected to the canbus system.

 

This isn't rocket science. I don't understand why dealers don't spent a little time learning about the products they're supposed to be selling. (And my rant isn't limited to BMW dealers. When I bought my Road Glide, my salesperson couldn't explain how to program the radio stations.)

[Rusty1945]

canbus compatible charger[/url]. I know from first hand experience that it will continue to maintain a live connection with the battery if properly connected to the canbus system.

 

Good to know - my dealer gave me one of these gratis when I paid FULL PRICE for my R12RT

 

Rusty

(drives a hard bargain)

[Hiawatha]

I've got the AccuMate(battery charger) and I have it wired to with a Gerbing's plug (for my heated jacket) which is wired directly to the battery. It is supposedly the high tech solution with all the float and maintanance stages. I was hoping I could get more than three years out of a battery by floating it all winter?

R1200ST

[marcopolo]

If I recall correctly, he said that it works fine if you follow the proper sequence for using the accessory outlet, but that once the battery is fully charged, power to the outlet is shut off..

 

Your dealer is wrong. If connected in the correct sequence, the BMW charger keeps the accessory socket open and will continue to maintain the battery as necessary.

 

 

I just checked my RT's manual and this is a direct quote; it says "Charge via the power socket, with the battery connected to the motorcycle's onboard electrical system. The motorcycle's onboard electronics know when the battery is fully charged. The onboard socket is switched off when this happens"

 

Unless I'm missing something, it would seem what my dealer said was right.

[TowJam]

I just checked my RT's manual and this is a direct quote; it says "Charge via the power socket, with the battery connected to the motorcycle's onboard electrical system. The motorcycle's onboard electronics know when the battery is fully charged. The onboard socket is switched off when this happens"

 

Unless I'm missing something, it would seem what my dealer said was right.

 

Your dealer may be 1/2 right... It very well may be that that the canbus system will shut down the power socket with a non-canbus compatible charger. But the BMW canbus charger appears to "communicate" with the bike so that the socket stays live. I kept my RT on the charger for for several weeks this past winter and from time to time, I would see the status lights on the charger change - indicating that the charger was going into one of its 4 charging modes depending on the status of the battery at any given time.

[Jon_M]

My dealer stated that the BMW charger (not the can-bus controlled accessory socket) shuts off once the battery is fully charged. Dealer further stated that the BMW charger will not automatically turn on again to keep the battery topped off.

 

No offense, but I think this is bushwah. On my '05 RT, I have the charger made specifically for the accessory socket. It does cycle on and off and after one year has yet to display any problems at all.

[Brimoon]

Your dealer may be 1/2 right... It very well may be that that the canbus system will shut down the power socket with a non-canbus compatible charger. But the BMW canbus charger appears to "communicate" with the bike so that the socket stays live. I kept my RT on the charger for for several weeks this past winter and from time to time, I would see the status lights on the charger change - indicating that the charger was going into one of its 4 charging modes depending on the status of the battery at any given time.

 

I get the same results with the BMW "CanBus" charger: I noticed the status lights occasionally changing during the winter layoff. And bike started right up with full power after about a three month layoff.

 

Before buying the BMW charger for my '05 R12RT, I used a Battery Tender connected through the accessory plug. It worked but would be disconnected by the CanBus when the battery was fully charged, and could not reconnect to maintain a "float" charge. I got a little nervous after reading the BMW parts bulletin and

BMW Service Bulletin that said that unless you use the BMW charger designed for the CanBus, you should disconnect the battery before charging. That said, a lot of folks seem to be connecting various other smart chargers directly to the battery without disconnecting it from the bike and have not experienced any ill effects.

 

Brian

[graemer57]

Phew!!!! Seems that the only problem was a flat battery... Thanks for all the advice and comments everyone.. looking at the replies I wonder whether my non BMW battery tender started to keep the battery healthy, but when battery was fully charged the CANBUS switched off the socket and then all the good work 'leaked away' over the last 3 months. Time to invest in a CANBUS charger perhaps! They do however say that it never rains but it pours... :-) Now that the bike has started up I am getting a rumbly rattly buzzy sound that kicks in just after the ignition is swtiched on. appears to be coming from somewhere near the front of the bike either under the front tank cover or from somehwere near the instruments. Wonder if it is the electric fuel pump giving off the vibrating noise. The bike sure didnt do it beofre the Winter!!! Time for some more investigations tonight, methinks!! As ever any suggestions gratefully received Best wishes Graeme

[SageRider]

My dealer stated that the BMW charger (not the can-bus controlled accessory socket) shuts off once the battery is fully charged. Dealer further stated that the BMW charger will not automatically turn on again to keep the battery topped off.

 

No offense, but I think this is bushwah. On my '05 RT, I have the charger made specifically for the accessory socket. It does cycle on and off and after one year has yet to display any problems at all.

Interesting (and thanks!)... I think I'll let the dealer know in case the dealer would like to experiment some.

[SageRider]

Glad you got at least the initial problem resolved.