CTEK Charger

[MichiganBob]

Good Morning,

 

The battery on my 2018 1200RT took a dump. I will chat with the dealer tomorrow but expect that they will not replace it. Looking at the PC 680 after reading a lot of the comments on the forums. I expect that I need to upgrade my charger to a CTEK 56-864 (MUS4.3) to accommodate the higher charging needs of the AGM battery and the long Michigan winters. However, I think that this model is no longer available (at least from AMAZON and others). They suggest a CTEK 40-206 MXS 5.0. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

 

MB

[MichiganBob]

BTW, I looked at my Optimate4 at it says it's for Lead Acid batteries which might explain part of the reason for what I see as early battery failure.

 

The other thought is that I bought the bike brand new in June 2018. If I recall, a 2018 is in the showrooms in 2017 so it's hard to calculate how many months the battery was actually activated before I bought it and probably was not fully charged. 

 

MB

[MichiganBob]

One other question. I see that there are two options for the PC 680. One are L-Adapters and the other are SAE terminals. Does anyone know if either of these are needed for the 2018 replacement?

 

Thanks.

 

MB

[strataj]

The PC-680 won't fit too bad, I had that one in my 02R1150RT for years before I sold it.  I like this one Yuasa YTX20CH-BS (it fits perfect same size OEM)

[Cap]

2 hours ago, MichiganBob said:

...upgrade my charger to a CTEK 56-864 (MUS4.3) ...suggest a CTEK 40-206 MXS 5.0. ..

 

Both are good choices.  I have both, and use the 4.3 on my R1200RTW and the 5.0 on my Porsche.  Neither vehicle get much use here in Colorado between November and April.  I really like the battery dongle on the CTEK, which has a flashing LED to indicate battery charge level.  It's nice to be able to see the battery level at a glance when the bike is parked, and the charger is not connected.

 

If you switch to a PC680, you might consider a Battery Minder model 1510, which works nicely with Optima AGM batteries.

[Oldrider51]

I am using two of the  CTEK MXS5.0 chargers on my 04 R1100S with an Odyssey PC680 and my 16 R1200RS. I looked on the Odyssey website and this is one that was recommended. So far they have performed very well. I was using a Battery Tender Junior on my R1100S and the first PC680 died or at least I believe it did at the time so I bought another one. I have read that the AGM batteries could be brought back to like using a charger such as the CTEK MXS5.0 and set it on RECOND. You might want to try this first before purchasing a new battery. You need the correct charger first and I would recommend the CTEK MXS5.0 so get it first and try reconditioning the battery to see if life injected into it. 

 

[Paul De]

Floaded, gel or AGM, they are all ultimately lead acid batteries, but do have unique charging requirements, with the Odyssey with its own requirements vs a typical AGM battery.  Cetek does indeed make a great battery charger/tender and you can't go wrong to buy one, particularly if you have an Odessey battery. 

 

I do want to clarify about the Optimate maintainer/charger by Techmate.  I have used the Optimate 4 CAN-bus edition on my 2015 Waterhead RT since new with the original battery still going strong.  And it surely is compatable with typical AGM batteries (not sure about Odessey though)

 

 

[MichiganBob]

Thanks Paul De   ... useful to know.

 

MB

[dirtrider]

23 minutes ago, 041100S said:

 I have read that the AGM batteries could be brought back to like using a charger such as the CTEK MXS5.0 and set it on RECOND. You might want to try this first before purchasing a new battery. 

 

Afternoon 041100S

 

Before using any charger on rcond (recondition) on a PC 680 you must be sure that recondition cycle doesn't exceed 15 volts (some chargers do). Per Odyssey web site --    Monitor the batteries terminal voltage with the charger operating to assure 15.0V is not exceeded at any time. 

 

Same when using the Recondition or Sulfation mode on any charger with the battery in a late BMW motorcycle, BMW has a number of service bulletins that specifically state to never exceed 15 volts with battery connected to vehicle's electrical system.   

 

Odyssey has a very specific recovery procedure to use (not just a simple Recond cycle) so if a person intends to try to bring a weak PC 680 back from the dead go to their web site & read the recovery procedure. 

[Oldrider51]

I stand corrected. Thanks. It is still a good charger. 

[WBinDE]

I used one MSX 5.0 for my R1250, and a second one for my car last winter. I left them unattended for 3 months while I went on a South America cruise (in the "before times") and both vehicles started right up when I got home. 

 

I set the battery chemistry (both were AGM), did not activate the recovery function, and of course set one to "car" and the other to "motorcycle".

 

I did modify the pigtails so now I have one with ring terminals permanently connected to my car, and another with an SAE connection that plugs into the bike's battery tender connection, which also powers my Slime pump and USB charger. No more spring clamps!