G450X starting problems...

WindyChuffer

WindyChuffer

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Think my battery may be fooked:

- Had bike for 2 weeks, and been stood.
- Used it for a short spin on Thurs night. Stopped engine. Dead battery. Walk/push home.
- Charged battery overnight. All good.
- Out on in Sat, bike started OK. Stopped engine. Dead battery. Out with jump leads. Whether battery OK to start bike seems to be a bit random
- Started OK sun am. But jump leads came out again before long...

Seems to be a bit of a lottery if battery starts the bike; haven't quite got my head round if its the battery or the charging circuit that's fooked.

Does this sound like a fooked battery or some other electrical gremlin?
 
Difficult to say from just that description, and without the benefit of a meter, but note that as reported by JB there is a recall for ALL g650s for new batteries, so maybe this applies to g450 too.

It only takes a phone call to find out.
 
Yep - phone call made.

Dealer: "Oooh - never heard of that sir, best you bring it in"

Me: "OK - I'll drop it round tonight, but I need it back on Fri"

Dealer: "Oooh - no promises. We are so busy right now. We'll get to it when we can. Oh, and by the way, we need to plug the bike in first and check the use of the bike to make sure warranty not invalidated before we can do anything"

:blast

Cheaper / less hassle to take plunge on new battery...but need to test opinions here too...
 
I have not heard of any issues with the battery so if it is slow to crank it could well be you have been unlucky, at least it easy enough to reach/change.

I have modified my light switch so I can turn it off, nice when bimbling out in the lanes and light is just a finger switch away of you come up on other lane users.

I also switch my bike off/stall it several times a ride without ever having seen a problem with slow cranking/flat battery, in fact I would say for me at least battery life is superb.
 
ovenpaa said:
I have not heard of any issues with the battery so if it is slow to crank it could well be you have been unlucky, at least it easy enough to reach/change.

I have modified my light switch so I can turn it off, nice when bimbling out in the lanes and light is just a finger switch away of you come up on other lane users.

I also switch my bike off/stall it several times a ride without ever having seen a problem with slow cranking/flat battery, in fact I would say for me at least battery life is superb.
Click to expand...

Battery sure is easy to change, but the process to get it done under warranty isnt. Trailer bike there, M25 etc. Drop bike off. Drive home. Wait a few days. Repeat to collect. Not moaning; just a painful matter of fact...

My headlight also mod'd to be normally switched off.

Was nervous about keeping bike running whilst stationary yesterday for 5+mins whilst waiting for slower rider, particularly given the v hot weather.

Seems to be a battery holding charge problem, but have no way to test if this is the case or its the charging circuit thats dicky. Not sure weather to:

a) go for the pain of dropping bike off and waiting a few days etc.
or
b) take risk of just changing the battery and hope will be OK for the sake of £58 for new battery and potentially having to get jump leads out again next w/e and be a pain in the ar*e to fellow hogmoist riderz...
 
WindyChuffer said:
Battery sure is easy to change, but the process to get it done under warranty isnt. Trailer bike there. Drop bike off. Drive home. Wait a few days. Repeat to collect.

My headlight also mod'd to be switched off.

Was nervous about keeping bike running whilst stationary yesterday for 5+mins whilst waiting for slower rider, particularly given the v hot weather.

Seems to be a battery holding charge problem, but have no way to test if this is the case or its the charging circuit thats dicky.
Click to expand...
Did the cooling fan kick in? I always wondered if this would be a significant power drain and mine will come on very occasionally after slow tight sections but again has never been a problem, I tend to run mine on low power in the slow stuff and this means stopping the bike to swap to high map and this is the only time I noticed it, in fact I have never had the fan come on after running on full power. I fitted a waterproof switch in the spare port top right of the dash by the indicator light to allow the change.
 
Cooling fan sure did kick it. Was mighty hot over the w/e. Doesn't seem to stay on for long though. Thought crossed my mind that could also be a drain on battery, but then I had the issue previously when the fan didnt come on.

Not that I'm doubting you, but what makes you think that high power mode draws more power from the battery? Surely the power is only available should you give it enough welly?

My bike came with the power plug in and I haven't taken it out yet.
 
WindyChuffer said:
Cooling fan sure did kick it. Was mighty hot over the w/e. Doesn't seem to stay on for long though. Thought crossed my mind that could also be a drain on battery, but then I had the issue previously when the fan didnt come on.

Not that I'm doubting you, but what makes you think that high power mode draws more power from the battery? Surely the power is only available should you give it enough welly?

My bike came with the power plug in and I haven't taken it out yet.
Click to expand...

I am sure low or high it uses the same power from the electrical circuit, it is just that I have never had the fan come on whilst on high power however by definition I use HP for the fast stuff and only go to low power for twisty sections where it has less cooling flow through the rad, in fact I sometimes forget to go to full power on the fast stuff and seldom miss the extra oomph, only time it is essential is on sand.
 
check the bolts at the batery, i heard it before it wil com lose and there no loading the battery.

never had any problems with my battery, 3 weeks no riding push the button and go.
 
ovenpaa said:
I am sure low or high it uses the same power from the electrical circuit, it is just that I have never had the fan come on whilst on high power however by definition I use HP for the fast stuff and only go to low power for twisty sections where it has less cooling flow through the rad, in fact I sometimes forget to go to full power on the fast stuff and seldom miss the extra oomph, only time it is essential is on sand.
Click to expand...

Do you switch it while you are riding, or do you mean you decide before you go out on it which setting to use? as you have to wait for the electronics to shut off and when you start the bike it will look for the power switch selection.
 
Sammo said:
Do you switch it while you are riding, or do you mean you decide before you go out on it which setting to use? as you have to wait for the electronics to shut off and when you start the bike it will look for the power switch selection.
Click to expand...
My understanding is the bike has to be off and then at start up it looks for the selected map.

I would post a picture but........... :(
 
WindyChuffer said:
Battery sure is easy to change, but the process to get it done under warranty isnt. Trailer bike there, M25 etc. Drop bike off. Drive home. Wait a few days. Repeat to collect. Not moaning; just a painful matter of fact...

My headlight also mod'd to be normally switched off.

Was nervous about keeping bike running whilst stationary yesterday for 5+mins whilst waiting for slower rider, particularly given the v hot weather.

Seems to be a battery holding charge problem, but have no way to test if this is the case or its the charging circuit thats dicky. Not sure weather to:

a) go for the pain of dropping bike off and waiting a few days etc.
or
b) take risk of just changing the battery and hope will be OK for the sake of £58 for new battery and potentially having to get jump leads out again next w/e and be a pain in the ar*e to fellow hogmoist riderz...
Click to expand...

Windy, If it is hassle to get to the dealer, i would get a new battery and see if it cures the problem then if it does , you should get a new warranty replacement from your dealer you will then have a new spare. Thinking about it, you could actually get the bike recovered as it has effectively broken down. (did you get the silver credit card with the bike?) i know its a bit of a pain as you want the bike for the weekend but it is actually the dealers problem to get sorted.
 
Well bike is at BMW dealer. As am not using it during the week thought I'd best make the effort to get them to look at it.

No surprises here, but they cant find anything wrong with it. Grrr.

Hey ho.

I'll put money on there being a dicky connector in the loom somewhere. I came across this post on thumpertalk which looks interesting:

See post #62: http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8136889#post8136889

Will fully charge it on thurs night, and see how it goes on Sat's Hogmoist ride. Will bring jump leads just in case !!
 
Well this is really starting to piss me off now.

Jump leads had to come out several times on Saturday... Is it too much to ask for a bike that starts reliably?

Its as if the battery is being drained whilst riding, and not charged. The more I think about it, the more it seems there's an issue with the charging circuit.

Gotta be a dicky charging circuit - dodgy generator / connector in there somewhere.

Another G450X on the ride also had drained battery towards the end of the day, and wouldn't jump start from mine with the engine running, but would from a 1200GS. Which re-inforces my theory about something dicky with my charging circuit / generator.

Hey ho guess will be on the phone to BMW tomorrow. On the verge of giving the bike back and telling them to keep it as I clearly cannot go out alone on this bike and having to rely on jump leads is just not acceptable.
 
Can you check the voltage at the battery with the engine off then with it running, you should see a higher voltage when the engine is running.
 
Sammo said:
Can you check the voltage at the battery with the engine off then with it running, you should see a higher voltage when the engine is running.
Click to expand...

Yep, done that.

I think what I really need is a voltage logger so can see what is happening to it during the course of the ride. I suspect that there is a dicky connector which is intermittently breaking the charging circuit, and hence causing the battery to drain.

One more go at getting BWM to fix it, then BWM finance can have my rejection letter and collect the bike for good. Dusted off the KTM brochures last night...
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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