battery problems on my r1200gs

[tefflon]

hi all not very good at this yet Ihave a r1200gs on a 56 plate that i took delivery of in november . I am having probs with the battery going loosing its charge its been back to BMW IN FEBUARY where thay tested it and said that there was a fault with the battery . and thay fitted a new one lol , I have still got the flat battery if i dont put the bike on charge every time iv been out on it was out in the rain on sunday and got home ok but forgot to put it on charge tryed it yesterday and yep its flat is there a battery on the market that is better than the BMW 1 was going to try the one off mi 4x4 but will not fit under the seat and dont fancy using my trailer any one help
tar steve .

 

[GSoh]

Get them to replace it again. Mine was replaced a couple of months ago and is absolutely fine. I generally use the bike everyday so it gets charged although I was working away for 2 weeks and didn't use it at all - still fine. I wouldn't spend a penny on it that I don't need to - that's what warranties are for

 

[tefflon]

battery probs

thanks for your help Iam waiting for BMW to ring me back i rang them yestrday and again thay say thay are going toring me tomorow lol and am hoping that thay will just put a new one on .I have been talking to southport superbikes today and i have been told that itis the canbus wireing that heats up as you ride and after the bike is switched off it saps the battery



thanks for you reply
GSoh



thanks again
tefflon /steve

 

[terayon]

Canbus doesn't heat up when you ride, what a crock of shit. I would get them to look at the charging system of see if any accessories you have are draining the battery.
I have never had to put mine on charge, left the bike for a week, started up first time, and the bikes nearly 3 years old with the same battery.
If your only doing stop start rides then it won't charge

 

[marcus]

I've bought one of these......

http://www.knightbatteries.com/popup.cfm?p_n=364857&p_i=364857

 

[piebaps]

Mine kept losing charge too. After two batteries it was finally narrowed down to the rear brake servo which was sticking on and while it wasn't applying any braking force it was using more juice than the alternator could cope with. End result was ride 20miles with a fully charged battery and then get off the bike at the other end with a flat un.

Final drive replaced under warranty sorted it out.

Good luck

 

[Deleted account W]

It's pointless for BM to just keep replacing the batteries, they're not whats at fault, they should be correcting the fault thats draining them.

This seems to be a very regular fault.

 

[harry]

It's pointless for BM to just keep replacing the batteries, they're not whats at fault, they should be correcting the fault thats draining them.

This seems to be a very regular fault.

There are cases where what you say is correct but I do think there would appear to be batches of duff batts.

I'm on my 2nd 12 and have had no probs, but know people who have had loads of batt probs.

 

[marcus]

ps sitting at the lights holding the brakes on drains the battery v.quick

(those with servo assist only of course)

 

[Tricky]

The battery on my bike (new in Feb 05) was knacked after two years and three months. Dealer wouldn’t consider claim for new one as warranty had expired.

I paid for a new one and will buy a charger for the winter months when the bike is not used so much. Lots of info on here on battery problems and consensus appears to be that the stock battery is to small and generally not up to the job.

 

[radrod]

I followed some advice from here about switching to an "Odyssey" battery. It was good advice. I havnt had issues with it at all.

 

[Brian ROSEN]

Battery life

'I have never had to put mine on charge, left the bike for a week, started up first time, and the bikes nearly 3 years old with the same battery.'
My experience is idetical. Nor did I have any problems with a GS1150 before nor an R1100R or a few BM's before that.
I don't hear of this as a problem here - but perhaps the climate is kinder to batteries? I believe that in the USA they now use 'gel batteries' and there must be a good reason for this.

 

[tefflon]

re battery

Ihave spocken to bmw and thay say that the odyssey battery if not very good in fact thay told me its a crock ov s**t but am going to ask bmw to get this sorted av sent Email to ODYSSEY AND THAY ARE GOING TO RING ME BACK WITH SOME INFO TOMOZ PS id like to thank all my fello gsers & non gsers very mutch for the help looks like i will be spending the cash on a odyssey bat . any one knoe where i can get one from in the manchester area off the shelf any help please


thanks tefflon/steve

 

[redcastle]

Ihave spocken to bmw and thay say that the odyssey battery if not very good in fact thay told me its a crock ov s**t but am going to ask bmw to get this sorted av sent Email to ODYSSEY AND THAY ARE GOING TO RING ME BACK WITH SOME INFO TOMOZ PS id like to thank all my fello gsers & non gsers very mutch for the help looks like i will be spending the cash on a odyssey bat . any one knoe where i can get one from in the manchester area off the shelf any help please


thanks tefflon/steve

Well I did 12000 miles and had to have two BWM batteries, Ive had one odyssey and done another 13000 without a hitch. winter or summer you just dont have to worry about the dreaded clickety click
Do a search for odyssey and you will find a couplee of dealers. I got mine from motoworks with the modified bracket for about ninety quid.

 

[Thunder]

Ihave spocken to bmw and thay say that the odyssey battery if not very good in fact thay told me its a crock ov s**t but am going to ask bmw to get this sorted av sent Email to ODYSSEY AND THAY ARE GOING TO RING ME BACK WITH SOME INFO TOMOZ PS id like to thank all my fello gsers & non gsers very mutch for the help looks like i will be spending the cash on a odyssey bat . any one knoe where i can get one from in the manchester area off the shelf any help please


thanks tefflon/steve

Very strange comment that, totally at odds to anything I've ever read or heard about the Odessey batteries. Stranger still for a crock of shit that they offer a 2 year replacement guarantee with their batteries compared to 6 months to a year offered by other manufacturers.....

 

[Thunder]

Forgot to mention earlier, the Odessey for the 1200GS is a PC535.

Motorworks sell it with a bracket for the 1200 GS included in their price of £88.

 

[davedyer]

When I sold my 1998 ST1100 Pan European recently to a mate, it was still on its original battery with no problems starting, even after a 6 day lay-up every 4 days!!

 

[tefflon]

battery probs

WELL I have taken your advice and booked her in at manchester bmw next friday thay are going to see if thay can find the fault ? she has got to stay over night it will like cutting my arm off but will just av to live with it and go to the pub for a scoop or 8 lol i have all so orderd a ODYSSEY BATTERY that will be hear early next week got IT from EURO ENERGY RESOURCES LTD IN LEICESTER ABOUT £90 ish




tar to every one
for you help in this
matter
STEVE /TEFFLON

 

[Millerjerr]

AGM Batteries

The stock battery now fitted in the R1200GS, the Odyssey and West Co batteries are all AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) technology. I ran an Odyssey in my K1200LT, a West Co in my R100GS and now the stock battery in my R1200GS all with good result.

It seems to me that your problem has to come from 1 of three possible areas.

First you could have a problem with the charging system on the bike. This is easily researched. Use a digital volt meter (if you don't have one they are now cheap and and readily available. Here in the US I would go to Sears or Radio Shack and expect to buy one for $40 or less. You should have one anyway.) to measure the battery voltage, expect to see 12.5 to 12.8 volts on a fully charged battery then start the bike and you should see 14 +/- .5 volts. If you see 13 or less you've just found the problem. Tell the BMW shop to fix the charging system.

Second, you could have a faulty switch or other part draining the battery. You can detect that one of two ways. First and most simple is to use your voltmeter to record the voltage drop at the battery in a fixed time say 24 hours both with the battery connected to the bike normally and also with the bikes ground wire disconnected from the battery. IF the voltage drop is significantly more with the ground wire attached, you have a problem with one of the bikes electrical components and you can that that info to you BMW dealer or you can start to pull individual fuses one at a time an repeat the 24 hour connected test to see which circuit is causing the drain. You could also do the same test faster with an amp meter if you voltmeter has that function.

The last possibility, quite remote in seems to me since you have already changed the battery, is that you do have another bad battery.

Good luck with your diagnosis and I look forward to reading how it comes out.

Jerry

 

[cookie]

The stock battery now fitted in the R1200GS, the Odyssey and West Co batteries are all AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) technology. I ran an Odyssey in my K1200LT, a West Co in my R100GS and now the stock battery in my R1200GS all with good result.

It seems to me that your problem has to come from 1 of three possible areas.

First you could have a problem with the charging system on the bike. This is easily researched. Use a digital volt meter (if you don't have one they are now cheap and and readily available. Here in the US I would go to Sears or Radio Shack and expect to buy one for $40 or less. You should have one anyway.) to measure the battery voltage, expect to see 12.5 to 12.8 volts on a fully charged battery then start the bike and you should see 14 +/- .5 volts. If you see 13 or less you've just found the problem. Tell the BMW shop to fix the charging system.

Second, you could have a faulty switch or other part draining the battery. You can detect that one of two ways. First and most simple is to use your voltmeter to record the voltage drop at the battery in a fixed time say 24 hours both with the battery connected to the bike normally and also with the bikes ground wire disconnected from the battery. IF the voltage drop is significantly more with the ground wire attached, you have a problem with one of the bikes electrical components and you can that that info to you BMW dealer or you can start to pull individual fuses one at a time an repeat the 24 hour connected test to see which circuit is causing the drain. You could also do the same test faster with an amp meter if you voltmeter has that function.

The last possibility, quite remote in seems to me since you have already changed the battery, is that you do have another bad battery.

Good luck with your diagnosis and I look forward to reading how it comes out.

Jerry

all good advice, except the bit about isolating the various circuits by removing fuses.

AFAIK the 1200 has no fuses