battery problems on my r1200gs

.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

Thats an illustration of the difficulty you have when you taking an electrical problem to the average garage - they often have no idea what they are talking about electrically.

it is possible that with extra lights etc you were using a bigger load than the alternator could deliver, you flattened the battery enough so that the engine would still run but the starter wouldnt turn over the following morning. possible but unlikely if the difficulty occurrs more than once.

its also possible that you have an internittent high resistance contact in the starter circuit - something that causes a high voltage drop. again unlikely on a newish bike unl;ess its been overwintered outside and has corroded with the salt etc.

but much more likely is that the batteries have simply discharged overnight. this can occurr two ways - the battery can discharge internally because it is faulty, or there is still some electrical circuit left live after you think everything is switched off.

all batteries self discharge - but they shouldnt do it overnight or even over month. if you have time, the easiest way to check is to disconnect your battery at the terminals when fully charged, measure its voltage after resting a bit, and then measure it again after (say) a couple of days. if the voltage stays fairly steady at something like 12.7 v then the battery is not self discharging. if it drops from 12.7 to 12 or lower, its for the bin.

similarly, if you can disconnect one terminal whilst the bike is switched off and put an ammeter in circuit between the disconnected terminal and the wire that you have disconnected, you will see if there is anything eating up your amps overnight. if this is happening then you need your garage to find out what - but its better than them guessing its the battery and you having continuous problems after they have replaced it.
 
I had an issue with the battery draining. Battery replaced, software updates etc but to no avail. In the end found that problem was my GPS plugged into the power socket under the seat. Even though I disconnected my GPS from the cable after each ride the fact that the connector was still plugged into the socket meant it was still drawing power! I could not be arsed quizzing BMW on this!
 
The mysteries of electricity!

I do not think that electricity can 'escape' just because there is an open socket -otherwise every time you took a light bulb out of its socket electricity would flow out freely! I suggest that there is a wiring fault somewhere. Very easy however to check this with an accurate volt meter - you know, voltage drop with plug connected/voltage drop without ....over a period;
 
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 :blast



thanks for you reply
GSoh



thanks again
tefflon /steve

Who at southport told you that?
 
I have spoken to BMW and thay say that the Odyssey battery is not very good, in fact they told me its a crock of s**t ......

I hope that is just somebody in the dealership who has no idea about batteries who is bad mouthing Hawker, and not an official statement from a BMW representative !!!!

I removed my still decent stock battery and fitted a Hawker purely as a precaution. I spent time working with batteries in the military as a marine engineer so I know which type of cell I prefer and don't fancy getting stuck in the wilderness with a dead bike.

Take note that Hawker do not recommend the use of a non-approved trickle charger, indeed it will invalidate your warranty on the battery. Stock chargers like Optimates and Accumates etc which do not have a feature for AGM cells cannot output sufficient steady state amps required and may harm an Odyssey battery.
I bought a CTEK Multi XS 3600 trickle charger which is weatherproof and also has enough capacity to trickle charge my car battery.
 
re battery probs

hi all av been reading all my replys andjust read the one from PUKMEISTER. I have an optimat at the min .The battery charger you mention are thay readily available on the highstreet any help please will get in tuch with odyssy tomorow morning regarding the charger .:bow
 
Tiny Tiny batterey no where near big enough for cranking the 1200CC engine. If battery is not in top condition it just dies and you get the dreaded clicking. Happens all the time on most 1200GS bikes- only fix is a redesign of the bike with a proper size battery. In its present state of design the 1200GS is just a toy and not fit for purpose.
 
Tiny Tiny batterey no where near big enough for cranking the 1200CC engine. If battery is not in top condition it just dies and you get the dreaded clicking. Happens all the time on most 1200GS bikes- only fix is a redesign of the bike with a proper size battery. In its present state of design the 1200GS is just a toy and not fit for purpose.

You'd best not buy one then
 
Mine neither

Never had it happen on two 1200 GS's.

I suppose that this is simply a question of how often the bike is used - and if it is it kept on a 'Optimate' if left for a period.
3 years with mine now and never shown the slightest reluctance to start. Used almost every day summer and winter, headlight always on when riding (Obligatoire en france) - NO ALARM fitted but does have ABS/servo etc. Always garaged overnight. ( Same story with my previous 1150)
 
hi all av been reading all my replys andjust read the one from PUKMEISTER. I have an optimat at the min .The battery charger you mention are thay readily available on the highstreet any help please will get in tuch with odyssy tomorow morning regarding the charger .:bow

Sorry about the late reply. I got my CTEK charger from Motorworks, but you can get them from other places if you do a Google search for CTEK.

If anyone is buying a Hawker Odyssey from Motorworks, they will sell you a CTEK charger at the same time for a discount plus you save a bit on the postage for the two items in the same box.

A quote from Hawkers website:

Charging ODYSSEY® Batteries

Since proper charging is critical to obtaining satisfactory service life from your ODYSSEY battery, EnerSys has determined the following chargers to be suitable for use with these batteries. However, this is not an all-inclusive list, and other chargers that also feature the charge voltages and profiles we recommend may be available in the market. The chargers recommended below may be left connected to the battery indefinitely and all feature a float (trickle) charge circuit that puts out between 13.6-13.8V, allowing them to maintain your ODYSSEY battery at a fully charged state.

Chargers that do not have a regulated trickle charge voltage between 13.5V and 13.8V (no lower than 13.5V and no higher than 13.8V) will cause early failure of Odyssey batteries. Use of such chargers with Odyssey batteries will also void the battery's warranty.

http://www.odysseyfactory.com/odycharg_c.htm
 
CTEK charger

"Charging Voltage Nominal: 12 V 14.4 V or 14.7 V." That seems to cover most eventualities!
I have been 'triockle charging" batteries for years and years and years - and never thought there was anything difficult, complicated or dangerous about it! (On standby alarm systems as well as bikes, cars and caravans.)
 
Chargers that do not have a regulated trickle charge voltage between 13.5V and 13.8V (no lower than 13.5V and no higher than 13.8V) will cause early failure of Odyssey batteries. Use of such chargers with Odyssey batteries will also void the battery's warranty.

How long would it take charging at 14.4 volts to damage the battery?.
 


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