BMW Battery Charger - Error Light
- Thread starter JimboGSA
- Start date
adventure-spike
Registered user
i have bmw charger and get same error light problem. if you have anything"extra" powered via the socket then this will give the fault and an error light.
turn bike on start engine make sure ancillary is turned off . power off the bike and plug in charger should then work ok
turn bike on start engine make sure ancillary is turned off . power off the bike and plug in charger should then work ok
when you say "make sure ancillary is turned off " what do you mean? The autocom connected to the back of the aux socket needs to be off?
It is not 'rocket science!'
For goodness sake - how can it be complicated to charge a battery!!!! As you can EASILY get at the terminals just attach the charger to them !!!!
Anyway now that summer is here, just ride the bike - you won't need to charge it any other way. Brian Rosen (ex rocket scientist on the Blue Streak ICBM - which fortunately never worked.)
For goodness sake - how can it be complicated to charge a battery!!!! As you can EASILY get at the terminals just attach the charger to them !!!!
Anyway now that summer is here, just ride the bike - you won't need to charge it any other way. Brian Rosen (ex rocket scientist on the Blue Streak ICBM - which fortunately never worked.)
Vampire
Guest
I tried 3 BMW chargers, and none would work on my 2004 R1200GS, despite trying all combinations and sequences mentioned. As noted by others, maybe this is because of the additional wiring. I use a Touratech TPS-15 wired directly to the battery for auxiliary power for the Autocom, GPS, and other bits. The TPS-15 has a signal wire which I have attached to the standard auxiliary outlet to detect when the circuit is active. Eventually fitted another auxiliary outlet wired direct to the battery, bought a CTek battery charger which I plug in via this new outlet, and everything works fine, including access to battery power when the ignition is off, just like I could with my R1150GS. Thank the gods for simplicity. 
Must be a different book here in the US - page 128 & 129 talks about the charging - but says that the bikes onboard electronics know when the battery is charged and turns the socket on and off. It also says not to connect a charger direct to the battery with the battery connected to the bike............
Charging to the terminals
"It also says not to connect a charger direct to the battery with the battery connected to the bike............" 'They' generally say that because a large current would do some damage; However a 'trickle charge' from an optimate or similar would seem to be Ok and many of us do that.
"It also says not to connect a charger direct to the battery with the battery connected to the bike............" 'They' generally say that because a large current would do some damage; However a 'trickle charge' from an optimate or similar would seem to be Ok and many of us do that.
And that is precisely why your BMW charger won't charge, and maintain a charge via the auxilliary socket. There was nothing wrong with either of your three chargers. If you want to use the TPS - 15 unit and charge via the aux socket connect to the sidelamp circuit (that's the suggestion in the instruction for this unit). I completely agree about a permanent socket to the battery. Among it's many uses it gets over the 5 amp limit imposed by the Aux socket.
The ones who criticise the system, and the BMW charger, always fall back to the "Optimate directly to the battery" scenario. You can of course do this with the BMW charger and it will work just like your Optimate.
Others, myself included, like the convenience of using the socket and don't want to go directly to the battery - that my choice.
So now we all know how to make the BMW battery charger work - and it does work - it's your choice and your money.
Incidently, the CAN Bus is a pair of wires (as has been mentioned it's a Standard to allow controller units to communicate) it's the ZFE unit that controls the socket. Pedantic? maybe - but the term CAN Bus gets used and blamed for many things unfairly - anyone had a failure?
gavin@iow
Registered user
The Optimate can generate up to 22 volts in de-sulphate mode, which is too much for the bikes electronics.
OK - you win!
I have to confess I cannot understand your statement! What is de-sulphate mode? Does that mean that there is a high resistance due to suphate on the terminals and somehow the Optimate pushes the volts up and up in an attempt to get the current up? Or are you just blinding us with science (not difficult!)
I have to confess I cannot understand your statement! What is de-sulphate mode? Does that mean that there is a high resistance due to suphate on the terminals and somehow the Optimate pushes the volts up and up in an attempt to get the current up? Or are you just blinding us with science (not difficult!)
terayon
Registered user
Desulphate, (Desulfate as optimate call it), is a way of trying to recover a dead battery and make it usable again. It can chuck 22v for up to 2 hours into a battery
Thanks
Well, we live and learn; Mind you I would not think that many of us would be daft enough to think that a 'dead' battery could be revived on an Optimate! If I ever found my battery in that state I doubt if I would even be prepared to disconnect it and give it a boost charge to get the bike started; I'd rather change it there and then. I am assuming that anyone who owns a 1200GS could afford a new battery?
Well, we live and learn; Mind you I would not think that many of us would be daft enough to think that a 'dead' battery could be revived on an Optimate! If I ever found my battery in that state I doubt if I would even be prepared to disconnect it and give it a boost charge to get the bike started; I'd rather change it there and then. I am assuming that anyone who owns a 1200GS could afford a new battery?
Me !
The friggin canbus and ecu(or whatever its called) decided it would be good fun to spontaneously combust !!!
3 weeks later and a new loom, ecu and petrol tank (£2500 under warranty) i am back on the road. Evidently I have an updated ecu. Before I could plug my BMW charger in and all would be well. Now I have to do the key dance and then when its charged it too switches off and does not maintan the battery.
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