Complete battery failure

[Tridentested]

Hi everyone, just been out to check over my 1300gs ready for a trip abroad on Sunday to find the battery totally dead. No volts at all with my voltmeter and doesn't want to charge. I suspect I can source another battery over the next couple of days but concerned as to what has caused this. Battery was fine a week ago. If it has just given up the ghost then fair enough but what if an electrical fault is there ready to do the same to the new battery?
Any ideas?

 

[Tridentested]

Hi everyone, just been out to check over my 1300gs ready for a trip abroad on Sunday to find the battery totally dead. No volts at all with my voltmeter and doesn't want to charge. I suspect I can source another battery over the next couple of days but concerned as to what has caused this. Battery was fine a week ago. If it has just given up the ghost then fair enough but what if an electrical fault is there ready to do the same to the new battery?
Any ideas?

Update: After watching a couple of helpful you tube videos, perseverence with an old battery charger managed to wake up the battery and now transferred to my Optimate 4 and hopefully charged by tommorrow. Still a mystery as to why it went down in the first place.

 

[stever1]

Does the bike have a tracker or alarm ?

 

[Martin GSA UK]

The early 1300GS's had a software update required to correct some battery discharge issue (I think I saw it on "Nothing to Prove" YouTube). IIRC, something to do with not everything shutting down every time the bike was switched off. May be wrong on my recollection of the last point.

 

[Smartbazza]

Martin”s correct. My first 13 discharged the battery fully after I rode it home and plugged it into the Optimate.

Barry

 

[Santa-2512]

It's the gentle/ polite way to tell you your battery is fucked. Get a new one sooner rather than later

IE tomorrow or Saturday!!!

Don't say you weren't warned

Especially if you choose not to and you break down

 

[TaskMule]

Any battery that reads zero volts on a volt meter is likely to never be trusted

 

[Pukmeister]

Any battery that has depleted lower than 10VDC is most likely sulphated and has lost much of its ability to hold charge.

Chances are you are now stuck in an ever decreasing circle of battery woes.

For what it costs versus reliability, if it were my bike I'd replace the battery asap and get a software update from BMW if needed.

 

[MacJ]

I had very similar a couple of weeks ago on my 18 month old F900XR. I was out on the bike when it just seemed a bit slow to turn over on the starter when I refueled. All seemed ok when I parked it at a cafe an hour and 40 miles later.

When I came back to the bike to ride home it wouldn't turn over and was showing zero volts. A jump start fired it up but it died as soon as the jump leads came off.

BMW recover took the bike home (Saturday afternoon - dealer closed) and like you I put it on the Optimate. Next morning it was showing a full charge but died again after running the starter motor twice.

I took the hint and put a new (non-BMW) battery on it. No further issues and 500 miles clocked since.

I know other have had issues with BMW batteries.

 

[Tridentested]

Update: After watching a couple of helpful you tube videos, perseverence with an old battery charger managed to wake up the battery and now transferred to my Optimate 4 and hopefully charged by tommorrow. Still a mystery as to why it went down in the first place.

Update 2: Now fully charged (13.4v) back on bike, started easily, showing a charge of 14.4v on tickover, no warning lights - so success but still a mystery

 

[Santa-2512]

Update 2: Now fully charged (13.4v) back on bike, started easily, showing a charge of 14.4v on tickover, no warning lights - so success but still a mystery

It will fail, trust me. Just when you don't need it to.

 

[siddo]

Update 2: Now fully charged (13.4v) back on bike, started easily, showing a charge of 14.4v on tickover, no warning lights - so success but still a mystery

Best you buy one of those Noco style chargers for your tour. Pretty sure you will need it.

 

[crumbles]

Update 2: Now fully charged (13.4v) back on bike, started easily, showing a charge of 14.4v on tickover, no warning lights - so success but still a mystery

Yes,thats because you have fully charged it....

Try agin in the morning too see if it is still holding a charge,but has been said above ..
Once depleted,it's down hill all the way for the battery...
And going into the Eu is going too be a bit silly if no back up battery pack.