Dead GS 12 '06 - BMW blame Zumo 660. HELP!!

[Rhodie]

Just had BMW dealer here in Thailand remove my Explorer II GPS unit and replace it with a Zumo 660 on a TT lockable mount.

A short ride out for lunch some 4 miles, followed by a 45 minute lunch during which time I left the Zumo on the bike, but turned off, and then the short ride home.
Back home I turned the bike off & removed the unit.

A few minutes later my son got on the bike & turned the ignition on but the bike was dead - no lights no display information - nothing.
The bike was clearly dead - I dreaded the curse of the ignition ring had finally struck [bike Dec/05 or Jan 06 GS12].

BMW dealer here in Thailand say that it is the Zumo unit's fault, as it drained the battery on its short excursion as my Zumo 660 draws ten times what the Motorrad unit does.
My experience however with the technicians here is dubious at best.

Are there any techno-wizards out there with any other [plausible] explanations, or, thoughts on what the issues could be?
They would be greatly appreciated as my son & I are riding around South-East Asia and cannot have the bike doing a repeat performance!

Two further points - the battery is three months old, and when the recovery guys picked the bike up some 30 hours after the bike died - the little red light was now showing on the display.

 

[Thunder]

BMW say that it is the Zumo unit's fault as it drained the battery on its short excursion as the Zumo draws ten times what the Motorrad unit does.

BMW as in your dealer or the company?

Sounds like total bollox to me anyway, working on the principal of what's changed which may cause a problem might be worth checking the connections that have been made but more than likely to b something else entirely just co-incidental with the installation.

 

[Big Nick]

Depends how its been plumbed in??

If its to a switched live then it can't be the mount, but it sounds like its direct to the battery, ask the dealer.

If the mount draws power when the gps isn't attached a direct connection will obviously flatten your battery.

Plenty on here run a 660 without it doing what you describe

 

[TurboCharger]

Why us a GPS anyway

I would unplug the GPS and get rid of the whole thing altogether. Sounds like No GPS = no battery troubles.

It will be more of an adventure to explore SEAsia without one. Just just paper maps and a compass and let the road guide you.

I did 9,000kms around Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos (plus 23 other countries) without a map and it was fantastic.

Failing that, do you know someone with a voltmeter? You could meaure the amperage when charging and see whether the Zumo is demanding too many AMPS (as opposed to what the bike is generating see the manual for exact figures). If not then maybe there is a bad installation and the thing is badly grounded. This could be discharging the battery. Check all the wiring and connections to ensure it is properly grounded and there are no short circuits.

Other option is to charge the device at night and don't leave it plugged in, just run it off it's own battery without connection to the bike's power source.

 

[arrybash]

Hi,

I have a mate with a KTM 990 fitted with a garmin Zumo 660. Just done 24,000 miles with Nick Saunders around America.

No problems but then this week battery went dead. He traced it to a wiring fault in the Garmin Zumo wiring harness.

It's under warranty so I assume Garmin will replace it, but it looks to becoming a comon fault if you have the same problem.

Chris

 

[Rhodie]

BMW as in your dealer or the company?

Sounds like total bollox to me anyway, working on the principal of what's changed which may cause a problem might be worth checking the connections that have been made but more than likely to b something else entirely just co-incidental with the installation.

Your take is similar to my perceptions & past experience.
The wife's car went in the same time and they've buggered up the cooling system.

Depends how its been plumbed in??

If its to a switched live then it can't be the mount, but it sounds like its direct to the battery, ask the dealer.

If the mount draws power when the gps isn't attached a direct connection will obviously flatten your battery.

Plenty on here run a 660 without it doing what you describe

Thanks your thoughts are similar to what I suspected was the case.
BMW here have an awful rep for servicing bikes and now I find out cars.

I would unplug the GPS and get rid of the whole thing altogether. Sounds like No GPS = no battery troubles.

It will be more of an adventure to explore SEAsia without one. Just just paper maps and a compass and let the road guide you.

I did 9,000kms around Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos (plus 23 other countries) without a map and it was fantastic.

Your knowledge of Thai language [awfully squiggly], Bangkok & other cities must be better than my five years of riding!


Appreciate all your input.
Not sure how to get around the innate problem of Thai's losing face and admitting mistake.

 

[TurboCharger]

Not sure how to get around the innate problem of Thai's losing face and admitting mistake.

Just quote the higher power of Bhudda who directed you to the possible source of the issue after long hours of meditation (on UKGSer)... no finger pointing necessary and everyone gets to keep face. Good luck

 

[Rhodie]

Just quote the higher power of Bhudda who directed you to the possible source of the issue after long hours of meditation (on UKGSer)... no finger pointing necessary and everyone gets to keep face. Good luck

They're quoting the higher price of Bee-Em-Trouble-U.
Starting with 50p a zip tie. It's amazing how many ties that bind...
And have given up wiring the unit as per the Navigator II and wiring it direct to the battery....

I suppose it's better than the key collar/ring cut out going.
As here they refuse to replace it under warranty........

 

[Womble]

BMW dealer here in Thailand say that it is the Zumo unit's fault, as it drained the battery on its short excursion as my Zumo 660 draws ten times what the Motorrad unit does.

They are talking absolute crap - that's a battery that can start a motorbike, do they really think that a satnav could drain a battery faster than your headlamps?!?! If the Zumo had drawn enough power in that time to kill a battery, it would have caught fire. You've got a battery in there that's about 20Ah, so to kill it you would have had to draw upwards of 10A for an hour, so it would have got about as hot as a 100W lightbulb.

As others have said, look to what has changed, but don't rule out the fact that the battery may just be failing.

However, be careful of wiring satnav mounts directly to the battery. My Zumo mount draws power even when its empty and I managed to badly drain a battery by leaving the bike outside for a week, and not on a charger.

As it's a 1200, can't you just get a canbus connector and wire the Zumo into that?

 

[luckylucian]

Isn't there a connector ready, by the headstock?

 

[XRM]

I've just checked the current drawn by a Zumo 660.

Zumo in cradle and powered on - 650 mA

Zumo in cradle powered off - 0.5 mA - probably charging Zumo battery

Zumo cradle empty - 0.05 mA - The battery would supply this for a dogs age.

 

[Rhodie]

Thanks XRM those readings were particularly helpful.
I have passed on your comments [abridged] to counter beamer dealer blarney.
They say that an issue they have encountered is that the bike goes in to "sleep" mode when turned off and steering lock applied - but only occassionally.
Most of the time it is still drawing power.
They say they will now work through the wiring diagrams more thoroughly.
Even the manager sounded sceptical....