Flat battery

[bmwblue]

Nearly a year ago, I installed a TomTom Rider 2 and wired it to the CANBUS socket (I bought a lead from my BMW dealer).

Everything was working fine until a few weeks ago when my motorcycle battery started going flat within a few days. I took it to my BMW Dealer and they found the TT Rider cradle was keeping the CANBUS live (even when the Rider isn't in the cradle) and the ignition is off.

I don't understand why this is happening having worked fine for the last year.

Has anyone else seen this problem?

 

[Mucky Helmet]

Yup!

Had exactly the same issue with a RAM Quest mount wired into the front accessory socket. The mount would keep the CAN-BUS high and drain the battery if the bike wasn't used for a couple of days. Funny thing was I had it wired in the same manner on my previous 1200GS and all was fine, never had a flat battery on that GS. I was adamant the battery was faulty as I'd wired the cradle exactly as it was on the previous GS but it wasn't. The dealer explained it was down to the different software versions and the newer flavour of software was less tolerant of devices attached to the CAN-BUS that maintained a minimal draw. Something to do with the ZFE keeping the bus high(?). Have you had a software update recently?

I re-routed the cradle direct to the battery and have never had a problem since.

The only device I have attached to the accessory sockets now is the Autocom. Everything else is direct to the battery.

HTH

 

[bmwblue]

Yes, I have had some recent software updates.

I was hoping not to wire direct to the battery as the cradle will draw a small amount of current.

Perhaps the only solution is for me to put a switch in the circuit. That's a shame as it takes away the advantage of having the power switched off automatically.

 

[Mucky Helmet]

Yes, I have had some recent software updates.

I stand to be corrected by someone more "in the know" but would hazard a guess that the tolerances for current draw on the BUS have changed due to one of the software updates and your cradle is keeping the BUS high, leading to your flat battery.

I was hoping not to wire direct to the battery as the cradle will draw a small amount of current.

Depends on how long you leave your bike. I ride mine every day and have had no battery issues since connecting the cradle direct to the battery. In winter I ride with a Gerbing heated liner, heated grips, Autocom and PIAA 1100x spots - not had a problem with the battery. IMHO, the cold temperature is more likely to affect the battery than the cradle. If I'm not riding for more than a week over winter, I'll stick the Optimate on to keep the battery topped up.[/QUOTE]

Perhaps the only solution is for me to put a switch in the circuit. That's a shame as it takes away the advantage of having the power switched off automatically.

Again, IMHO, it depends on how long you leave the bike without riding. If you are concerned about the battery, consider using an Optimate whilst the bike's having "garage time". Putting a switch inline is just something else to complicate what should be an easy connection.

 

[Tomcat]

You could try wiring in a relay that is energised from the accs socket, or some other convenient cable that is live when the ignition is on. Then use the relay to control a connection from the GPS (or whatever) direct to the battery. I've done this on my 1200GS for the GPS (in fact a Zumo) and heated jacket and it works fine. Note that the accs socket is live for a minute or two once the ignition is turned off.

BTW, Maplins do a suitable 40A relay for less than a fiver. I fitted mine under the plastic side panel on the RHS of the airbox - there's a handy unused threaded lug there on my '04 GS.

 

[Deleted account 210516001]

Seems to be variable. I had this problem this summer when I noticed that some mornings the satnav would switch on when I put it in the cradle before switching on the ignition. I started checking at the Tom Tom mount for current with the ignition off. The result varied from day to day regardless of how I shut down the satnav ie. switch off in the cradle with ignition on/off or take the satnav off with ignition on/off. Sometimes the canbus remained live and sometimes it did not.

Battery seems to cope if the bike is being ridden each day but 7 days without running and the draw was enough to flatten the battery. (08 GSA with 3000 miles on the clock)

Now I unplug the power lead at the bike end if I am not using it every day. Will probably fit a switch on the power lead to make it a bit less of a pain.

 

[Deleted account 210516001]

I should have added that it is a rider 1 I am using

 

[Readz]

What an interesting thread, this has answered a few questions for me. Like Bennysdad I have the V1 TT rider, whenever I have used it I have been really pleased with the mapping directions and performance overall.

Like you guys I have this battery problem, I can’t figure how the cradle could possibly be the culprit but guess it must be. I had mine wired directly to the power socket by my dealers, is this the best option? I believe this power supply cuts the power after a certain length of time so there should be no leak?

When I have looked up battery problems on here a lot of people say its due to the onboard computer and if you leave the bike stood for over a week the battery will be flat. Of course since fitting my G-Tek charger I don’t have a problem, the only worry I have is when I go to France in a couple of months I intend to stay with some friends and the bike will be stood for a good few days.

So which is the culprit TT lead and cradle or computer and is there a simple way to avoid this happening when the bike is left for more than a week without taking accessories off the bike?

 

[Pukmeister]

A word of warning to R1200GS/GSA riders with a TT rider wired via the accessory socket power supply (from something I discovered today out of curiousity.)

Be sure to remove the rider from its cradle BEFORE you turn off your bikes ignition switch. If you don't, the accessory socket stays powered up by the bike (CANBUS HIGH) because it tries to maintain the power to the GPS and it will drain your battery.

I did some tests with my multimeter to prove it.
Pins left to right in the mount are Ground, No Volts ('bike mode' signal), +12v, +12v.

The second from left pin with No Volts tells the rider unit to go to 'bike' mode with limited features when in the cradle. Some people put insulating tape over it to keep full functionality.

With the 'active' rider GPS unit removed after tuning off the ignition, there was a circuit between the LH pin and each of the RH pins (even after a 5 minute tea break).

With the 'active' unit removed before switching off, there was no circuit after 30 secs.

I didn't try repeating the tests with a powered down (inactive) rider GPS in the cradle though I suspect the outcome would be the same, as the rider units internal battery would still draw current from the bike despite the unit being off.

 

[Oliver1234]

I discovered the same problem with my Rider II. But it seems this is not the end of the story. The cradle for the Rider II needs also a power consumption even with disconnected TOMTOM which hold the CAN Bus high.
For several weeks w/o riding this may also flatten the battery. Obviously there is a stabilizer inside of the cradle.

It seems the relay solution is the effective one but I also do not prefer this and search for another possibility.

if anybody has find one, please let us know. Thanks!

Oliver