GS 1300 battery charging with Optimate

brianmaslen

brianmaslen

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I’ve been using an Optimate to charge various GS’s wired direct to a battery fly lead over the years with no problem whatsoever. When I traded up to a 1300 GS I realised that I had to swop the Optimate for the Quad version as it has a Lithium battery fitted. So I decided to utilise the Din plug on the dash for charging and this seemed fine for the last year. During charging the indicator lights have always gone to blue then to green but just lately a red light has been showing intermittently.
So rather than try to get BMW to find a possible fault and replace the battery I reverted to using a fly lead and this appears to have “cured” the issue?
So my question, is this a fix and why the heck does this happen?
Many thanks.
 
Why not get the battery checked over, to rule it out?
Then focus on the operation of the quad charger.

Another option is to disconnect the charger when you next see a red light and check the battery voltage.
 
Thanks for the response, I intend to get things checked but wondered if anyone had experienced this situation. Since changing the charging to direct battery connection I haven’t seen the red light again.
 
Loose fly lead connections? You’ll have had to swap/remove the DIN plug, so that connection would have been remade?

Never had a problem charging through the DIN plug in over fifteen years with Optimates.
Same set up currently with DIN plug and quad charger and no problems encountered; Optimates are, in my experience, fairly robust and reliable bits of kit. 👍
 
or potentially a battery issue. On my first 1300 I was using an Optimate Lithium on the bike from i brought it home. it wouldnt charge / trickle the battery through the din socket. BMW recognised there can be issues between the lithium battery and specifically using an Optimate and they gave me a Motorrad charger foc.

on my second GS I had the battery swapped to an AGM recently as the lithium battery struggles with a cooler environment and managing the electronics on initial start up (but then i have been particularly unlucky with 1300s).

Just saying as this is what your are describing sounds like what my bike did when the battery was toast.

Barry
 
Thanks for the comments chaps. I visited and spoke with a mechanic at Lind today who explained the situation, apparently there is an issue with using Optimate chargers on the 1300GS. Whilst he did his best to explain the situation my understanding is that if the battery starts drawing over 4 amps from the Optimate it will shut down the Din socket and the red light will illuminate as it should. BMW do not recommend using an Optimate on the 1300 GS when charging through the din socket as this will trip as explained, if the battery then refuses to charge the battery can be reset by the mechanic, something to do with the electronic switches within the battery as I understand it. Sorry but a lot of this went over my head! The only charger that is recommended to be used on the 1300GS is the BMW one. Each time that I have had the issue I have switched off the Optimate and given the bike a few minutes rest, switched the ignition on and off and then started charging again.

So I shall just use the direct to battery method as it appears to have resolved the issue. Thanks for the help.
 
brianmaslen said:
Thanks for the comments chaps. I visited and spoke with a mechanic at Lind today who explained the situation, apparently there is an issue with using Optimate chargers on the 1300GS. Whilst he did his best to explain the situation my understanding is that if the battery starts drawing over 4 amps from the Optimate it will shut down the Din socket and the red light will illuminate as it should. BMW do not recommend using an Optimate on the 1300 GS when charging through the din socket as this will trip as explained, if the battery then refuses to charge the battery can be reset by the mechanic, something to do with the electronic switches within the battery as I understand it. Sorry but a lot of this went over my head! The only charger that is recommended to be used on the 1300GS is the BMW one. Each time that I have had the issue I have switched off the Optimate and given the bike a few minutes rest, switched the ignition on and off and then started charging again.

So I shall just use the direct to battery method as it appears to have resolved the issue. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Thanks for taking the time to explain.
I can but muse when there’s a need to draw a 4A current to top-up a battery? Unless the centre-stand lift assist motor has been used multiple times repeatedly without the engine running and the battery has been flattened. But then I didn’t think the lift assist feature was fitted to non-Adventure models.
Another proverbial jigsaw without all the pieces.
 
I have a BMW specific Optimate charging my 1300GSA (AGM battery), at first I used the DIN but realised it was struggling (Amber light regularly showing next to the green). I re-read the instructions and it says that if the CANBUS notices fluctuations it will, in effect, shut charging by the DIN down which causes the Optimate to go through its cycle again……It will keep doing this so in effect, never really charging properly. It recommends charging direct to battery, last week I did this and it’s been perfect since!
 
JoeBiff said:
Thanks for taking the time to explain.
I can but muse when there’s a need to draw a 4A current to top-up a battery? Unless the centre-stand lift assist motor has been used multiple times repeatedly without the engine running and the battery has been flattened. But then I didn’t think the lift assist feature was fitted to non-Adventure models.
Another proverbial jigsaw without all the pieces.
Click to expand...
Yes the lift assist feature is an option exactly as it is on the GSA and was spec’d by the previous owner of my bike who purchased it as an interim to delivery of his GSA. The only option left off the option list was the Radar Cruis Control.
 
Lupo said:
I have a BMW specific Optimate charging my 1300GSA (AGM battery), at first I used the DIN but realised it was struggling (Amber light regularly showing next to the green). I re-read the instructions and it says that if the CANBUS notices fluctuations it will, in effect, shut charging by the DIN down which causes the Optimate to go through its cycle again……It will keep doing this so in effect, never really charging properly. It recommends charging direct to battery, last week I did this and it’s been perfect since!
Click to expand...
This sounds exactly the explanation I was give, but strange that it has taken 5000+ miles in my ownership to surface.
 
brianmaslen said:
This sounds exactly the explanation I was give, but strange that it has taken 5000+ miles in my ownership to surface.
Click to expand...
I’m still a bit puzzled by the mechanic’s explanation regarding the charge rate. The maximum charge current an Optimate will deliver is 1.25A according to the quad program manual; hence the further confusion of it “shutting down the DIN socket and tripping.”
( At a guess, I think the mechanic may have meant the DIN socket cannot supply 4A for any accessories plugged-in to the DIN? - for example, if you’ve wired up heated jacket, trousers, gloves and socks and they’re drawing a high current.)
That’s my understanding how the Optimate and BMWs DIN charging system works, and the Lithium battery and its management system function.
So far, that arrangement has performed flawlessly for me which is how BMW intended the Lithium battery to work, and how Optimate interacts with the BMW DIN-socket charging.

I can understand BMW naturally endorsing its own products over those of a competitor, though I doubt Optimate could fool the market if they were making falsifications for their products.
Anyways, the important outcome is that you’ve sorted your immediate issue without a new battery.
 
JoeBiff said:
I’m still a bit puzzled by the mechanic’s explanation regarding the charge rate. The maximum charge current an Optimate will deliver is 1.25A according to the quad program manual; hence the further confusion of it “shutting down the DIN socket and tripping.”
( At a guess, I think the mechanic may have meant the DIN socket cannot supply 4A for any accessories plugged-in to the DIN? - for example, if you’ve wired up heated jacket, trousers, gloves and socks and they’re drawing a high current.)
That’s my understanding how the Optimate and BMWs DIN charging system works, and the Lithium battery and its management system function.
So far, that arrangement has performed flawlessly for me which is how BMW intended the Lithium battery to work, and how Optimate interacts with the BMW DIN-socket charging.

I can understand BMW naturally endorsing its own products over those of a competitor, though I doubt Optimate could fool the market if they were making falsifications for their products.
Anyways, the important outcome is that you’ve sorted your immediate issue without a new battery.
Click to expand...
agree , it's not clear. Purely for information I received my first 1300 Jan 24 and rode it 20 miles home and put it in the garage on the 'lithium' Optimate. The first time I went to ride the bike the battery was dead and would not take further charge to awaken it.

it was recovered to the dealer who suggested that BMW said there was an issue using the Optimate thru the din socket (as opposed to straight to battery). BMW gave me an Optimate FOC for the inconvenience.

My lithium battery packed in on this bike a couple of months later, and purely on batteries - my second 1300 kept throwing up ride height issues on start up which were linked back to the Lithium battery hence it was replaced for an AGM the last time i had it out.

Barry
 
I've used optimates for years, currently have a canbus compatible 4, but have always used the direct to battery SAE lead without any issues across 4 different boxers. I also use the lead to connect my heated vest or airman pump too. With a simple direct option available he canbus one just seems best avoided to me, why over complicate things when you don't have to and connecting the lead to the negative terminal and positive post by the battery is simple to do and takes just a couple of minutes.
 
Some wit will be along shortly telling us we should have bought a pretty Voge.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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