GS1200 Battery Drain issues

[apw99]

Hi folks, hello from Ireland. I very recently bought my first BMW after over 40 years of and and Triumphs. All was fine for a few weeks and then the battery died after sitting for 2 or 3 days. The bike is 2016 with 10,000km. I bought it from a friend and he would remove the battery for winter as he lives in a very cold climate. He replaced it probably about 5 years ago, it is a Lithium battery.
Anyway, I recharged the battery and it died again 2 days later. Tried once more and then deemed I had a failing battery and I replaced it with another Lithium Ion battery. Same thing, died after 2 days. It actually goes to 0V as it seems these batteries protect themselves by self isolating once they hot a low threshold.
I removed the additional direct connects which are a pair of SW-Moto spotlights and a battery charge cable. Also I had recently installed a Garmin dock which wires to the factory power outlet on the right hand side fairings.
Same thing , battery was dying. I connnected an ammeter inline and was seeing 170mA with the bike in standby, way too high for a standby current which I would expect to be below 20mA.
There are no fuses so I can't isolate individual circuits as the bike has a CAN bus.

Is this a common fault? Has anyone any good ideas where I go next?

I have it booked in for next wedsnesday to get a diagnostic run by an ex-BMW mechanic but he does not have all the required equipment from BMW so may be of limited help.

Apart from that it is the local BMW dealer who by all accounts are a shower of useless crooks.

Really disillusioned with my BMW experience although it is a really nice bike to ride 2-up. Any help appreciated!

 

[littleade]

Does it have a tracker? If so, that's probably the cause. I'd also suggest you get a battery monitor that's compatible with your battery such as an optimate as many like myself leave their bikes permanently connected to one when it's not in use at home and maybe get a portable booster pack to carry with you in case you get stranded. What's the bike like when you're using it, are there any starting problems then which could suggest a charging issue, or is it just when it's left you have a problem.

 

[apw99]

Does it have a tracker? If so, that's probably the cause. I'd also suggest you get a battery monitor that's compatible with your battery such as an optimate as many like myself leave their bikes permanently connected to one when it's not in use at home and maybe get a portable booster pack to carry with you in case you get stranded. What's the bike like when you're using it, are there any starting problems then which could suggest a charging issue, or is it just when it's left you have a problem.

Hi - thanks for the reply. There is no tracker, the only extras are the spotlights and the Garmin dock, both disconnected. I am going on a trip in September so need to have this parasitic drain sorted. I have a lead/acid charger but I need to get a Lithium specific charger, agreed. However there is still an issue with the bike if it is sucking away 120mA/hr.
The bike was starting and running exactly as a GS should, no problems. I bought it in Munich from a friend and rode it back to Ireland without missing a beat.

 

[Santa-2512]

If i read your post correctly, you charged a lithium battery with a conventional lead acid charger

Goodbye battery , Lithium battery's need a dedicated lithium charger.

At this stage its going to cost you some money

I know lithium battery's are long lasting, but 5 years , it may be at the end of its life

Cheapest way forward, buy a new battery Mottobatt or Noco (lithium) & the correct charger

Once you have a charged battery on the bike , put a multimeter across the battery with the engine running, you should have 14V

Don't go hunting for other faults until you confirm you battery is ok

 

[apw99]

If i read your post correctly, you charged a lithium battery with a conventional lead acid charger

Goodbye battery , Lithium battery's need a dedicated lithium charger.

At this stage its going to cost you some money

I know lithium battery's are long lasting, but 5 years , it may be at the end of its life

Cheapest way forward, buy a new battery Mottobatt or Noco (lithium) & the correct charger

Once you have a charged battery on the bike , put a multimeter across the battery with the engine running, you should have 14V

Don't go hunting for other faults until you confirm you battery is ok

Thanks for the response. Just to clarify..
- The original battery drained, I recharged it and retired, same result.
- I replaced the battery with a new fully pre-charged lithium battery, it died after 2 days.
- I checked with an ammeter and could see a standby parasitic drain of 170mA, way in excess of normal standby current

So the bike definitely has the issue, it has flattened two batteries.

Once I solve the issue I will use a Lithium maintenance charger but I need to solve the drain issue first.

I'll check the charge voltage today but I know it is charging as I went for a 200km run the other day after recharging the battery and the bike started no issues, until the following day when it was at 0v.
The lithium batteries have a low threshold protection which isolates them from load to stop any undervoltage damage.

Does that make sense? Thanks!

 

[Santa-2512]

That is not parasitic draw if it pulls a battery low in 2 days, do you have a gs911, might be worth doing some diagnostics on the bike,

Does it have any accessories fitted, nav, tracker, spots, GPS , if so disconnect one at a time until your current draw stops

 

[apw99]

Thanks for the response. Just to clarify..
- The original battery drained, I recharged it and retired, same result.
- I replaced the battery with a new fully pre-charged lithium battery, it died after 2 days.
- I checked with an ammeter and could see a standby parasitic drain of 170mA, way in excess of normal standby current

So the bike definitely has the issue, it has flattened two batteries.

Once I solve the issue I will use a Lithium maintenance charger but I need to solve the drain issue first.

I'll check the charge voltage today but I know it is charging as I went for a 200km run the other day after recharging the battery and the bike started no issues, until the following day when it was at 0v.
The lithium batteries have a low threshold protection which isolates them from load to stop any undervoltage damage.

Does that make sense? Thanks!

I checked the charging voltage with the bike ticking over and while revving and it sat at a steady 14.25volts which I believe is fine.
I then put the ammeter in series and switched the bike 'on' (not started, just with the dash lit up) and it showed around 40mA which would be fine.
Then I switched it off into standby mode, this bike is keyless don't forget, and it sat for about a minute ticking and then shutdown and sat at 0.5mA which is also fine.
Compared to when I first tried it the drain current in standby is varying, so i will leave it overnight and see how it is.
Seems to be something intermittent.
The accessories are all disconnected....I'll check again tomorrow.

 

[Bigcats]

When you switch off the bike leave it much longer so all the systems shut down and no longer drawing power otherwise you could potentially get a false reading

ensure the bike steering lock is also locked...do not unlock it

Check battery is fully charged using multimeter

Disconnect neg from battery

Place a multimeter with the ability to check DC amps on the neg of the battery and disconnected neg cable (make sure the cables on the multimeter are in the right socket)

This will show you the amp draw across the whole bike.....if showing high draw from there you can start disconnecting things you know are plugged in

 

[redvfr97]

apw99
INDENTICAL PROBLEM ! 2008 R1200GS - England
Did you ever get to the bottom of this ?

I've been trying to solve this off and on for years now .. my 3rd battery really started to get me annoyed.
(OK the original one that was in it when I bought it was probably knackered as it was 7 yrs old, but the new 2 ?)
Just to save you a bit of time and money and offer moral support- I went thought the same checks and tests you did.
I also searched numerous sites as well .... I guess you've been there too :-(

My ammeter drain was around 120mA with the bike off.
This is with my accessories and even the bikes accessories socket (cigar lighter ?) disconnected.
This drain equals 5-7days before the battery is dead (simple maths) and wont turn over the engine.

I even took it to a BMW Main dealer for them to diagnose the issue. They had it for over 2 hours, and could find no fault (other than the fault codes made by me - messing with it). Nice to know there is nothing wrong with it though hahahah!. They apologised and gave me a few ideas to work on (earthing / disconnecting things etc) but nothing concrete.
Disconnecting various part of the bikes wiring loom is the last option as its all tight and inaccessible and will take forever even if its possible. The CAN bus system is great - BUT as you say, it has no fuses you can remove to isolate the faulty area. Stupid stupid stupid idea. BMW mentality !!

The question is where is it going ? - I still dont know at the moment, but have a couple of ideas and have a couple of 'work-arounds' I thought I would tell you about.
Ideas at the moment are....

1) It may be the Alarm system. I recently did the ammeter thing again and saw that the drain is now fluctuating between 420 - 120 mA. Not seen it do this before. It looks as though it may be 'hunting' ?
I may replace the batteries in the unit - but its a real ball ache getting all the rear plastic off.
I dont think the alarm works anyway as it doesnt beep at me any more from the remote - so whats to lose.
I have also never seen a DWS warning on the bike.

2) 'Something' is drawing current = using power / energy= it may be warm ?
I was going to hire a Thermal Imaging IR camera from a tools shop (Jewsons hire stuff) and give the bike the once over when its good and cold. Hopefully the 'something' will glow warm.

3) I bought a 2nd hand BMW charger that plugs into the accessories socket under the seat and was using that for a couple of years when leaving the bike standing at home for more than a couple of days. (Has to be the BMW one as it has to talk to the CAN bus system). This went wrong recently, so I now have to use a regular OPTIMATE charger with the seat off.

4) Light bulb moment !
I bought and fitted a 'cut out' device (isolator) for the battery. Cost a couple of pounds and attaches to the battery post and fits under the seat. You unscrew the knob to isolate the battery from the electrics. Screw back in when you want to start the bike again - just remember to crank the throttle 3 times before you re-connect it.
THIS WORKS - as you would expect as you have bypassed the issue.
This is now my current solution.

Let me /us know how you are getting on.
Pete

 

[redvfr97]

You unscrew the knob to isolate the battery from the electrics. Screw back in when you want to start the bike again - just remember to crank the throttle 3 times before you re-connect it.

Err - that should be AFTER not BEFORE reconnecting - sorry