is it possible to charge the battery thru the accesory socket?

[AberdeenAngus]

Another related battery charging question. This might sound silly, but does the ignition have to be on in order to charge the battery. I have just acquired a 2002 1150GS and the charging light on the battery charger will only show when the ignition is on - suggesting that the accessory socket is isolated from the battery when switched off.

On the other hand it could be something to do with the charger I'm using. I have a good BMW one back in France, but we thought we could make do with a very basic model until we get home. May be not?!

If you are clipping onto something that is only live when the ignition is on, then yes, you need the ignition on. This is not a good way to charge the battery.

A bog standard charger will work. Just connect straight to the battery. Don't need ignition on. Don't need to disconnect the battery or anything from it.

 

[mrsroynie]

If you are clipping onto something that is only live when the ignition is on, then yes, you need the ignition on. This is not a good way to charge the battery.

A bog standard charger will work. Just connect straight to the battery. Don't need ignition on. Don't need to disconnect the battery or anything from it.

Thanks. Agreed, it does seem a pretty inefficient system. I think I might go with Runt's suggestion of a plug and connector permanently attached to the battery under the seat.

 

[MattW]

The accessory socket is live permanently on 11xx's

Just get a charger with an accessory plug adapter and plug it in to the accessory socket. It doesn't get much simpler

 

[ahutcheon]

Another related battery charging question. This might sound silly, but does the ignition have to be on in order to charge the battery. I have just acquired a 2002 1150GS and the charging light on the battery charger will only show when the ignition is on - suggesting that the accessory socket is isolated from the battery when switched off.

Ignition makes no difference to charging through accessory socket on my 2003 1150GS - if your diagnosis is correct then your bike has non-standard wiring?

 

[mrsroynie]

The accessory socket is live permanently on 11xx's

Just get a charger with an accessory plug adapter and plug it in to the accessory socket. It doesn't get much simpler

No need for sarcasm. Clearly I have a problem or, as ahutcheon says, my electrics are non-standard. Though this I doubt, as the bike is a completely standard 2002 model with no non-factory extras. (The 3 previous owners only managed to clock up 9.5k miles between them!)

I have an R1200GS as well, and am accustomed to charging through the accessory socket with no probs. However, with this 1150, there is no charging light on the battery charger when the ignition is off - which, to me (although, granted, I'm no mechanic) indicates that the charger is not working ..?

 

[MattW]

No need for sarcasm. Clearly I have a problem or, as ahutcheon says, my electrics are non-standard. Though this I doubt, as the bike is a completely standard 2002 model with no non-factory extras. (The 3 previous owners only managed to clock up 9.5k miles between them!)

I have an R1200GS as well, and am accustomed to charging through the accessory socket with no probs. However, with this 1150, there is no charging light on the battery charger when the ignition is off - which, to me (although, granted, I'm no mechanic) indicates that the charger is not working ..?

I'm sorry - no sarcasm was intended.

Could it be that your 1200's charger is a canbus specific model that doesn't work with the non-canbus electrics of the 1150? I'm guessing here as I've no experience of 1200's, but I have read about a special charger being required for their canbus electrical system.

 

[mrsroynie]

I'm sorry - no sarcasm was intended.

Could it be that your 1200's charger is a canbus specific model that doesn't work with the non-canbus electrics of the 1150? I'm guessing here as I've no experience of 1200's, but I have read about a special charger being required for their canbus electrical system.

I might have suspected something of the sort ... if I were using my super-duper mega-expensive BMW charger that I bought following all sorts of peculiar German electrical problems with my 1200! Unfortunately, I'm not.

My 1200 and my BMW charger are at home in France, while the 1150 that I bought in November is, for the moment, here with me in Ireland (where we are building a house). The local motor accessory shop had a straight choice between a really basic portable battery charger and a heavy industrial-looking thing. I bought the basic charger, so I initially assumed it was a problem with that ... only we tested it on the car battery and it seemed to work fine.

The joke is that I bought the 1150 because, from what I hear, it is easier to maintain yourself than a 1200 and we only have two BMW Motorrad dealers here in Eire: both over 2 1/2 hours away. A rather inauspicious start, wouldn't you say?!

 

[MattW]

I might have suspected something of the sort ... if I were using my super-duper mega-expensive BMW charger that I bought following all sorts of peculiar German electrical problems with my 1200! Unfortunately, I'm not.

My 1200 and my BMW charger are at home in France, while the 1150 that I bought in November is, for the moment, here with me in Ireland (where we are building a house). The local motor accessory shop had a straight choice between a really basic portable battery charger and a heavy industrial-looking thing. I bought the basic charger, so I initially assumed it was a problem with that ... only we tested it on the car battery and it seemed to work fine.

The joke is that I bought the 1150 because, from what I hear, it is easier to maintain yourself than a 1200 and we only have two BMW Motorrad dealers here in Eire: both over 2 1/2 hours away. A rather inauspicious start, wouldn't you say?!

Well, as standard, the accessory socket near the left footpeg should be permanently live. I'd put a multimeter on it (either using the plugged in accessory plug adapter from your charger or by removing he plastic starter motor cover) and work from there.

 

[mrsroynie]

Well, as standard, the accessory socket near the left footpeg should be permanently live. I'd put a multimeter on it (either using the plugged in accessory plug adapter from your charger or by removing he plastic starter motor cover) and work from there.

Thanks. Battery now charged by attaching two easily accessible leads with insulated connectors that can be tucked away under the seat. I agree it is a bit of a nuisance having to lift the tank, but it really wasn't difficult or complicated ... even for a woman!

Anyway, connected directly to the battery, the charger immediately showed a good strong "charging" light, which led us to think that the power socket is not working properly. Even with ignition on, charging light was very feeble while plugged into the accessory socket. A multimeter seems the next logical move!

 

[MattW]

Thanks. Battery now charged by attaching two easily accessible leads with insulated connectors that can be tucked away under the seat. I agree it is a bit of a nuisance having to lift the tank, but it really wasn't difficult or complicated ... even for a woman!

Anyway, connected directly to the battery, the charger immediately showed a good strong "charging" light, which led us to think that the power socket is not working properly. Even with ignition on, charging light was very feeble while plugged into the accessory socket. A multimeter seems the next logical move!

Glad you got charging working.
If you remove the plastic cover which the accessory socket is fitted to (30 second job) you'll be able to inspect the wiring. I'll bet there's a load of green fur on a connector somewhere

 

[Bigyin]

Glad you got charging working.
If you remove the plastic cover which the accessory socket is fitted to (30 second job) you'll be able to inspect the wiring. I'll bet there's a load of green fur on a connector somewhere

Did that on mine the other week when i took the gear shift apart to clean it up and there was green fur crap all over the connections and the plug socket so hopefully will work fine now its been cleaned up but havent meter tested it

 

[mrsroynie]

Glad you got charging working.
If you remove the plastic cover which the accessory socket is fitted to (30 second job) you'll be able to inspect the wiring. I'll bet there's a load of green fur on a connector somewhere

Did that on mine the other week when i took the gear shift apart to clean it up and there was green fur crap all over the connections and the plug socket so hopefully will work fine now its been cleaned up but havent meter tested it

Took the bike into Kearys, Cork. Turned out there was a broken lead to the accessory socket. However, the starting problem was not due to the battery, but a faulty solenoid on the starter. At some point, I'm going to have to find someone to strip down the starter motor ... or may be an educational project for me!

 

[MattW]

Took the bike into Kearys, Cork. Turned out there was a broken lead to the accessory socket. However, the starting problem was not due to the battery, but a faulty solenoid on the starter. At some point, I'm going to have to find someone to strip down the starter motor ... or may be an educational project for me!

Glad you've sorted your accessory socket issue - you'll now be able to charge through it should you want to (although probably not needed now).

With regards to your starter - any proper auto electrician should be able to strip it down for you. There's a reasonably common issue with starters on 1100's / 1150's where the magnets in the starter become unglued from the casing (yes they just glue them in ) this makes the starter sluggish to turn and will eventually fail. I'm not sure how your shop diagnosed the solenoid problem and whether the magnet fault could be misinterpreted as a solenoid issue but this is something to check. Again, any 'traditional' auto electrician will be able to tell you about this.

You can strip the starter yourself, howto here:
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207984
or you could just remove it yourself (two minute job) and get someone else to do the fix.