Deleted account 250722001
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time to say goodbye to my bmw
- Thread starter brummy bloke
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My experience with them, is very different is all I can say, excellent service. They don't share technical details with owners/users only approved installers. This is to help prevent hackers/ Thieves!
If Datatool ended your subscription 3 weeks before it was due to run out. That's a breach of contract on their part and you have redress. I find that hard to believe, perhaps you've made a mistake!
If today you order a factory fitted alarm or a tracker for a new BMW bike it is a Datatool. https://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/en/individualisation/bmw-stealth.html.
If you moved the bike 150m outside your garage or wherever it was stored and last time it had a signal, without the ID tag present, it would have triggered as soon as it got a signal. Or you may have set up Early Warning Movement Alert EWMA this triggers the second the unit detects movement without a tag and has a signal i.e. the second you move it out of your garage or place I didn't have a signal.
It's not likely Datatool are telling fibs as you put it. Their system is approved by Thatcham, part of that approval is battery drain and that the internal battery can power the unit for a given time. It's possible your system had fault, that said if it did it would be picked up by Datatool, the system self monitors. More likely you allowed your bike battery to discharge to a point it was damaged and the internal battery of the unit was also draining it's self within the 2 week period, due to cell damage. As stated previously cell damage is not reversible and progressively gets worse over time. Had you maintained your bike battery correctly and ensured the system was connected to a charger inside the 2 week limit, I'd suggest you would not have had the issues.
One of my now customers came to me few years ago saying he'd fitted a Ktech valve and springs kit to his bike. It was crap and not worth the money etc etc. A quick pump and sure enough something wasn't right. I offered to take a look for him. He'd fitted both springs and one shim stacks up side down. He too had many of years of experience!
Batteries are hard a working component (as you'll know), often overloaded with extras, cams, navs, phones, heated clothing, grips, gloves even seats, some power compressors without running the engine etc. It only takes a few over discharges to permanently damage cells and that's the beginning of the end and why you heard stories like "my battery only lasted 1- 2 years and the tracker at fault. In my experience I've never had or dealt with a faulty tracker, badly fitted one yes and alarms which are worse for fitting.
It doesn't really matter what I or anyone say's, you've made up your mind Datatool and their products are no good, that's a shame as they are not.
Well said that manPeople are perhaps expecting too much of a battery. BMW do not use batteries with a secret self destruct linked to warranty period. Any battery tbh is doing well to last 5 years or more and I fully expect to change mine every 5 years. It's a bonus that my current one is 6 years old and tests fine. Chargers will not tell you the state of the battery, you need a battery tester for that. Modern charges generally have a desulphating cycle, and if that doesn't work, just buy a new battery. I always use either Yuasa or Varta. Never anything else. Testers are cheap these days, around £30 or less. They tell you how much capacity compared with the new battery (you input the battery specs) your battery has left and how well (or not) it's holding charge and how many cranking amps it has left in it (CCA value). You can also do a drop test using a multi-meter but a tester will give you a very comprehensive set of data.
As for others judging anyone due to what they ride, just ignore them. I had a chap a few months ago at a petrol station walk over from his crusty, rusty old Fazer 600 to tell me what a pile of rubbish my RS was....."Someone's been splashing out, haven't they?" he said. He then proceeded to bore me with tales of his old hexhead which was the most unreliable piece of "crap" he'd ever owned, pointed to his rust-bucket and said "that will never let you down". He then gave me a monologue about poor build quality of BMWs which he hadn't owned for donkey's years and how overpriced they were. One look at him and his fazer told me everything I didn't want to know...a bloke who couldn't give a toss about looking after his own machinery, judging others for what they ride. I just ignored him. I had much the same from people making the odd comments about my GSA, an oft repeated one being "pipe and slippers bike" or "I'm too young for one of those yet". Ironically, I caught up with one bloke who'd said that a year later and guess what he was riding?
bosnjo
Registered user
Someone remind me was was this thread about, please...
Let's give DataTool the benefit of the doubt for a moment and that my unit was genuinely faulty.
I gave them ample opportunity for them to resolve the issue and for me to continue my subscription which would have continued for many years had they come up with a satisfactory solution, but their customer service was very, very poor.
What they should have done, was firstly to listen to their customer (me) and accept that there was a problem. At the very least they should have got a new unit from their stores checked the sleep current was indeed less than 1mA then sent it to me (ideally free of charge because one could reasonably expect more than 3 years life from such a device) - however I would have accepted a sale or return agreement if the new unit did not solve the problem.
P.S. my bike battery was maintained correctly - I have had 6 GS's since 2005 and had no battery issues until this 1250 fitted with a Datatool tracker (I am far from alone with this issue). Everything has been fine since removing the tracker.
P.P.S as far as installation goes, it was installed on the new bike (20221) by I assume the BMW dealer, it was wired into the BMW loom under the rear luggage carrier - so one has to assume that even with the bike shut down there is a continuous live feed in that loom - it was not wired directly to the battery.
P.P.P.S - when this issue first appeared 18 months or so ago my BMW dealer load tested the battery and said the battery was fine.
P.P.P.S - the longest my bike went unused this winter was 4 weeks - it was left on the official BMW charger for that period, the battery has never been over discharged.
I gave them ample opportunity for them to resolve the issue and for me to continue my subscription which would have continued for many years had they come up with a satisfactory solution, but their customer service was very, very poor.
What they should have done, was firstly to listen to their customer (me) and accept that there was a problem. At the very least they should have got a new unit from their stores checked the sleep current was indeed less than 1mA then sent it to me (ideally free of charge because one could reasonably expect more than 3 years life from such a device) - however I would have accepted a sale or return agreement if the new unit did not solve the problem.
P.S. my bike battery was maintained correctly - I have had 6 GS's since 2005 and had no battery issues until this 1250 fitted with a Datatool tracker (I am far from alone with this issue). Everything has been fine since removing the tracker.
P.P.S as far as installation goes, it was installed on the new bike (20221) by I assume the BMW dealer, it was wired into the BMW loom under the rear luggage carrier - so one has to assume that even with the bike shut down there is a continuous live feed in that loom - it was not wired directly to the battery.
P.P.P.S - when this issue first appeared 18 months or so ago my BMW dealer load tested the battery and said the battery was fine.
P.P.P.S - the longest my bike went unused this winter was 4 weeks - it was left on the official BMW charger for that period, the battery has never been over discharged.
Pressbrake1
Registered user
for as long as bmw source parts from temu and bang good we’re doomed
Oh my god, a fucking expertOh my god a conspiracy theory
Carry on , I can see you doing well in here.
It’s awe. If you’re going to try to be clever, it helps to at least get it right.
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Whilst I have not measured the quiescent current, I am absolutely convinced that the battery / starter issues on my GS are not due to the tracker. It happens when the weather is cold, so I ride less, and use the heated grips. It doesn’t happen in the so-called summer, when I ride more and don’t use the grips. It even happened after I replaced my battery with a new, higher capacity one. And the bloody bike is on charge now, because it coughed and nearly didn’t start when I was leaving work this evening.
I reckon the charging and starter systems are cost- and weight- reduced to a point where they only just cope unless something isn’t perfect. I would more likely have a Datatool on my next bike than my next bike be a BMW, which is a shame, because in almost every other way, it’s bloody good.
Another key board warrior has arrived. There's me thinking this site would be different. Sadly no they're everywhere, long standing types who flock in. It's sad but entertaining at times, who next I wonder?It was a cast iron argument
Keep digging ‘Fella’……..you’re playing a blinder
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