Optimate 4

geezer2005

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Just got myself an Optimate 4 for the winter months.

Just want to make sure, is it ok to just leave it connected, or should it be disconnected at all after an amount of time?
 
Been using for absolutely years mate


I never disconnect when bike parked.

I’ve never had a single drama.

Oh and I’ve only ever had to buy 1 battery in 35 years


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Yes, leave the O4 battery tender on full time when the bike is laid up.

Just remember, if you have any power cuts/surges in your area it can disturb the device's equilibrium, so it may refuse to restart & throw a red light; it's a rare event & simple enough just to check from time to time.
 
S92GS said:
Been using for absolutely years mate


I never disconnect when bike parked.

I’ve never had a single drama.

Oh and I’ve only ever had to buy 1 battery in 35 years


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Just changed your bike every year��������
 
I have just purchase an Optimate 4 with the CanBus cable and looking for some advice.

My current battery is very weak due to lack of use recently. So I hooked up the Optimate 4 and left on for about 10 hrs day 1 and then about 8 hrs day two. As my bike is on my drive I am limited at the moment as to how long I can leave it hooked until I make a few adjustments. The 18 hrs of charging has made no difference to the battery state. It still struggles to turn. I did read the manual and it says that it can take up to 48 hrs to get to optimate state.

My questions are:

Should I expect some difference in charge after 18 hrs charging?

Does it actually take 48 hrs min to see some difference in state of battery?

Should I remove the battery and charge using the clips as per a normal battery charge?

Just looking for some general thoughts from members that have some experience using the Optimate 4.
 
woods said:
I have just purchase an Optimate 4 with the CanBus cable and looking for some advice.

My current battery is very weak due to lack of use recently. So I hooked up the Optimate 4 and left on for about 10 hrs day 1 and then about 8 hrs day two. As my bike is on my drive I am limited at the moment as to how long I can leave it hooked until I make a few adjustments. The 18 hrs of charging has made no difference to the battery state. It still struggles to turn. I did read the manual and it says that it can take up to 48 hrs to get to optimate state.

My questions are:

Should I expect some difference in charge after 18 hrs charging?

Does it actually take 48 hrs min to see some difference in state of battery?

Should I remove the battery and charge using the clips as per a normal battery charge?

Just looking for some general thoughts from members that have some experience using the Optimate 4.
Click to expand...

What were the LED lights showing on the unit? That's the key for you. They will indicate if all is as it should be. Any ideas what stages they went through?
 
The lighting went through stages per as per the instructions with the unit. All appeared to be good and it was just doing the charge event 30 mins and the two lights at bottom showing green. I have used the bike today for first time in weeks and battery is as weak as it was before charging.
 
Perhaps it time for a new battery and then continue to use the Optimate to keep it in tip-top condition if you are using the bike infrequently in the winter?
 
Thanks for the responses. Yep I may need to look at sourcing a new battery. This oone is 6 years old and the bike is generally used all year around. I put the optimate on late yesterday afternoon. I will leave it on for another day or so and see if there is any difference. I will then see whether to replace the unit.
 
Nope thats news to me. My understanding it is a charger/optimiser. So I chcked again just now and looks like the battery is now back fully charged. Unfortunately I cant leave the optimate onfor an extended period of time until I sort out some permanent power source on my drive.
 
Wildfowler said:
Nope thats news to me. My understanding it is a charger/optimiser. So I chcked again just now and looks like the battery is now back fully charged. Unfortunately I cant leave the optimate onfor an extended period of time until I sort out some permanent power source on my drive.
Click to expand...

+1 just checked the optimate website and clearly states charges batteries and optimises.
 
I clearly stand corrected and I'm happy to admit that I was relying on another forum's information regarding an earlier version, where I was led to believe that I could not rely on an Optimate to charge a battery from scratch.
 
My tuppence worth on the optimate 4. My bike is parked on the drive and has been for the last 5 years. It has a cover but that is it. So it is open to the elements 24*7. Unfortunately I had to give up my garage for an extension to the house. We were going to see whether we could retain a small garage but I decided this would not be worth it. So as stated before I have not used the bike too much over last few months. It has struggled to start the last couple of times I used it but it did start. I done some research on the Optimate 4 and decided this would be my best bet rather than a straight charger which I used on previous bikes. My understanding is that you can’t recharge a complete dead battery using the canbus but mine already had some life hence being able to start the bike. If you need to charge a dead one I believe you would need to use the alternative connectors i.e. the monkey clips and charge straight from there. Anyway that said looks like using the canbus you need to give it at least a couple of days to get your battery up to peak health and then it will continue to maintain the battery. So I don’t have the luxury of being able to leave the optimate on at all times (ideal scenario) but it has done the job I needed in getting my battery recharged and back into shape. So I am very happy with my optimate and would recommend to anyone. Happy Christmas :)
 
Even though it can (no pun intented) I don't use it through the can-bus. I placed a connector (from some other piece of kit, I think) which is permanently connected to the battery and connects to the Optimate. It has a cover so that moisture doesn't get in. It means that my mini pump and other external accessories can also be plugged straight in.

I find that that the charging/conditioning is far more complete/reliable this way.

Obvs it is in direct charge mode and I find that the lights are more easy to understand. Quite why a simple LCD screen couldn't be added instead of the complicated lighting system presently used is beyond me.
 
I've measured a 0.4v difference in battery terminal charging voltage between accessory socket (13.4v at battery terminal ) and direct to battery terminal (13.8v )connecting....this when using the can-bus mode in both cases. I also noted that the 13.4v reading was not so stable for some reason.

I'm going to stick with the direct charging as 13.4 volts through the acc socket isn't really good enough IMO as the weather goes colder.

Also, I chose to only use the can-bus mode because the high voltage battery recovery mode is inhibited, which I think is a good safety precaution with a can-bus enabled bike.
 
So here is the latest. Even with a few days on the Optimate my battery is still very weak. This morning it nearly failed to start altogether. It eventually started and showed a EW5 error temporarily,. Anyway when I got home tonight I have connected the Optimate direct to the battery. I will check in the morning before my commute to work. The battery is 7 years old (original) so probably needs a change. I will see tomorrow but will probably go for a replacement unit.:beerjug:
 
Wildfowler said:
So here is the latest. Even with a few days on the Optimate my battery is still very weak. This morning it nearly failed to start altogether. It eventually started and showed a EW5 error temporarily,. Anyway when I got home tonight I have connected the Optimate direct to the battery. I will check in the morning before my commute to work. The battery is 7 years old (original) so probably needs a change. I will see tomorrow but will probably go for a replacement unit.:beerjug:
Click to expand...

I have used an Optimate 4 for many years, my Optimate 4 can bus model I have been using on my 1200 for 4 years and now my 1250. There is no difference charging through the can bus socket with an aux plug or direct to the battery. You do have to ensure the Optimate 4 is a can bus model and is switched to can bus charging, it can operate in can bus and non can bus mode. I have a 4 that is non can bus and one that is can bus. I charged a completely flat battery on a 2007 RT overnight through the aux socket. So maybe your battery is stuffed
 
The latest on battery-gate. SO As mentioned I connected the optimate direct to the battery whilst still connected to the bike and left it overnight. In the morning the battery health was back to normal. I.e. before I started having this problem about 4 months ago. I.e. really weak starting.
Anyway that has been a couple of days and we seem to be good. So I am thinking of waiting maybe until spring to get a replacement battery as this is the original battery that came with the bike so 7 years old.
To summarise. I have used the optimate via the canbus a few times and the last time I left it on for three days with no real improvement. Actually last weekend it seems to have nearly drained the battery. I am sure it was in canbus mode. So taking it out of canbus mode and direct charge to battery worked and using canbus has not worked for me. Checking some other battery topics on here seems to be hit and miss whether it works using canbus.
So I am happy at this time and thanks for everyone for your help and advice with this.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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