If you reckon it is one of the connected items:
Remove any non-BMW items one at a time, checking current drain in between. No point in removing everything just to put all but one Checking after each is returned - (if that is the issue)
3 years - 3 batterys
- Thread starter Nemo
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If you reckon it is one of the connected items:
Remove any non-BMW items one at a time, checking current drain in between. No point in removing everything just to put all but one Checking after each is returned - (if that is the issue)
I had a problem on a previous 1200.I found out the autocom drained the battery down I assumed it only used power when driving with sat nav or communicating
Sorry for the tardy reply and thanks for the input everyone.
I took the battery out on Sunday, charged it, re-installed it and checked every electrical connection I could find. Put the tester in line between the battery -VE and earth and there was no currect flow showing.
Voltmeter said 13.39v on Sunday. Today it says 13.22v. That means losing 0.085 volts per day. I must get on to google to see what is normal althought the referenced ADV thread above has a chart I think.
I'll keep monitoring.
I took the battery out on Sunday, charged it, re-installed it and checked every electrical connection I could find. Put the tester in line between the battery -VE and earth and there was no currect flow showing.
Voltmeter said 13.39v on Sunday. Today it says 13.22v. That means losing 0.085 volts per day. I must get on to google to see what is normal althought the referenced ADV thread above has a chart I think.
I'll keep monitoring.
We know that if battery voltage falls to 12.5v the bike will start and below 12.5v the bike will struggle.
So starting point of 13.2v minus 12.5v = 0.7v divide this by your current drain of 0.085 your bike will be at 12.5v in 8 days. By day 10 the bike will fail to start.
You definitely have a problem.
do you have an alarm on the bike?
CHRISTARAS
Registered user
Hi to all,
does anyone use in a GSA LC (2017) this type of battery MOTOBATT MBYZ16HD - 12V 16.5 (10HR)Ah - 240CCA??
it is a little bit higher than the OEM but removing a plastic fits perfectly.....
the other difference in Ah (OEM YUASA= 11,2 - MOTOBATT=16.5)....
CCA (OEM YUASA=230 - MOTOBATT=240)..
Opinions.....
does anyone use in a GSA LC (2017) this type of battery MOTOBATT MBYZ16HD - 12V 16.5 (10HR)Ah - 240CCA??
it is a little bit higher than the OEM but removing a plastic fits perfectly.....
the other difference in Ah (OEM YUASA= 11,2 - MOTOBATT=16.5)....
CCA (OEM YUASA=230 - MOTOBATT=240)..
Opinions.....
I did on a 2013 GSA, it was fine.
Thanks for the analysis. I think I need to start stripping it down to find the problem
I’d put the meter in line between +ve battery post and the +ve cable termination. See if there is a consumer that is still drawing with ignition off. (Might be best if you have a milli-amp scale on the meter)
If you are able to disconnect +ve feeds to individual consumers further downstream, with the meter still connected - you may be able to find the culprit.
If you are able to disconnect +ve feeds to individual consumers further downstream, with the meter still connected - you may be able to find the culprit.
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On a previous GS my battery decided to repeatedly discharge itself over a few days of not riding it. I finally traced the problem to the aftermarket Garmin Quest sat nav cradle.
The cradle was plugged into the rear can bus power socket - this socket is the one used to also charge the battery using the BMW battery charger.
When the bike is turned off, a short while later the power socket switches off , HOWEVER the bike’s electronics stay alive for awhile to check if a BMW battery charger is connected, if a charger is detected the bike’s electronics stay alive and continue to drain current - this is ok because there is a charger connected.
The Garmin sat nav cradle had a capacitor on the power input that ‘held up’ the voltage long enough to ‘fool’ the bike into thinking a charger was connected, so the bike’s Electronics stayed alive drawing current!! This drained the battery over a few days!
Solution - I unplugged the quest sat nave cradle THEN switched off the bike.
This is why I say disconnect all non BMW stuff then see what happens, if the battery survives then you know where to look, if it doesn’t then you know it’s the battery itself.
The cradle was plugged into the rear can bus power socket - this socket is the one used to also charge the battery using the BMW battery charger.
When the bike is turned off, a short while later the power socket switches off , HOWEVER the bike’s electronics stay alive for awhile to check if a BMW battery charger is connected, if a charger is detected the bike’s electronics stay alive and continue to drain current - this is ok because there is a charger connected.
The Garmin sat nav cradle had a capacitor on the power input that ‘held up’ the voltage long enough to ‘fool’ the bike into thinking a charger was connected, so the bike’s Electronics stayed alive drawing current!! This drained the battery over a few days!
Solution - I unplugged the quest sat nave cradle THEN switched off the bike.
This is why I say disconnect all non BMW stuff then see what happens, if the battery survives then you know where to look, if it doesn’t then you know it’s the battery itself.
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Have you found the cause yet?
I’m not seeing any benefit in disconnecting all additional consumers when he has a current-meter.
Check for drain from the battery on the meter, and disconnect/reconnect each consumer in turn, while monitoring the current.
Check for drain from the battery on the meter, and disconnect/reconnect each consumer in turn, while monitoring the current.
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The reason is simple, to get back to a known stable state - the problem I had would not have been detected by measuring the current drain from the battery, because as soon as I made the break to put the meter inline it would have totally reset the bike’s power state and read zero current.
Bike electronics have more than two power states these days (a bit like computers) and the current drawn depends upon which state it is in, my sat nav cradle was fooling the bike’s computer into going into a higher power state than it should have been after it was turned off.
The surest way of finding the root cause is to go back to a known state (i.e. the factory BMW delivered state) and move forward from there one step at a time, otherwise one can get easily mislead by accessories confusing the bike’s computer.
GS-ROB
Registered user
I think I may have a similar problem, at what voltage should the battery stay at. My oxford optimiser is in ‘maintain’ mode holding it at 12.8v, is this right? It really struggles to start even when it’s still plugged in!
12.8 is good. Is that the voltage that it stays at when you disconnect your Optimiser?
If it drops below that (or below 12.6v to be more accurate) - then your battery is goosed and it is your Optimizer that is propping it up.
If it drops below that (or below 12.6v to be more accurate) - then your battery is goosed and it is your Optimizer that is propping it up.
Disconnect the last addition (of say 4 items) - which might just be the last stable state - you have a pretty good chance of nailing it there and then. Stick a current meter on it when shut down, to check. There is a certain complexity where you don’t rip out everything, but just go back to before your last alteration.
Is now a good time to.say that the battery on my 13 12RT is now six years old and going strong? 
TOUCH WOOD!
TOUCH WOOD!
Is now a good time to.say that the battery on my 13 12RT is now six years old and going strong?
TOUCH WOOD!
My 2-yr old battery was going strong................. until it wasn’t. No warning, no gradual decrease in capacity........
Go on - spend some of that pension!
Spend? Spend? 
Do you think I'm a spendthrift Yorkshireman, laddie?
Do you think I'm a spendthrift Yorkshireman, laddie?
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