battery problem r1250gs

acaffair

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Hi, My 480 mile r1250gs has a battery drain problem, when the engine is cold, the battery barely turns over the engine and stalls " bike take to a dealer "
splashes over the TFT. Went over testing/ charging and all seems good except the battery voltage falls below the 10v when hitting the starter button. Before starting it was 12.5V. When hot no problems - as yet.
BMW says the battery is not under warranty - However this is a different subject.! will have a few words when she goes in for her first service.

However
I'm looking for a more robust battery (and 10 pin code reader) thinking about a Yuasa gel battery but cannot find a part number for it ? guess the bike model is just to new.

Any assistance on a replacement would be very helpful.
Thank you
 
Hi, My 480 mile r1250gs has a battery drain problem, when the engine is cold, the battery barely turns over the engine and stalls " bike take to a dealer "
splashes over the TFT. Went over testing/ charging and all seems good except the battery voltage falls below the 10v when hitting the starter button. Before starting it was 12.5V. When hot no problems - as yet.
BMW says the battery is not under warranty - However this is a different subject.! will have a few words when she goes in for her first service.

However
I'm looking for a more robust battery (and 10 pin code reader) thinking about a Yuasa gel battery but cannot find a part number for it ? guess the bike model is just to new.

Any assistance on a replacement would be very helpful.
Thank you

Who did you buy the bike from ? Id be shouting the height of myself if my dealer wouldnt replace it on a bike thats only done 480 miles. Was it Clarks of Dundee ??
 
Who did you buy the bike from ? Id be shouting the height of myself if my dealer wouldnt replace it on a bike thats only done 480 miles. Was it Clarks of Dundee ??

Clarks of Aberdeen. They will want me to bring the bike in but it's too bloody cold. will sort out in Spring.

But I've seen this problem on you tube before, same problem so don't mind spending for a larger crank powered battery. Lithium looks the business ?
 
Clarks of Aberdeen. They will want me to bring the bike in but it's too bloody cold. will sort out in Spring.

But I've seen this problem on you tube before, same problem so don't mind spending for a larger crank powered battery. Lithium looks the business ?

Ahh ok, if it was me id be at em. Thats where i bought my bike and if my battery failed with that mileage on it id expect them to replace it. They cant be selective about whats under the three year warranty Simon would be getting his ear severely bent i will tell you.
 
Warranty is in addition to your other rights. Bloody cheek of dealer. If there wasn’t a warranty on the bike you would still be able to ask the dealer for a new battery or fix the problem. JJH
 
Ahh ok, if it was me id be at em. Thats where i bought my bike and if my battery failed with that mileage on it id expect them to replace it. They cant be selective about whats under the three year warranty Simon would be getting his ear severely bent i will tell you.

I will have a word. But heading to the Alps in Late may and I expect it to be very cold so don't want battery hassle . Apparently their is a battery upgrade but the parts man said it was around £200 Think not. lol
 
Harley replaced a battery on my 1200 Custom Sportster after they had tested it and confirmed it was faulty. Why should BMW be any different?
 
Push it out of the garage and when it doesn't start get onto BMW Assist and have it recovered to the dealers and tell them to sort it out . If the dealer claims that the battery on a basically new vehicle is not covered under warranty I am afraid that they are talking out of their *rse.

No joy from the dealer demand the BMW UK Customer Service Departments contact number and contact them directly.

As for it being too cold , better it is sitting over the winter in their nice heated workshops and then as and when it is fixed then they can deliver it back to you free of charge , they are taking the p*ss
 
Warranty is in addition to your other rights. Bloody cheek of dealer. If there wasn’t a warranty on the bike you would still be able to ask the dealer for a new battery or fix the problem. JJH

Well I was told no warranty on the batteries. The battery is fine on general testing , just drops voltage trying to turn that engine when cold and stalls the engine turning , bingo the TFT lights up. Perhaps once she is fully run in it will take less current to turn her over.
I Really just want a more robust battery and not just another of the same.
 
Push it out of the garage and when it doesn't start get onto BMW Assist and have it recovered to the dealers and tell them to sort it out . If the dealer claims that the battery on a basically new vehicle is not covered under warranty I am afraid that they are talking out of their *rse.

No joy from the dealer demand the BMW UK Customer Service Departments contact number and contact them directly.

As for it being too cold , better it is sitting over the winter in their nice heated workshops and then as and when it is fixed then they can deliver it back to you free of charge , they are taking the p*ss

Yeh your right,
 
If you go and buy and new battery from BMW surely it comes with a warranty ( batteries we sell for cars do) so if a replacement new battery is warranted surely the new battery sold on a new bike is ????????
 
Well I was told no warranty on the batteries. The battery is fine on general testing , just drops voltage trying to turn that engine when cold and stalls the engine turning , bingo the TFT lights up. Perhaps once she is fully run in it will take less current to turn her over.
I Really just want a more robust battery and not just another of the same.

If its dropping to 10v when starting, id say there was a duff cell in it.
 
Well I was told no warranty on the batteries. The battery is fine on general testing , just drops voltage trying to turn that engine when cold and stalls the engine turning , bingo the TFT lights up. Perhaps once she is fully run in it will take less current to turn her over.
I Really just want a more robust battery and not just another of the same.

My 2011 r1200gsa tc was still on its original battery when sold in late 2015, my 2014 r1200gsa wc te was still on its original battery when traded in at 3 years old and my current 2 year old r1200gsa wc is still on its original battery.

The original battery is more than robust enough to do its job (unless you have a duff one ) and shouldn't need upgraded .

Stick to your guns with the dealer
 
If possible, you need a dealer with a more positive attitude. I say this because aside from your specific battery issue, there also seems to be a wider issue on some 1250 bikes of non-starting when hot....the solution to which seems to be two-fold...... 1. software update and 2. upgraded battery, which seems to be going back to the 1200 model battery (14Ah I think ). No point in them doing half a job and just replacing like for like only for you to be later ( abroad ? ) struck by the second issue.
Coming back to your specific issue, is the 12.5 volts a measurement before you turn on the ignition ?.....if so, I'd say its a little low for a fully charged agm or gel battery, even allowing for your low temperatures. Ive been tracking mine daily in the garage with the alarm on, no charger, and it begins after a good ride and settle down at 12.9 volts. slowly decays at about 30mV per day, so 12.5V would be close to 2 weeks standing without charger. It could be that you have a duff cell, but starting a 1250cc twin, i'd expect problems even when warm in that case
Hope this info helps.

ps personally, I would not go down the lithium route, low temperature has a big impact on performance.
 
If possible, you need a dealer with a more positive attitude. I say this because aside from your specific battery issue, there also seems to be a wider issue on some 1250 bikes of non-starting when hot....the solution to which seems to be two-fold...... 1. software update and 2. upgraded battery, which seems to be going back to the 1200 model battery (14Ah I think ). No point in them doing half a job and just replacing like for like only for you to be later ( abroad ? ) struck by the second issue.
Coming back to your specific issue, is the 12.5 volts a measurement before you turn on the ignition ?.....if so, I'd say its a little low for a fully charged agm or gel battery, even allowing for your low temperatures. Ive been tracking mine daily in the garage with the alarm on, no charger, and it begins after a good ride and settle down at 12.9 volts. slowly decays at about 30mV per day, so 12.5V would be close to 2 weeks standing without charger. It could be that you have a duff cell, but starting a 1250cc twin, i'd expect problems even when warm in that case
Hope this info helps.

ps personally, I would not go down the lithium route, low temperature has a big impact on performance.

Thanks Joe, I have to get a code reader to clear the warning -Fault in engine code . which came on as she spluttered to a stop as she tried to start. I suspect it is the battery . Yes the battery was at 12.56v before starting so I'll fully charge before starting. The battery tender only comes on at 12.5 volts so perhaps this is why the battery reading was at that level. but no problems with the tender on my previous bikes and on my ride on mower. note taken on the lithium battery. lol
 
I've got the 911 reader (PM me for details and we might be able to arrange to meet - you will have to pay the subscription fee first to use the PM facility) and I've got exactly the same set of conditions you (and others on here) have described. The bike hasn't done it for a while but when it did there were all the signs of a duff battery with spurious faults listed on the TFT and return to dealer message. The battery is the obvious starting point but I don't want to jump to conclusions.
 
My 2011 r1200gsa tc was still on its original battery when sold in late 2015, my 2014 r1200gsa wc te was still on its original battery when traded in at 3 years old and my current 2 year old r1200gsa wc is still on its original battery.

The original battery is more than robust enough to do its job (unless you have a duff one ) and shouldn't need upgraded .

Stick to your guns with the dealer

What Neil said...
My 2013 model started up no probs on Monday when it was 2.5° here. It had been stood for 2 months , no trickle charger connected. As far as I know it's the original battery.
You shouldn't have to be shelling out on an upgrade because of this defective item or problem elsewhere on the bike.
 


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