Battery Charging through Power Socket

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happy grandad

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I had an airflow charger with my R1150RT etc which I put into the power socket which worked wonderfully all the time and allowed the alarm to remain on - we have had numerous breakins to the garage.

I knew I could not do this with the 1200GS so I spoke with Rainbow and they said that the BMW Charger would work through the power socket so I have bought one. However,

When I have plugged it in the unit shows that it is “in de-sulphating mode with de-sulphating links.” (The LED flashes) The advice goes on to says “If de-sulphating succeeds and current flow is enforced through the battery, the main charge mode continues. If de-sulphating fails, the charge is interrupted and ‘error’ appears.

This is what is happening, the battery is in de-sulphating mode and then the error LED flashes which means “battery error, charge interrupted. The unit has recognised a wrong battery, eg 6v or 24v battery, battery is sulphated and revival failed or cell short circuited.”

Could you tell me what is happening or will it just not charge through the power socket? Or should I attempt something else to the BMW charger

Look forward to the wonderful advice.

I

BTW I am not very technically minded ....

:) :)
 
BMW Charger....

Hi

I also purchased the BMW charger upon my dealers advice, who said I should not/could not use my trusty Optimate through the power sockets as I'd always done on previous BMW's I've owned.

However,the BMW charger works fine for me, not doing any of the things you mention above. After I plug in & turn on the power, the warning lights go through their self-check cycle then stabilise, just as it says in the instructions.

Perhaps you've got a duff battery...............just as I did on my first 1200GS inside 1000 miles......?

Cheers

Dutch
 
But...

how much is the charger suitable for the 1200GS,and where did you get it from ?
Thanks for any info
Stve
 
I tried my BMW 1200GS charger on my r90/6 battery. It got stucked in the first level (innital phase or something) and never cycled the charge. Apparently, it did charge my battery, but that damn charger was hot like hell... I disconnected it after 6 hours.
Hope I did not kill my battery...
I guess I need an Optimate III for my r90/6...
 
Unless your RT had a gel battery, your older charger would not correctly charge it. The BMW charger works fine on my 04 Adventure through the socket, and that is a gel. I would agree that the next thing to look at is a defective battery.
 
Re: But...

steve16 said:
how much is the charger suitable for the 1200GS,and where did you get it from ?
Thanks for any info
Stve
Click to expand...

About £60.00 from your local, friendly, (and rich) MBW dealer....;)
 
The socket on the 12GS is controlled buy one of the electronic control unit (don't remember which one). Look at your hazard switch when you shut the bike off. Notice how it stays illuminated for a period of time? Thats how long the accessory socket stays powered up then power is cut. The new BMW charger for the 12GS communicates with the control unit letting it know that it is the correct charger and wants to charge the battery so the control unit turns the socket back on for charging. They say not to charge directly to the battery unless it is disconnected. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and use a battery tender this winter as i have disconnected my accessory socket and run it strait to the battery.
 
Dutchman,

How long does it normally take before your charger switches to the green 3/3 light. Like Happy Grandad, mine seems to get stuck into the desulphinate rut, although it never shows the error light. It may well be that my battery is duff, but I've had no problems starting the bike during the last 5 months.

rgds
 
chasr said:
Dutchman,

How long does it normally take before your charger switches to the green 3/3 light. Like Happy Grandad, mine seems to get stuck into the desulphinate rut, although it never shows the error light. It may well be that my battery is duff, but I've had no problems starting the bike during the last 5 months.

rgds
Click to expand...

About an hour....perhaps hour & a half....

Cheers

Dutch
 
Thanks. I seem to be having a few problems with mine. I'll have one more go, disconnecting the hard-wired (but switched off) Streetpilot III just in case somehow that is causing enough voltage drop to send the charger into a loop.

rgds
 
I doubt that the GPS has anythling to do with your situation.
Good luck.

Cheers.
 
Marty,

You're right - it didn't. But the plot thickens. I've since had an email back from BMW Tech Support & spoken to other BMW staff; the consensus is that 1) the charger is knacked, or 2) the battery is knacked, or 3) the bike (electronics) is knacked. The bike is in for a software reload (maybe update, don't know yet but, apparently, there has been an update for some charging issues). The charger is also being looked at.

One odd thing; the charger I bought - correct 1200GS parts number - is completely different from the charger that the dealer was issued when the 1200 first came out. More to follow ..........
 
I'm planning on getting the correct charger for my 12 , untill then I'm hoping someone here can answer this.
I've heard (in here I think) that the battery on the 12 is not the common or garden gel type we all know and love. With this in mind does anyone know if I can charge the 12 battery with an optimate 2. I intend to disconnect at least one bike battery lead first.
Beemers eh ? who'd have em!:)
 
If intending to charge direct to the battery, one must undo both terminals. Not sure about which chargers work.

Cheers
 
As the bike had been sitting in the garage for over a week with the alarm on I was concerned the battery would be getting a bit low, so last night I disconnected both battery leads and charged it with my optimate II. It started showing 3/4 full, by this morning I had a green light saying 'fully charged and happy'. So I seemed to have answered my own question. It looks like an optimate II charger works OK on a 12 battery with it disconnected from the bike. I'm not brave enough to risk using it with the battery still connected to the bike for worries about damage to the can bus or can bus controller so I will still be getting a BMW charger for it.

Heres hoping for some dry weather this weekend so I can get out and USE the thing :)
 
OPTIMATE

I went to my local BMW dealer today and they said that there is no special charger for the 1200GS. The service manager said that a normal optimate will charge the battery for about 20 minutes and thats it. He said you need to connect direct to the battery to leave it on trickle charge. All I want is the right thing for my bike. So is there a specific charger for the 1200GS and does it plug straight into the accessory socket as normal. If so how do I get one?
Cheers.:confused:
 
Strait outof BMW's new model training manual for the R1200GS.
Battery Charger Kit 90 88 6 610 580
Charger/diagnostic tool required for charging battery thru accessory plug on R 1200 GS
Part of Automatic Tool Shipment
 
Hi Dave
Thanks for the information.
I will get onto my dealer.
Gordy:beerjug:
 
I spoke to our BMW mechanic today about using the optimate to charge the battery. He told me it would not charge through the aux socket but would be okay connected directly to the battery using the 'fly leads' that come with the charger. I will be giving it a shot over the weekend so I will let you know how I get on.
 
I have been in touch with Rainbow and they have sent out another charger. However the same thing happens with the new charger - after about an hour of the led flashing "charger in de-sulphating mode.." the error led flashes.

This either means that the battery is sulphated and cannot charge, the battery is knackered or the charger does not work with the electrics as set out in the 1200.

No of the other led lights appear. I am going to attempt to desulphate the battery by charging directly to the battery.

The instruction booklet states that the battery is sulphated or incapable of re-charging. However in the six months that i have owned it, there has not been a problem with starting the bike or any other problems with the electrics.

Any comments?

Not a happy grandad.

The battery charger is numbered 71 60 7 688 864
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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