Trickle charging

General discussion of the BMW R1200RT/R1250RT
bargood
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Trickle charging

Post by bargood »

I just purchased a 2013 R1200RT. This replaced my 1996 R1100RT. Since I only use the bike on weekends I keep the battery charged by using a Battery Tender. I plug it into the accessory port. On the old r1100 it worked great. On my 2013 r1200rt it starts to flash red after a short time which means it isn't charging. Any idea why? Wonder if anyone else had or has that problem. Thanks. 
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David.
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by David. »

Looks like CAN-bus was introduced in 2004, https://motorcycleinfo.co.uk/bmw-r1200g ... indexc97d/

Is the battery tender/charger CAN-bus compatible.
PeteM
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by PeteM »

bargood wrote: I just purchased a 2013 R1200RT. This replaced my 1996 R1100RT. Since I only use the bike on weekends I keep the battery charged by using a Battery Tender. I plug it into the accessory port. On the old r1100 it worked great. On my 2013 r1200rt it starts to flash red after a short time which means it isn't charging. Any idea why? Wonder if anyone else had or has that problem. Thanks.

You need a specialist CAMBUS charger, lastest Optimates do this but older ones do not (although even the latest ones need to be set correctly),but I had problems with mine so ended up shelling out for a proper BMW one which works faultlessly
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David.
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by David. »

Which battery tender/charger have you got, can it be hardwired to the battery with an appropriate lead.

I use a 2004 Datatool charger via a lead bolted to the battery.

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Last edited by David. on Sun Jun 21, 2020 9:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Beagle
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by Beagle »

Either connect a trickle charger direct to the battery or get the canbus version and use the auxiliary socket.



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David.
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by David. »

Battery Charger thread, viewtopic.php?t=9

Accumate 6V/12V Battery Charger, https://www.mdsbattery.co.uk/accumate-6 ... gJ1pvD_BwE

BMW Motorrad Battery Charger (UK plug),  https://bmw.europe-moto.com/gb/motorcyc ... gInOvD_BwE
Last edited by David. on Sun Jun 21, 2020 2:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Frank123
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by Frank123 »

BMW trickle charger is the best bit of kit to keep your bike battery fully charged all of the time especially during long winter and Covid19 lockdown days/weeks.
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Beagle
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by Beagle »

Frank123 wrote: BMW trickle charger is the best bit of kit to keep your bike battery fully charged all of the time especially during long winter and Covid19 lockdown days/weeks.

Agree its brilliant, plug in the auxiliary socket and a warning sign on the Bike  cover reminding me its connected and you can forget it.


https://www.nippynormans.com/k1600gtgtlsportbaggerga/optimate-44-bmw-can-bus-goldline-dual-charger
Last edited by Beagle on Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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NLC
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by NLC »

I would recommend plugging a pigtail directly into the battery and using the charger in standard mode. Charging via CanBus for example via an Opitmate you are only using a fraction of the feature on the charger.
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David.
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by David. »

Are BMW volts & amps really better than other makes.
PeteM
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by PeteM »

NLC wrote: I would recommend plugging a pigtail directly into the battery and using the charger in standard mode. Charging via CanBus for example via an Opitmate you are only using a fraction of the feature on the charger.

That's why I use a BMW charger, it talks to the bike and the two work together to keep the battery in the best possible condition.
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by simbo »

PeteM wrote:
That's why I use a BMW charger, it talks to the bike and the two work together to keep the battery in the best possible condition.

😂😂
The GS 'is' the better bike :-)
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David.
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by David. »

Unless the battery has been neglected and is very flat (sulphated),  the Optimate 4 (dual CAN-bus version) should work just fine through the accessory socket.

This program is designed for charging, testing and long term maintenance of batteries mounted in vehicles fitted with CAN-bus.

Optimate 4, Instructions for use, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/ ... ctions.pdf
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NLC
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by NLC »

PeteM wrote:
That's why I use a BMW charger, it talks to the bike and the two work together to keep the battery in the best possible condition.
I’d rather take the money I saved and buy my mates a few rounds. BMW charges £68 for the special oil. At the end of the day it is oil. The “special” charger is BMW profiting from white labelling someone else’s product.


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NLC
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Re: Trickle charging

Post by NLC »

David. wrote: Unless the battery has been neglected and is very flat (sulphated),  the Optimate 4 (dual CAN-bus version) should work just fine through the accessory socket.

This program is designed for charging, testing and long term maintenance of batteries mounted in vehicles fitted with CAN-bus.

Optimate 4, Instructions for use, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/ ... ctions.pdf
David I have spoken to Optimate about this. Answer from them is to not use the Canbus. Many of the Optimate functions are disabled in the Canbus mode.


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