BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

No dash lights, no fuel pump hum, nothing. Now for the strange symptoms.
Just charged the battery with a BMW battery tender. Unplugged the charger, turned the key, everything worked normally, engine turned over but didn't start. Made another attempt, hit the start button again and everything went down. No dash lights, no fuel pump hum, nothing. THEN, I plugged in charger, and I get 4 dash lights and the fuel pump hum doesn't stop, and the RPM needle goes to 6 and stays there. When I apply either break everything goes dead again until I release the break. How about them apples???
The fuses under the saddle are good when doing a visual inspection.
Could the battery have shorted out? Could it be ignition connection?
History: I bought the bike brand new in 03 and has about 17,000 miles. It's spent nearly all it's life in southern Arizona, garaged.
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So you have been the only owner? Did you ever clip the too-tight zip ties at the front end of the bike? Maybe you have some damaged wires?

Install new battery.

Yes, I'm the original owner. Not sure if I ever clipped those zip ties. I installed bar risers years ago, I might have snipped the zip ties then. Sweatmark, why do you think it's the battery? Have you seen this before?

while I didn’t have all the symptoms you described, after about five years, my 02 50R started cutting in and out and yes, it was the zip ties under the headlight. Cut the ties, repaired the shorted wiring and all has been good since.

Check the voltage of the battery after it has been off the charger overnight.
I had a brand new Moto-batt AGM Battery that worked fine on the charger and would not even turn the starter. It had less than 8 volts when tested with a volt meter. Bad cell.

fightin kentuckian wrote:Yes, I'm the original owner. Not sure if I ever clipped those zip ties. I installed bar risers years ago, I might have snipped the zip ties then. Sweatmark, why do you think it's the battery? Have you seen this before?

What I've seen before: fruitless troubleshooting of circuits and systems when the foundation of automotive electrics - the battery - has been crap.
Install new battery.

Agree with the above. If my recent lawn tractor issues are at all relevant, I'd be inclined to think of the battery as the first and easiest thing to consider.

Sweatmark, Thank you. I'll change it out. Hopefully this Saturday. If not, then it will have to wait until the end of the month. I'll let you know what happens either way.

Sweatmark, anyone ever tell you that you sound like their Dad. You made me do a face palm and I said to myself, "Why do I always over think the easy stuff" Thanks again.

It has every indication it is the battery. Especially in the way it “failed“. If your battery charger is an older non-electronic type with just a transformer and a bridge rectifier it can provide an overvoltage when hooked up to a bad battery with a broken cell connector or a bad cell. Without the charger hooked up, check the voltage across the battery with the key off then turn the key on (putting On the headlight). If the voltage drops more than 1 Volt, your battery is no good!

Sweatmark, CycleRob, and everyone else who contributed, Thank you for your help. FYI, it was in fact the battery. The PC680 had lived well past it's due date and finally went jumblies up. I replaced it with another gel battery and everything is as before. Thanks again.

Curious......how old was the battery?

Mine was 7 yrs. old when I replaced it last year.

My battery was a little over 6 years old.

I’ve had four batteries in my 02 R. history:

Original: 4 years. (Lead acid BMW OEM)
2nd: 6 years (BMW Exide gel)
3rd: 2 years (Odyssey pc 680)
4th: 4 years and still going strong. (BMW Exide gel)

In fairness, I probably did a slow kill on the Odyssey by hooking an incompatible battery tender plus to my bike. My current gel is still going good but I think I might go with a lithium battery next.