Battery Question

[Motomo]

First, let me apologize for my ignorance. I have almost no mechanical ability and mostly have no idea what I am talking about when it comes to mechanical issues with the bike. That is why I became a "Lifer" on this forum. I frequently need some technical assistance.

Second, I did search the forums and could not find anything to answer these questions.

The background is that I have had problems with the battery that came with my R12R. I bought it last July (late) and it has died 3 (or 4) times that I recall. I don't ride it constantly, nor do I keep it on the BMW charger all the time. Never thought I had to. My R1150R never had a battery problem and I rode that much less often and I never charged it. My GPS, hyperlites, and gerbings are hooked into the Centech fuse block so I did not think they would drain the battery.

Last week I decided to replace the darned thing. For some reason I thought I needed a "gel" battery but the dealer told me that it was lead acid. I thought all the new BMW batteries were gel. Then, when I took the old one out, I found an "Interstate" battery. This is the original battery. Don't you get a BMW OEM battery when you buy a new bike? Finally, the new battery has never fully charged even though it has been on the charger for 4 days. It's only at 2/3. Is that normal? I even rode it yesterday for about 3 hours.

So, my questions are:
1) What happened to the gel battery?
2) Are the original batteries made by Interstate?
3) Why won't the new battery get fully charged?
4) Do batteries really only last one year?
5) Am I doing something wrong to keep draining the battery?

I appreciate any thoughts or insight you guys may have. Thanks.

[Caroanbill]

Here's a semi-informed answer ... probably only proves that a little information is a dangerous thing!

Yep, I also thought we had gel or Absorbed Glass Mat as standard across the range. Note that both are still lead acid - just that gel has a thickening agent to turn acid into a gel, while AGM has fiberglass matting to tame the fluid.

On charging, I think Gel and AGM behave slightly differently, but BOTH charge quite differently than a traditional flooded lead acid battery. It is possible to kill either a gel or an AGM battery through poor charge / discharge. I've lost a couple of gels in my camping power supply this way, and the AGMs that power the bilge pumps in my sea kayaks have also died - they particularly don't like being flat for long periods.

You can't use a standard trickle charger effectively on these batteries. I use a three-stage smart charge for the gel batteries and the AGM battery - different one for each. Dunno HOW they differ, I bought them with the batteries.

Even with all that, some gel or AGM batteries seem to just 'die' - and experience in this forum suggests this is true for the R12R batteries. I've had 'em die with the 'perfect' charge/discharge history, and die almost new for no appraent reason. My solar panel also affects , even though it has a matched regulator. To be perfectly honest, I'm think of going BACK to deep-cycle flooded lead acid for my camping batteries ... simpler technology and it works (you've just got to handle them more carefully).

That said, I've had no trouble whatsoever with my R12R battery even though it can go unridden for a few weeks at a time. Nor my F650CS gel battery - four years old, ridden sprodaically and even erractically (its my city bike) and no problems at all. It's a mystery!

[Motomo]

Thanks for the education. I am still surprised that the batteries just "die." Especially after one year. Seems crazy for a BMW.

The "new" battery is still on the trickle charger and is still at 2/3. Hmm... Not sure that I should have bought a battery from a dealer who puts an Interstate battery in a brand new bike. Obviously there were problems that they did not care to share with me. I will take it up with them tomorrow.

[NeilS]

Since you say you have a Centech fuse block and you have little mechanical ability, my first questions would be who installed the block and did that person know what he/she was doing? While it's always possible for a battery to fail prematurely (that's what warranties are for), the probability that you'd have two bad batteries is low. And the fact that you can't fully charge the new battery suggests that the charger's output is going somewhere other than into the battery.

Have someone measure the bike's "dark current," that is, the current drawn from the battery when the key is off. I don't know what the exact number should be, but it should be very small, probably somewhere around 10 milliamperes. If it's much greater than that, something is drawing current when it shouldn't be, and I'd look first at how that Centech is wired.

[Motomo]

The dealer installed the Centech fuse block when I bought the bike. I figured that they would know how to do that correctly. They also installed the GPS and Hyperlites.

The new battery just won't charge beyond 2/3. It seems to me that it should be fully charged. The old battery would at least get to a full charge but I figured it was time to replace it since it kept dying.

I will try to find someone to measure the dark current. I have some sort of an electrical meter somewhere.

Still wondering whether the bike is supposed to come with a BMW OEM battery. If anyone has replaced the first battery in the bike, I would appreciate if you could tell me what brand it was. Thanks.

[sandycruz]

My R came with an Exide AGM battery, so far so good. I did some research on AGM batteries when I needed a new battery for my 1100S. This was 4 years ago. AGM was the latest technology for lead acid batteries. Completely sealed, no need to add water, higher output due to purer lead, no spillage etc. Lots of good stuff. The only negative I found was that some AGM makers cautioned about letting the battery discharge past %50 capacity. Not good for the overall lifespan of the battery. I also found that the charging requirements were a bit different from a flooded cell battery. The AGM wants a bit higher voltage in the charge cycle. No problem as even the 1100S alternator will put out more than 14v. There was some confusion regarding "smart" chargers that taper off to a "float" charge level. Again the AGM wants more voltage than a flooded battery. Caution the research I did was 4 years ago. Things may have changed - YMMV.

Lots of info on AGM batteries on the web. Here is a place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorbed_Glass_Mat

More on charging here: http://www.zimmermanmarine.com/docs/AGM%20article.pdf

Lots more info is a Google search away.

I found the Odyssey 680 had a great reputation, so I got one. The 680 has been flawless, holds a charge for the long weeks between rides. The 680 is about 4 years old now, still going strong. I wish we could get to the bottom of the number of failures happening to our fellow R riders. I hope I get the same level of service from my Exide in the R.

Good luck with your battery,

David

[deilenberger]

The dealer installed the Centech fuse block when I bought the bike. I figured that they would know how to do that correctly. They also installed the GPS and Hyperlites.

Is the Centech switched with the ignition (ie - does it turn off with the ignition)? If so - that's not a simple two wire connection, and I've found very few dealer mechanics who are competant electricians. Just a FWIW - just 'cause the dealer did it doesn't mean it's right.

[redwing]

I found the Odyssey 680 had a great reputation, so I got one. The 680 has been flawless, holds a charge for the long weeks between rides. The 680 is about 4 years old now, still going strong. I wish we could get to the bottom of the number of failures happening to our fellow R riders. I hope I get the same level of service from my Exide in the R.

Good luck with your battery,

David

David ... I looked at the spec's on the pc680. It is larger then the YTX14-BS. How well does the pc690 fit your R1200R? The pc680 is 7.15 in length and 6.65 in height....compared to the YTX14-BS of 5.91 length and 5.71 height. I'm looking at buying another battery soon.
There is a difference of cost but expect the pc680 to last perhaps twice the time or more. I noted your post was two years ago...how's the pc680 now? Also the difference in weight is 6 pounds ... is 6 lb. too much?

Robert

[deilenberger]

Robert - I'm not David - but I believe he was referring to his older bike which wasn't an R12R.. there is no extra space in the R12R battery room..

[Liam]

Hi,

The PC680 is too big. The PC535 can be made to fit. Here are the installation instructions:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=18938

It looks hard, but it isn't. Mine has been running without a hitch for a little over a year. It charges from the BMW charger but in the spring, summer and fall I don't bother. My last battery died in less than 1000 miles. I've just left the battery that the dealer supplied (BMW branded Exide) on a trickle charger. I tried to use it to run a radio during the Irene blackout and it died.

There are alternatives, but Odyssey doesn't seem to be a matter of being lucky enough to get one that works. They just seem to earn their good rep by working for years without a problem and failing soft instead of stranding you.

Good luck,

Liam

[redwing]

Thanks for the information...I'll be buying one soon. I liked the info I found about the YTX14H-BS. The PC535 looks good but I think I'm going with the Motocross Yuasa. I would have to buy something to modify the PC535 and though do-able I'll need one soon. To bad Odyssey doesn't have one specific for our bike.

Robert