Battery Warning Light

[ljasonb]

Searching the subject revealed lots of info on chargers but no answer to may question which is:

My 2400 mile 2004 R's red battery indicator lights up every time I start the bike. I blip the throttle just a tad and it goes out not to return until the next time it's started. Is this a "they all do that" or indicative of battery problems?

Thanks in advance!

[Boxer]

Yes, this is normal. It was explained to me that the alternator will not start charging until it reaches a certain RPMs, and upon start-up it is some sort of protective feature that it doesn't start charging immediately.

Not to worry.

[kjax909]

Same here. Has happened consistently just as you describe since day 1 on my '02. I've never had a charging problem/failure, so i don't worry about it.

[tor1150r]

Thanks Boxer. I've often wondered about this.

[yjleesvrr]

"They all do that."

[machew01]

Another thought: a couple of my Roadster's warning/information lights are in opposite locations from the description in the owner manual. Could this be the oil pressure warning light?

mac

[Paul Mihalka]

The "battery light" is not a battery light. It has no relation to the condition of the battery. It is a "charging system light". When it is on, the alternator is not charging. When off, the charging system is working.

[bikermeow]

This is strange, since BMW claimed that their battery can be charged at idling, due to a higher ratio on the alternator.

Cheers

Cat

[Optimus Prime]

Since I have had charging system troubles on other bikes, I mounted a neat little LED indicator that lets me know what voltage the charging system is putting out.

It works like this:
LED Color: Green - Normal 12-15V
LED Color: Amber - Caution Low Voltage 11-12V
LED Color: Red - Warning Low Voltage 10-11V
LED Color: Flashing Red: Serious: Below 10V
LED Color: Flashing Green - Above 15V - Over voltage

http://www.customdynamics.com/LED_battery_gauge.htm

Anyways, the charging system light comes on when the LED indicator is non-green. I have only ever had "amber" and "green" on the BMW. The only time I see Amber is upon start-up before the engine has seen a throttle blip. Other than that, it's always green.

In short...I wouldn't worry about it.

[Optimus Prime]

This is strange, since BMW claimed that their battery can be charged at idling, due to a higher ratio on the alternator.

Cheers

Cat

It's a start up thing, once the engine has been blipped the charging system works just fine at idle.

[The Kurch Man]

Ditto what everyone else has said - been doing it since I got it and no batery problems have surfaced (knock, knock, knock).

Also found that some BMW dealers want you to buy the O/E 'special' Battery Tender to accomodate the BMW batteries. If my memory serves me correctly, which is always a big if, some BMW batteries might benefit from the O/E charger, but the 1150r works fine with the standard - it's all I have used so far and again - knock, knock, knock - so far so good during the winters. That came straight from my dealer.

[BobFV1]

TADT!

[jm1515]

This is strange, since BMW claimed that their battery can be charged at idling, due to a higher ratio on the alternator.

Cheers

Cat

What Paul said about the light..
Also..
The system IS charging the battery at idle. This is very nice.
Like Optimus, I have had charging probs on other bikes..actually I dumped my last ride for the R after a second charging system failure in 13months.

My VDO voltmeter shows 13.8 volts at idle and at speed, just about always. Like a rock.
Because I use a BatteryTender, the voltage starts closer to 14v just after I start, but after a few miles it falls back to 13.8 v. and stays there whenever the engine is running. Beautiful...
It reads between 12 & 12.5v with bike off, so the alternator is working just fine....I would imagine it does the same on yours also....
After being stranded once, and going thru one engine pull to change out a stator due to a crappy charging system, it is bliss not to have to stress over this....trust me.

[thepeacebullgrunt]

Hi Folks !

I bought a 2008-R1200R yesterday and I have the same issue... when the dealer gave me the bike the battery was low so the bike didn't start, the technician decided to get a fresh new one which he quickly charged in almost less than an hour.

After that The bike started fine... I tested it for 40miles until I took a break and when I restarted the bike I noticed A red battery warning and a Yellow exclamation point on my dashboard which freaked me out but the bike still start and the warning systematically disappear after I start the engine.

If it is normal its seem like a "indirect" way to warn riders that if they turn on the ignition without running the engine even at idle they ultimately will kill the battery.

So ! it says "Geeez ! start the hoot bike and Move one...! because you are exhausting the battery for nothing right now"

I call the dealer this morning and asked me to do the same test on remaining R1200R they have in their show room and he called me back saying that same thing happened.

So ! Any of you guys can confirm this "Low Battery Warning" detail on a 2008 R1200R ?
Am I right ?

Thanks !

[spoon]

I don't think a 1 hour charge on a new battery will bring it up to full potential. I KNOW a 40 mile ride will not. The battery needs to be on a Tender for 10 to 12 hours to be fully charged. If you only do short trips you should get a Tender as the bike will not replace the juice used to start it with a short run.