Battery mystery

[Stever]

I picked up my 2005 R1150T on Friday. On the Bainbridge Island ferry I started learning about the differences between my old '79 R65 and my new ride. Leaving the ferry I cranked the bike three times before the battery wouldn't turn the engine over. Yup, I had forgotten to put the kickstand up. Ferry workers pushed me the length of the ferry and I got the beast started. I rode to Sequim where the bike wouldn't start after I filled the tank. Left the bike in the service station parking Lot for the night. Not too happy about that. I figured bad battery, as previous owner had garaged the bike for the past year on a battery charger. Took a bus into Seattle dealer Ride West and got a new battery, they assured me it had a charge. Back in Sequim I installed the new battery (in the rain, with BMW owners manual guiding through getting the tank off so I could get to the battery).  New battery installed I turned the key. Click. Just enough juice to click the starter solenoid. Called around and found a local mechanic who, with his ohmmeter decided the new battery was bad. He packed up the bike and took it back to his garage where he charged both batteries. He did discover something interesting; the battery charger previous owner was using had an intermittent connection, meaning that the charge on the battery was questionable from the start. I picked up the bike and rode it to Shelton, Wa where again, no juice. I has taken the bike for a two hour ride with handgrips heaters going full blast. No problem, I had a fully charged battery in my top case. It was the dealer battery which mechanic thought was bad. I swapped batteries and viola, bike started. I was suspecting charging problems, so I rode to Portland Motors, had to cool my heels for a day since like every BMW dealer I have ever known, they are closed Monday. First thing Monday morning I took the bike in. That afternoon I got the diagnosis: bad alternator. Specifically the diagnostic computer showed that at high RPMs the ripple voltage went way out of spec so battery was not charging at high RPM. Diodes were failing. Required a new alternator which they had in stock. Cooled my heels overnight in Portland, rented a car, had a terrific dinner and some glasses of Oregon cabernet. Wednesday afternoon came the bad/good news: new alternator is behaving the same way as the old supposedly bad alternator. Now the mechanic at Portland Motorcycle was not trusting his diagnostic computer. He was perfectly frank about what was going on, and there would be no charge. We were all scratching out heads. I'm not out the $800 or so the new alternator would have cost. But...I'm heading out to Yreka with a bike I am not sure I can trust. Mechanic here says he figures it was just a battery with a weak charge that didn't recharge on a two hour ride because grip heaters were running full blast.
   So interested to hear of any experiences with 1) weak battery not recharging because of grip heater load?2) alternator ripple voltage diagnostic not correctly diagnosing correctly. 3) anything else you might pontificate on including Oregon wine.
On the road to Yreka to register my bike in California so I can return to my sweetie on Vancouver Island where wine is expensive and the healthcare is not. 
Steve

[sweatmark]

Perhaps "electrical mystery" is more accurate title. Interesting tale of woes with your new bike, and very sorry that initial enthusiasm has been dampened by problems.

The good news is that there's a group of BMW folks here that like to help.

Questions:
Miles on bike?
Modifications and accessories that you know of?
Did the bike start right up when first purchased?
What voltages were measured for the two batteries during various stages of troubleshooting?
Any indication of weak system voltage while the bike was running - dim lights, low heat level from grips?

My first guess is an electrical wiring fault.

Living in Oregon wine country, specifically Pinot Noir territory, I can't help but be biased.

Do you have a multimeter handy for measurements?

Will you be riding back through Oregon soon? You're invited to stop by for electrical tinkering, or at least a glass of local vintage.

[MikeCam]

1. Bike sat a year. Anything can be bad from neglect based on that. Check wiring everywhere. The click indicates either a bad battery (which you appear to have ruled out) or faulty wiring somewhere along the way. Could be the starter is drawing high amps due to dirty parts; could be the alternator is dirty; but I guess (guess mind you) it is faulty wiring - corroded or chewed through somewhere.

2. Don't trust anyone. Get a complete manual, download all you can find on the net (credible stuff, not this fluff), read and train yourself to do the diagnostics, troubleshooting, and repairs/replace decision making yourself.

3. Best of luck.

[riceburner]

loose/slipping alternator belt not gripping properly at higher revs - thus not enough charge being generated?


unless you were trickling along at tickover for 2 hours having the handgrips on should NOT have drained the battery while the engine was running. At mid-range revs the alternator ought to be putting out enough charge to trickle charge the battery AND power the rest of the bike. Case in point - last weekend I did 3 runs of over 2 hours each with heated grips AND an HTC mobile phone using GPS* plugged in and the battery (over 3 years old) was FINE.





* ie a BIG drain - the phone loses battery power even while it's plugged in because the GPS and data calls use so much power.

[boxermania]

Welcome aboard, interesting set of circumstances......I'll try to help with the baiscs.

The BMW alternator is basically a car unit with 700 W output or 58 amps, that is the highest output to be found on motorcycles. Historically they have been very reliable, the belt, as mentioned could be the problem, however, with minor exceptions (mostly lack of maintenance) it has been fairly reliable.

Batteries, come and go, if the bike has had weekly use, they will normally last 5 years or more, both the lead acid and the newer AGM type. In our case and due to the difficulty of accessing the battery it is advantageous to replace the lead acid, if fitted, with the AGM.

Trouble shooting.

All of the posted advice is good, but the best thing to do is connect a DVM to the plug receptacle on the left side of the bike (purchase the adaptor ~ $9) and monitor the charging voltage while riding. Readings of ~ 14 volts or better at any engine speed above idle indicates a good alternator and connections to the battery. That then leaves the battery and the starter.

Assuming the battery is OK, easily checked by measuring the voltage with the DVM, with everything off ( at ~ 80 F, 12.6 VDC = 75% charged, and 12.8 VDC = 100% charged)

The starter, Valeo brand, has shown some weaknesses, mostly accumulated grit and dirt which hamper the movement of the engaging gear along with a few recorded failures. The grit and dirt issue is fairly easily resolved, by removing the started and cleaning the area in question. There are a couple of posts with text and pictures floating around, one by (DSKYZD) and (Boxer) if I remember correctly.

Hopefully this will provide some things to check, good luck and let us know how you made out.