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Charging the Battery


DrMikey

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2003 R1150RT

New battery fall 2015

ABS wasn't kicking in until engine got up to 4000 rpm. Sometimes would not start up after stalling in driveway. No trouble with either if it was fresh off battery tender.

 

Today-

Before ride, battery reads 12.92 V

After 2 1/2 hour ride, 124 miles, 1 stop and restart, battery reads 13.3 V.

When I put it on battery tender overnight, it gets to 13.8 or 13.9.

Should I be concerned?

 

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Battery could be punky even though it is only ~1.5 years old. You could disconnect from the bike and see if it holds a charge over night, or maybe get it load tested a well.

 

If you end up having to replace the battery I have had great luck with an AGM Battery from Universal (UB12220 12V 22AH which is +3 AH VS OEM). Same size as the stock battery and fit like a glove in my R1100RT. I got at least 5 years out this battery.

 

I did have to slightly drill out the post holes as the battery is normally used in battery back-up systems and emergency corridor lights. You can find it for less than $50 on he internet

 

 

 

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2003 R1150RT

New battery fall 2015

ABS wasn't kicking in until engine got up to 4000 rpm. Sometimes would not start up after stalling in driveway. No trouble with either if it was fresh off battery tender.

 

Today-

Before ride, battery reads 12.92 V

After 2 1/2 hour ride, 124 miles, 1 stop and restart, battery reads 13.3 V.

When I put it on battery tender overnight, it gets to 13.8 or 13.9.

Should I be concerned?

 

Morning DrMikey

 

Yes, you should be concerned as you have a problem.

 

Unfortunately we don't have quite enough information about the problem to tell you what it is.

 

The battery voltages that you posted are not very useful as battery voltage right after a ride or right after a charge are just surface charge readings & pretty meaningless.

 

We need to know the battery type that you have in the bike (ie AGM, GEL, conventional, etc)

 

We also need the battery voltage when your ABS problem is happening or when it won't start (we need the battery voltage during attempted engine cranking when it won't start)

 

It might be as simple as your battery needs to be run down a ways then re-charged correctly (with correct charger), or you have a bad battery, or some other problem like high resistance battery connections.

 

So, first off tell us what type battery that you have then tell us what battery charger that you are using.

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Over the winter, I alternated the battery tender between two bikes weekly. The battery in the RT would drop to 12.7 or 12.8 most weeks. I recorded the voltages before and after a week on the tender for both bikes. The other bike, an Indian Vintage, would stay 0.1 V higher than the beemer.

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Over the winter, I alternated the battery tender between two bikes weekly. The battery in the RT would drop to 12.7 or 12.8 most weeks. I recorded the voltages before and after a week on the tender for both bikes. The other bike, an Indian Vintage, would stay 0.1 V higher than the beemer.

 

Afternoon DrMikey

 

What type of batteries, they don't all have the same static or rested voltage?

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The BMW has an Odyssey PC680. The Indian has its OEM battery.

 

Morning DrMikey

 

The Odyssey PC680 battery is an AGM that requires a slightly higher charging voltage.

 

Using a standard or older Battery Tender, or trickle charger, or non modern non-AGM type charger (especially in cold weather) can lower the capacity of the Odyssey PC680. (especially if the Odyssey PC680 is left on the charger long term).

 

To properly charge that Odyssey PC680 (especially if left on a charger long term, or in very cold weather) takes a special battery charger with special current/voltage algorithms to keep the Odyssey PC680 topped up & retain it's full cranking current ability.

 

A lot of modern battery chargers have a special AGM charging cycle & even better is a special cold weather snowflake setting that is needed for an AGM in cold weather or even warm weather on the Odyssey PC680.

 

If you have access to a modern AGM charger (hopefully with a snowflake setting) then you can re-condition most low output Odyssey PC680 batteries by running down to a certain voltage level then re-charging properly using a higher output charger with an AGM setting.

 

You can contact Odyssey batteries customer service for information on correctly recovering your Odyssey battery (at least a good place to start)

 

Toll Free: 1.800.538.3627, (or) bruce.essig@enersys.com, (or) Tel: (660) 429-7506

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

DrMikey,

 

I'll second what DirtRider says above and add my personal experience with an Odyssey PC680 in a '99 R1100S and a '99 R1100RT.

 

The PC680 that came in my 1100S was causing problems and failed to start the bike after being on a BatteryTinder overnight. "Dead battery", I thought. Bought a new PC680. While waiting on delivery I read about the AGM batteries and the charging requirements, BMW alternators and voltage regulators, and "sulfation", the common cause of AGM battery failure.

 

I bought a BatteryMINDER charger (BatteryMINDer Charger-Desulfator - 12 Volt, AGM Batteries, Model# 2012-AGM) on Amazon, about $70 a year ago and have been using it for a year. I also changed out the bike's voltage regulator for a slightly higher charging rate (14.7 V) that the AGM needs. EME has them for about $40, easy install, plug and play: EME Volt Reg .

 

More info on AGM batteries is here: AGM battery info

 

What really convinced me about all this AGM and "desulfation" stuff was several days after getting the BatteryMINDER, just for fun I decided to try it on the original old dead PC680 still sitting in the shop. After a day on the charger, it was good to go and it's still doing well in a friend's R80 a year later.

 

I have no affiliation with Odyssey, BatteryMINDER, or EME other than being a very satisfied customer.

 

 

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  • 3 months later...
Bert Remington

Lowndes -- I'm confused if you made the PC680 install and regulator change to just your '99 R1100S or also to your '99 R1100RT. The EME regulator you cited is for the R1100S 14.6V, 40amp and looks to be an external installation. Did you also perform these changes for your R1100RT? The EME regulator for your R1100RT (and for DrMikey's R1150RT) is 14.5V, 50amp and I believe is a high-effort internal installation. Did you install this regulator on your R1100RT? If so did you have to remove the ABS and ECU modules as needed for the roger 04 rt diode modification? And if so how this regulator working with your R1100RT's PC680?

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  • 1 month later...

Bert,

 

Sorry for the confusion. I should have been clearer about what went where.

 

I made the change to the R1100S alternator. The RT has not been modified yet, I bought the parts for the diode install but decided to sell the RT and have not paid much attention to it.

 

The manuals all say you have to remove the ABS and the alternator to get to the voltage regulator. I did it without removing either. It was "easy" because I already had the tank off for a clutch replacement due to a failed clutch slave cyl. After all that, almost anything seems "easy". But the "easy" part was not having to touch the ABS or brake lines or DOT4 or Mityvac. Or the front cover or alternator mounting bolts.

 

Here's how I managed to do it: with the tank off, disconnect the wires from the alternator (DO NOT LET THEM TOUCH ANYTHING - they are still connected to the battery and ground). There is a round black cover on the rear of the alternator held in place by two screws - remove the screws. Amazingly, the screws are accessible. There is a cut-out on the side of that black cover for the cable connections - rotate the cover by loosening it slightly and fiddling persistently until the cut-out is positioned over the voltage regulator. The cut-out is large enough to remove and replace the voltage regulator on the top side in situ. Not even necessary to loosen the belt.

 

Wish I had better pics of all this:

 

 

 

 

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