Early RT auxiliary sockets.

[milleplod]

Can someone tell me please if the auxiliary sockets on my 2006 RT should power off a few mins after I switch the ignition off. They seem to be staying on, I've got some drain on my battery an am wondering if the sockets are causing it. If they should go off, what could be causing them to stay powered on??
Pete

[David.]

Can someone tell me please if the auxiliary sockets on my 2006 RT should power off a few mins after I switch the ignition off.

The 2006 R1200RT Rider's Manual (page 97) says,

"Operating electrical accessories
You can start using electrical accessories only when the ignition is switched on. The accessory remains operational if the ignition is subsequently switched off. In order to ensure that the drain on the onboard power supply system is minimised, the supply to the power socket is cut off approximately 15 minutes after the ignition is switched off, and it is also temporarily interrupted during the start procedure."

They seem to be staying on.

What evidence is there to confirm this is the case, if nothing is plugged into the socket, surely there can't be any drain.

[gogs01]

Can someone tell me please if the auxiliary sockets on my 2006 RT should power off a few mins after I switch the ignition off. They seem to be staying on, I've got some drain on my battery an am wondering if the sockets are causing it. If they should go off, what could be causing them to stay powered on??
Pete

As above, they should power down automatically once the ignition has been switched off.
I seem to remember that plugging a battery tender in before the socket has powered down can keep it live, or having something plugged in which continues to draw current may also keep it live.
That may not be what's happening in your case, so I would try tracing the wiring to see if a previous owner has powered one or both of them direct from the battery.  People do, I believe .....
And, of course, the favourite for battery drain used to be aftermarket alarm systems.  You don't have one of those fitted, do you ?

[milleplod]

Thanks for the replies. Funnily enough, it only occurred to me 10 mins ago to look in the handbook....where, of course, I found the '15 mins' info!  :-[
Personally, I didn't think it mattered if they stayed live forever, as long as nothing was plugged into them. Others have suggested differently - perhaps they know something I/we don't?!  ;D
Pete

[David.]

Personally, I didn't think it mattered if they stayed live forever, as long as nothing was plugged into them. Others have suggested differently.

Looking at the wiring diagram, the aux. sockets have two wires. Red/green (switched) +ve supplied from the Central electronics unit & brown -ve to the battery.

If the +ve and -ve are not "bridged" with a load, how can power be consumed.

[milleplod]

I think the consensus is that, if the sockets are staying live, it's likely that the system itself hasn't completely gone to sleep, and so is consuming power.....so the live sockets are more a symptom of the problem than the problem itself!
Pete

[David.]

I've got some drain on my battery and am wondering if the sockets are causing it.

Using a multi-meter in series with the battery, then disconnecting the sockets may help to diagnose what's going on.

This video explains "How to diagnose/fix a parasitic draw on your motorcycle", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrNvkJ2EtvE

[milleplod]

I eventually found the issue....I think/hope! The previous owner had used the front socket's wiring to power a satnav mount - he'd simply disconnected the socket and then extended the wires up to a mount above the instruments. On buying the bike, I'd disconnected the mount and then reattached the original plug for the socket to the extended wires.

I decided to remove his extensions - there was some very iffy soldering under the cloth loom tape he'd used. I've now joined the original plug onto the original wiring - no more excessive drain! However.....no matter what I do, the sockets won't power off!I've tried running my Airman pump off them, ignition on, then disconnecting the pump and switching off, in the hope that that 'tells' the socket it's no longer required - nope, stays live forever! Ah well, at least my battery's no longer going flat after a few days, so things are much improved.
Pete

[David.]

The previous owner had used the front socket's wiring to power a satnav mount - he'd simply disconnected the socket and then extended the wires up to a mount above the instruments.

Seems a bit strange when Mr BMW kindly provide an appropriate GPS direct connection.

[milleplod]

A previous, previous owner had used the dedicated supply.....the previous owner presumably didn't want to spend £10 on a plug to connect to it! Nowt as strange as folk, as my dear old mum says.

However, I don't use it either, preferring a direct, fused and switchable connection to the battery, just like I did on my 1200ST.

Pete