Trickle charging

[David.]

I emailed Tecmate who make Optimate and asked them if the lastest BMW R1200RT LC motorcycles were compatible with their charger. This is the reply I got:

Neither CAN or LIN have any effect on the operation of the battery charger, this is down to the programming of the motorcycle’s battery management system within the central wiring controller. CAN and LIN are both relatively old technologies as they have been in common use for over 15 years. Both are just a means of communicating data between sub-controllers. If there is an instruction within the motorcycles firmware to open the “gates” between the socket and the battery upon receipt of the wake signal at the socket then you will be able to use the charger. Unfortunately if the motorcycles firmware does not have the instruction to do this then there is no way to connect via the socket, even using BMW’s own charger! However we have not had any feedback from the community to say if the programming is there or not. That said if it does not work at the moment there is no reason why it wouldn’t at a later date, when BMW released the K1600 there were issues with the battery management software on the motorcycle. Which took BMW over a year to resolve. Worst case scenario you would have to connect your charger direct to the battery.

[NLC]

Hence bypass the gate and go direct to the battery. Simples.


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[David.]

Hence bypass the gate and go direct to the battery.

Agreed, then you can save more money by not purchasing a CAN-bus compatible charger.

[Old Foxy]

My dealer provides the relevant Optimate lead attached to the battery, with the bike.  They seem to prefer to sell Optimate chargers, rather than BMW own brand!


Old Foxy

[David.]

They seem to prefer to sell Optimate chargers, rather than BMW own brand!

Same job for half the price or less.

[MikeS]

David I have spoken to Optimate about this. Answer from them is to not use the Canbus. Many of the Optimate functions are disabled in the Canbus mode.


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What other functions does it have that don't work through the Canbus? Ive only ever one for trickle charging over the winter, never had a problem through the accessory socket.

[NLC]

High voltage and standard recovery modes are disabled in the CanBus setup.


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[PeteM]

What other functions does it have that don't work through the Canbus? Ive only ever one for trickle charging over the winter, never had a problem through the accessory socket.

I believe that every so often they put a load on the battery to partially discharge it then recharge it which reduces the buildup of unwanted deposits on the metal plates in the battery

[David.]

What other functions does it have that don't work through the Canbus?

In CAN-bus mode, "High voltage STANDARD and RECOVERY CHARGE modes are disabled".
Unless the battery has been neglected and become very flat, these modes should not be necessary.

The same applies to the BMW charger.
"Batteries with very low voltage (deep-discharged) cannot be charged using the on-board socket. They must be separated from the vehicle / on-board network and be charged via the battery poles using the charging adapter supplied".

In which case, there is no difference in operation between the Optimate CAN-bus edition and the BMW charger.

[David.]

The battery condition is "tested" via a "voltage retention test".

"Delivery of current to the battery is interrupted for 30 minutes to determine the battery's ability to retain charge. This will prompt the CAN-bus system to disable the 12V outlet within it's own set time limit, disconnecting the battery from the charger. At the conclusion of the test period the program will once again initialize the CAN-bus controlled 12V outlet to measure the battery's voltage and then proceed to MAINTENANCE CHARGE during which the result of the test is displayed."

The BMW charger has a "Sleep mode".
"When the battery is fully charged, the charger switches to sleep mode to save energy. The battery is monitored and if needed, recharged."

Both Optimate CAN-bus and BMW chargers have this feature.

[MEM62]

I have never managed to get the can-bus enabled Optimate to work on my 2012RT.  In fact, it left the battery on my bike totally fecked the day before I was due to take the bike to Spain.  It has only ever worked using the standard connection and setting.       

[David.]

Sulfation or sulphation, is the deposition of lead sulphate on the battery plates. Sulfation can occur with extended storage, overcharging, or undercharging of a battery. Maintaining a battery fully charged is therefore probably a good way to reduce the sulfation process. Sulfation cannot be prevented completely, it will occur to some degree in every battery throughout its lifetime.

A battery suffering from sulfation, reversible (soft) or permanent (hard),  if diagnosed early enough, can be brought back to life.
This requires the use of a desulfator, not the same as a regular battery charger.

The Optimate 4, does have a "Recovery / Desulfate" programme in STANDARD mode and to a lesser extent in CAN-bus mode.

[rangemaster728]

Ok...I’ll weigh in on this one...

The OP acquired a 2013 RT...likely the battery is an AGM-type.

My advice is just put a (comes fused) Battery Tender pigtail on the bike; 10-minute job and (if you don’t have one) the pigtail costs $11.99 USD at Walmart, or $7.95 USD Amazon Prime.



Simple is best. I’ve used Battery Tenders on my last three BMWs and never had a problem.


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[Frank123]

The only problem I ever had with a trickle charger (the BMW one) was that I had an ELCB (circuit breaker) fitted to the mains plug socket. Sure enough the mains went down, as they do from time to time, the ELCB tripped and when the power came back on my trickle charger no longer worked in fact the batter discharged through the the trickle charger. Ruined my dry day winter run. Take-away lesson do not connect an ELCB to your trickle charger.

[rangemaster728]

The only problem I ever had with a trickle charger (the BMW one) was that I had an ELCB (circuit breaker) fitted to the mains plug socket. Sure enough the mains went down, as they do from time to time, the ELCB tripped and when the power came back on my trickle charger no longer worked in fact the batter discharged through the the trickle charger. Ruined my dry day winter run. Take-away lesson do not connect an ELCB to your trickle charger.

On this side of the pond (America) we have GFCIs...and folks have had the same experience on occasion with them.


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