Battery Problem "Again"

[Rifleman3006]

Like some of you I had a bad battery in my 650 which was replaced in August. Bought the bike in March of this year. I have a CTEK trickle charger which I have kept on the bike on an of since I haven't been able to ride for the month or so as the cold set in. We finally get a couple of nice days in St. Louis and the battery won't turn the engine over. I look down to the charger connection and can see it's flashing red so I now have a second battery that's gone bad?? I hooked it back up to the CTEK and it immediately go's to the third light (80%) but takes about 45 minutes to get to the 4th light which is supposed to be strong enough to start the bike. The CTEK has 7 total lights for a fully charged battery but I think it will take several hours to get back to that level. Do any of you think it could be anything else causing this or do you think I just have sme bad luck with batteries going on here??

thanks for any comments.

 

[Edumakated]

Like some of you I had a bad battery in my 650 which was replaced in August. Bought the bike in March of this year. I have a CTEK trickle charger which I have kept on the bike on an of since I haven't been able to ride for the month or so as the cold set in. We finally get a couple of nice days in St. Louis and the battery won't turn the engine over. I look down to the charger connection and can see it's flashing red so I now have a second battery that's gone bad?? I hooked it back up to the CTEK and it immediately go's to the third light (80%) but takes about 45 minutes to get to the 4th light which is supposed to be strong enough to start the bike. The CTEK has 7 total lights for a fully charged battery but I think it will take several hours to get back to that level. Do any of you think it could be anything else causing this or do you think I just have sme bad luck with batteries going on here??

thanks for any comments.

I think there is something in the bike that drains the battery rapidly when not in use. I haven't ridden for about three weeks. I went out to start my bike the other day and it barely turned over and I am using one of the high dollar Lithium batteries. On the other hand, I haven ridden my Vespa in almost five months and it starts like a champ every time. Last winter, I didn't ride for about 2 months and sure enough, the battery on the BMW was dead as a door nail.

 

[Rifleman3006]

Edumakated, thanks for the reply. The battery charger finally brought it up to full charge (at least thats what the CTEK indicates) and it still will not start. Drains it back down quickly as well as when I plugged the tender back on, it went to 2 lights and then went to 3 which is where it is now. I am really disappointed in the lack of quality in the BMW batteries. Just crap. I am calling the dealer when I get in the office tomorrow. Hopefully I can figure out how to get the side panel off and take the battery back to them. Can you suggest a good replacement battery in the event they won;t stand behind this one that's only 3 months old??

 

[JaimeC]

Sadly, Odyssey doesn't make a battery to fit our scooters. I LOVE the one I installed in my K1200LT. A reasonable substitute might be a WestCo AGM battery, but I haven't checked if they make a size to fit. I replaced the totally worthless battery in my old TMAX with a WestCo and never had a problem.

 

[wsteele]

Edumakated, thanks for the reply. The battery charger finally brought it up to full charge (at least thats what the CTEK indicates) and it still will not start. Drains it back down quickly as well as when I plugged the tender back on, it went to 2 lights and then went to 3 which is where it is now. I am really disappointed in the lack of quality in the BMW batteries. Just crap. I am calling the dealer when I get in the office tomorrow. Hopefully I can figure out how to get the side panel off and take the battery back to them. Can you suggest a good replacement battery in the event they won;t stand behind this one that's only 3 months old??

So you got to remember that all the bike and Veh. Mfgs usually take the lowest bidder for the products that they don't make themselves,you should look for a bad or loose connection to the battery, the battery may have a bad cell depending what type it is. I always put the battery tender on after every ride I have had no problems with my Batteries. Good luck with finding the problem.

 

[Snowdog]

Yes start with cleaning the battery terminals. The battery surfaces should also be cleaned as dirt will collect moisture which can allow a discharge. Leave the battery on trickle charge when it isn't being used much.
I must say that I am not impressed with the cranking power of the battery/starter on this scooter.

 

[Rifleman3006]

Yes start with cleaning the battery terminals. The battery surfaces should also be cleaned as dirt will collect moisture which can allow a discharge. Leave the battery on trickle charge when it isn't being used much.
I must say that I am not impressed with the cranking power of the battery/starter on this scooter.

Thanks Snowdog. I will check the connections etc. when i have a few minutes to figure out how to remove the side panel, hopefully later today or tomorrow. The dealer just replaced the battery a few months ago so unless they failed to tighten up the terminals, I suspect that is not the issue. Shouldn't have gotten dirty either, can't imagine but will check.

 

[JaimeC]

I've let my scooter sit for two weeks, and it started right up so I have to think this is an issue with this particular scooter and not a problem with the design on the whole...

In the winter when I'm not riding, I do put the bikes on the Battery Tender... but I've never had any issues in the warmer months.

 

[Skipper]

I got a trickle charger about a month ago when the weather started to get cold. My dealer had installed the pigtail and routed it under the front above the fender area. When I plugged it in I got the flashing red light that indicates a cross connection. After removing the side panel I see that they did indeed install it backwards. All is well now, other than it takes many minutes for it to actually start, almost like it was flooded or something, it sat for about 3-4 weeks.


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[Snowdog]

Sounds like your CTEK wasn't making a good connection also. When troubleshooting , never assume any part of the system is OK, this will come back to bite you. Check the whole system. Battery terminals can look quite clean and still cause problems. Clean the terminals with a wire brush, make sure they are tight, and continue troubleshooting if you still have a problem. My guess is your charger wasn't making a good connection. As it gets colder, you might run a lower viscosity oil to make cranking easier. Check your owners manual for recommendations.

 

[Skipper]

Forgive me for asking, what is this CTEK?


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[JaimeC]

According to Google, it's a brand of "Smart Charger," like a Battery Tender.

 

[Skipper]

Ok, that's what I have. It works fine after I got the pigtail set right. The bike would spin over just fine with plenty of power, but it was like it had low compression, or like it was flooded. After about 5 minutes or so of cranking it finally started.


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[justscootin]

There was another thread that was on the go awhile back and the ones that responded all had came to the same conclusion that if you start the scooter and ran it for a very short period of time it would have a difficult time starting as you just have

The bike would spin over just fine with plenty of power, but it was like it had low compression, or like it was flooded. After about 5 minutes or so of cranking it finally started.


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[SteveADV]

I think there is something in the bike that drains the battery rapidly when not in use. I haven't ridden for about three weeks. I went out to start my bike the other day and it barely turned over....... Last winter, I didn't ride for about 2 months and sure enough, the battery on the BMW was dead as a door nail.

BMW has a punishment chip built in to the bike if you don't ride it enough.

 

[Snowdog]

If your bike doesn't want to start even when cranking good, let your starter cool off frequently, as you can overheat it and throw the armature solder out which will cost you an expensive repair.

 

[Rifleman3006]

The CTEK is an expensive battery tender that I bought at the recommendation of the dealer, a lot of good it has done me!! Anyway, I pulled the battery tonight, the terminals were snug and clean, it still looks brand new after only 3 to 4 months. Taking it to the dealer tomorrow to have them test it. My guy at the dealer I spoke to didn't even know that BMW had a a problem with batteries. He obviously hasn't discussed with his co-service writer who was aware of a batch of bad batteries. If it turns out not to be the battery, I'm going to have them tow it for the second time. Beginning to question my purchase at this point. Let you know what they tell me tomorrow.

 

[Skipper]

I didn't spin it over for the full 5 minutes, I know about that.


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[wsteele]

There are more chances than not that it is the battery Veh. Problems Are a real pain in the ass, a bad battery can cause multiple problems.

 

[Edumakated]

BMW has a punishment chip built in to the bike if you don't ride it enough.

Yeah, that is a big problem here in Chicago. I haven't been able to ride in about a month and I don't see any sign of decent weather on the horizon (40+ degrees).