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LAMAR
Joined: 01 Sep 2008
Posts: 11
Location: PARK CITY, UTAH
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 Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:31 pm Post subject: Battery Charging |
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What's the consensus on charging a K1100RS dead battery?
If I've got an older 3 amp BMW charger (off ebay) with the BMW plug, I assume that it's safe to just plug it in the side plug and let it charge with the battery still connected to all bike electricals/electronics?
Sorry if this has been covered previously or if seems to be a stupid question.
Thanks for the input.
Gettin' warmer and gettin' ready to ride!
LAMAR
_________________
I'm fairly new to all of this...
...but I'm learning to love my:
1996 K1100RS Black and Silver SE |
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Flying Duck
PsyKotic Waterfowl
Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 10088
Location: Bumf***, WA
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 12:40 am Post subject: |
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Got a picture of the charger and a part no for the battery? That would help.
Any "smart" charger should be fine, unless you have an AGM battery. Edit: I meant gel battery. Doh!
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE
Last edited by Flying Duck on Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:36 am; edited 2 times in total |
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K11Martin
Mad Brick Rider
Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 123
Location: North Notts, UK
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:32 am Post subject: Re: Battery Charging |
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| LAMAR wrote: | | If I've got an older 3 amp BMW charger (off ebay) with the BMW plug, I assume that it's safe to just plug it in the side plug.. |
Yes, perfectly safe but not necessarily effective, and as long as you don't have the steering lock on, 'cos then the auxiliary sockets are disabled.
It depends on whether the battery is completely dead (i.e. below 8 Volts) or not. Dead to me means absolutely nothing coming from it, as opposed to just very low on charge.
If there's still some charge left in but not enough to spin the starter motor fast enough, your old battery charger will charge the battery successfully, but at 3A max it may take some time.
When the battery voltage drops below about 8V, even most smart chargers won't usually recover them due to the way they sense the battery's presence. In a case like that, the older, less sophisticated chargers are the best type best to get things going.
Alternatively you can connect a 21W bulb across the battery terminals (for a few hours) with the charger switched on, and this may 'fool' it into thinking it's OK to charge. Sometimes just switching on the ignition and the parking lamps will be sufficient.
A more important question (if it is actually dead) would be how a battery came to be in such a low state of charge.
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Currently riding a '93 K1100LT (ABS1) decked out with lights and aerials (Ex 70's Vespa rider)
Why not join the UK owners club at http://forum.bmw-club.org.uk/ |
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Flying Duck
PsyKotic Waterfowl
Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 10088
Location: Bumf***, WA
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:13 am Post subject: Re: Battery Charging |
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| K11Martin wrote: | | Yes, perfectly safe but not necessarily effective, and as long as you don't have the steering lock on, 'cos then the auxiliary sockets are disabled. |
That's not true - at least for an American RS. The power runs from the battery to fuse 4 to the socket and is not switched. At least for the Powerlet socket above the coils. The BMW wiring diagrams don't show anything hooked up the fork lock wire from the ignition switch.
For my LT, it shows that wire going to the radio so maybe you're talking about the cigarette lighter?
My 94 RS (exact same wiring harness) will charge at the coil Powerlet socket with the key in any position.
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE |
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K11Martin
Mad Brick Rider
Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 123
Location: North Notts, UK
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 10:44 am Post subject: Re: Battery Charging |
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| Flying Duck wrote: | | ...That's not true - at least for an American RS. The power runs from the battery to fuse 4 to the socket and is not switched.... |
 I'm shocked... 
_________________
Currently riding a '93 K1100LT (ABS1) decked out with lights and aerials (Ex 70's Vespa rider)
Why not join the UK owners club at http://forum.bmw-club.org.uk/ |
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LAMAR
Joined: 01 Sep 2008
Posts: 11
Location: PARK CITY, UTAH
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:58 pm Post subject: Re: Battery Charging |
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Thanks for the replies.
It'll take me a few days to get the battery info that Flying Duck has asked for - I'm away from the motorcycle for a while.
Hopefully this picture of the charger will load and be clear enough to assess applicability.
[img]http://picasaweb.google.com/alamarnichols/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCIe4wqyzhv31qgE&pli=1&gsessionid=N_pa8ek2zH7Pfz0pjhg4zA#[/img]
Thanks again for your input.
LAMAR
_________________
I'm fairly new to all of this...
...but I'm learning to love my:
1996 K1100RS Black and Silver SE |
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LAMAR
Joined: 01 Sep 2008
Posts: 11
Location: PARK CITY, UTAH
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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Let me try again...
Okay how about this picture?
Will this work with my 96 K1100RS? The gel battery I have isn't dead dead, just weak from being in a cold garage and not being riden due to the stinking snow here in Park City!
Thanks again,
LAMAR
_________________
I'm fairly new to all of this...
...but I'm learning to love my:
1996 K1100RS Black and Silver SE |
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LAMAR
Joined: 01 Sep 2008
Posts: 11
Location: PARK CITY, UTAH
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 10:26 pm Post subject: Battery Charger |
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Okay - one more time...
What I'm really wondering is: have I bought a BMW charger I can use with my K1100RS; or will I soon be relisting this item on eBay???
Thanks.
LAMAR
_________________
I'm fairly new to all of this...
...but I'm learning to love my:
1996 K1100RS Black and Silver SE |
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Flying Duck
PsyKotic Waterfowl
Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 10088
Location: Bumf***, WA
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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I am not an expert by it's my understanding that gel batteries need a special charger. That one oyu have would work with a lead-acid battery or AGM like an Odyssey but not gel.
_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
Buy parts HERE |
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Scott_Anderson
Site Admin
Joined: 05 Sep 2006
Posts: 3120
Location: Central Iowa, USA
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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I would agree with Drake. What you have would be good for a Lead Acid or a SLA (sealed lead acid), but not for a Gel type. They do make special chargers for gel type batteries.
Here's a link for a Deltran Batt Tender Plus(gel version) from Amazon. You can google for many more.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NCOKQK
_________________
Ride safe.
1995 K1100LT 0302044
1997 R1100RT ZC62149
2017 FLHTK Ultra Limited
Garmin StreetPilot 2820
Garmin Zumo 550
Garmin Zumo XT
"One who does not ask questions is ashamed to learn" Danish proverb
1997 K1100LT 0302488(R.I.P.) |
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malcolmt
Flying Brick Rider
Joined: 23 Apr 2007
Posts: 369
Location: Parys, S.Africa
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:56 am Post subject: |
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My K's were under wraps in the garage for 9month while I was away working. The k11 has a gel cell and was charged from a bayonet type socket I added next the accessory socket. I added the socket so there was no chance anyone at home would inadvertently unplug it while i was away. The RS fired up instantly when I got back.
One point that puzzles me on the gel cell charging is its always recommended to get a charger compatible with the gel cell BUT.. The bike electronics can’t differentiate what type is installed.
My K75 has a regular BMW wet cell battery; it was charged from a regular 6amp charger via a little gizmo I constructed. The gizmo monitors the battery potential and as it drops below around 12.8v it connects the charger to top up the battery till it exceeds 13.8v. It then disconnects till the voltage drops again. The K75 took a full 30 sec to fire up after the leave, it cranked strongly but I needed to put her on the side stand to get the low fuel level to the pump.
See ya
Malcolm(t)
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A Bike on the road is worth two
in the shed
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Scott_Anderson
Site Admin
Joined: 05 Sep 2006
Posts: 3120
Location: Central Iowa, USA
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:35 am Post subject: |
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From what I read online about different "gel" type chargers, the one big difference is the charge rate. It's like only 1.25 amp. So they are not a fast recharger.
Anything more than that you run the risk of overheating the "gel" and either damaging the plates/matting or causing "gassing" inside the sealed case and causing it to swell.
_________________
Ride safe.
1995 K1100LT 0302044
1997 R1100RT ZC62149
2017 FLHTK Ultra Limited
Garmin StreetPilot 2820
Garmin Zumo 550
Garmin Zumo XT
"One who does not ask questions is ashamed to learn" Danish proverb
1997 K1100LT 0302488(R.I.P.) |
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PHIL1601UK
Big Brick Rider
Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 64
Location: Bristol, UK
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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I don't know if the Opimate III SP is available over there but it's a nice bit of kit, runs a diagnostic on the battery, there's a 2 hour desulphate cycle if needed, charges at around 0.6 Amps, suitable for Gel bateries, wack a BMW plug on it and leave it plugged into the bike all winter - won't rescue a battery if it's had it's day, but it'll look after batteries in most conditions. I suppose all good charger units will do the same.
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1996 Aspen Silver K1100LTSE - acquired 23/03/07 |
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