Starter or Battery 2004 R1150RT

roger 04 rt said:

Here's what I've got from a collection of different R1150s.

R1150RT: 32F 13.76V average
R1150RT: 75F 13.83V av.
R1150GS: 68F 13.72V av.
R1150RT: 60F 13.62V av.
R1150GS: 68F 13.88V av.

Click to expand...

My bike:
R1100RT: 21C 13.95V average

It oscillates between 13.9 and 14.0 constantly. I monitor it using a calibrated quartz crystal digital display meter connected directly to the battery and mounted on my fairing. I have an Odyssey PC680 installed which I connect to an approved Odyssey charger when I get back from short or long rides and periodically over winter when the bike is not ridden much if at all.

roger 04 rt said:

Here's what I've got from a collection of different R1150s.

R1150RT: 32F 13.76V average
R1150RT: 75F 13.83V av.
R1150GS: 68F 13.72V av.
R1150RT: 60F 13.62V av.
R1150GS: 68F 13.88V av.

Click to expand...

Here is what the East Penn technical manual recommends...

Happy Wanderer

I monitor it using a calibrated quartz crystal digital display meter connected directly to the battery and mounted on my fairing.

Click to expand...

Happy Wanderer.........any chance for some pics of your meter setup?........I run with an Odyssey PC680 as well and would like to monitor the voltage of the battery

snookers said:

:Happy Wanderer.........any chance for some pics of your meter setup?

Click to expand...

I'd like to see it as well. How many mA does it draw?

I've just put another one of mine together for my R100 GS, but am always willing to upgrade, if that is the case.

GlobalRider said:

Here is what the East Penn technical manual recommends...

Click to expand...

Alex, I think we're in agreement. My point is exactly that the R1150 voltage regulator is well suited to the gel batteries it shipped with.

And my other point a few posts back is that when BMW ships with an AGM battery they install a higher voltage regulator. Something like a 14V regulator for gel and a 14.8V regulator for AGM.
RB

Morning Roger,
You certainly have got me thinking about batteries. Turns out that for the past 4.5 years the Westco batteries in my '81R100RT and '04R1150RT are, in fact, AGM and not GEL batteries as I assumed they were. Also, my new Panasonic VRLA LC-X1220P battery for the 1150 is an AGM battery as well. It appears that all AGM batteries want to see a charge voltage of between 14.5 and 14.9 volts in order to maintain maximum battery capacity. I have two Battery Tender charges, one is the Battery Tender Plus for GEL batteries and a Battery Tender Junior which, according to Deltran, is OK for use on an AGM battery. So, long and short is I have been using the wrong charger on my AGM batteries which I thought were both GEL. Don't remember why I bought the Junior charger in the first place. It may be that the best solution for AGM use on an oilhead mc is to modify the voltage regulator as you have done. In the case of my '81 airhead I think a flooded cell battery like the Yuasa is probably the best option. My '93 R1100RSL came with a BMW flooded cell battery which was placed in service for the first time a year ago last February so no problems there.

Thanks for starting this most enlightening and educational thread.

With back to back snowstorms here, my bike will be sitting for a while. I've been keeping an eye on state of charge. It is slowly discharging so today I measured the key-off drain on the battery which turns out to be about 7.5 mA. I don't know if that's high or low or normal.

When I ran the math, 7.5 mA times 24 hours per day time 7 days per week equals 1.25 amp-hours per week plus a small amount of self discharge. The PC680 is a 16 aH battery so that works out to be a discharge, using rough numbers, of about 10% per week.

I plan to recharge the battery weekly for an hour or two.

I measure about 3 mA without my immobilizer (added) connected on a 1150GS.
7.5 seems high, do you have aftermarket accessories on the system?

That seems rather high Roger. I've done measurements on my 1100RT to figure out GPS power requirements. The bike itself only draws 2.34 mA. The GPS cradle added only .1 mA for a total of under 2.5 mA.

This measurement would include the quartz clock, the ECU and the GPS cradle (with no GPS) so something else must be drawing power on your bike.

GSAddict said:

I measure about 3 mA without my immobilizer (added) connected on a 1150GS.
7.5 seems high, do you have aftermarket accessories on the system?

Click to expand...

happy wanderer said:

That seems rather high Roger. I've done measurements on my 1100RT to figure out GPS power requirements. The bike itself only draws 2.34 mA. The GPS cradle added only .1 mA for a total of under 2.5 mA.

This measurement would include the quartz clock, the ECU and the GPS cradle (with no GPS) so something else must be drawing power on your bike.

Click to expand...

I thought I remembered a number under 5 mA being the usual draw. In my case I've got the RID and Motronic on fuse 3, the Motronic on fuse 5, the ABS unit unfused, and the flasher relay (aftermarket) unfused. There are also some indicators that don't come on I think I'll open it back up and isolate what's what.
RB

GSAddict said:

I measure about 3 mA without my immobilizer (added) connected on a 1150GS.
7.5 seems high, do you have aftermarket accessories on the system?

Click to expand...

It does seem high. I've got the Kisan SignalMinder and a pair of driving lights that are connected through a solid state switch (don't come in without key).

I'm going to check the parts today and try and figure out where the draw is coming from.

I pulled the left side plastic again and measure the various key-off currents:

Motronic/Fuse 5: 0.8 mA
RID/Fuse 3: 1.5 mA
ABS: 0.3 mA
Kisan SignalMinder: 4.7 mA !!

Total: 7.3 mA
Total w/o Kisan: 2.6 mA

I'm going to check with Kisan and as if that's the correct stand-by current.
RB

roger 04 rt said:

I pulled the left side plastic again and measure the various key-off currents:

Motronic/Fuse 5: 0.8 mA
RID/Fuse 3: 1.5 mA
ABS: 0.3 mA
Kisan SignalMinder: 4.7 mA !!

Total: 7.3 mA
Total w/o Kisan: 2.6 mA

I'm going to check with Kisan and as if that's the correct stand-by current.
RB

Click to expand...

The stock figures match mine.

snookers said:

Happy Wanderer.........any chance for some pics of your meter setup?........I run with an Odyssey PC680 as well and would like to monitor the voltage of the battery

Click to expand...

Sorry I missed the post asking for photos. I have the same unit on two bikes, oilhead and airhead. It is a quartz crystal low power unit made by Lascar. Not 100% waterproof but if mounted strategically and not blasted with the garden hose it's fine.

The Oilhead one is mounted just below the windscreen, top of the dash. Can't find a better photo See airhead shot for detail.

Both bikes have Odyssey batteries. The airhead is about to get a new adjustable regulator which I will adjust up to 13.5V for better Odyssey charging en route. The oilhead gets plugged into an approved Odyssey charger periodically to keep it up to snuff.

roger 04 rt said:

I pulled the left side plastic again and measure the various key-off currents:

Motronic/Fuse 5: 0.8 mA
RID/Fuse 3: 1.5 mA
ABS: 0.3 mA
Kisan SignalMinder: 4.7 mA !!

Total: 7.3 mA
Total w/o Kisan: 2.6 mA

I'm going to check with Kisan and as if that's the correct stand-by current.
RB

Click to expand...

Hi Roger,
2.7 ma for me on '04RT with no ABS.

Looks like it will be a while before I ride. Pulling fuses 3 and 5, and the Kisan Signal!inder will drop the total Standby current to 0.8 mA. That will leave me with a discharge rate of about 1% per week.
RB

A quick update: Heard back from Kisan about the SignalMinder SM-5 flasher. The key off standby current is just a little under 5 mA, which effectively triples the standby current drawn by the motorcycle. They have to keep it powered so that the Hazard flashers work with the key off.

Since pulling the Kisan and fuses 3 & 5, six days ago and thereby dropping the standby current to 0.8 mA for the ABS input, my PC680 battery voltage has remained constant at 12.84V. This means no need to keep it on a tender or trickle charger.

Thanks H W

Now I know what my winter wiring project is going to be!
Thanks,
Jim

Happy NY Roger,
When is the last time you needed, I say needed, to use the hazard lights on your motorcycle?

jammess said:

Happy NY Roger,
When is the last time you needed, I say needed, to use the hazard lights on your motorcycle?

Click to expand...

Happy NY Jim,

It was July 2, 2012 when the in-tank fuel hoses burst, without warning, in the high-speed lane, Rt. 93N, going 75 MPH and having to negotiate from the left-hand lane in heavy traffic, four lanes to the right to an exit, without power, hazard lights on (as if that matters at that point).

R1150RT Fuel System Failure

RB