• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Optimate 4 charger/maintainer

basketcase

What's that noise...?
Are any of you using this maintainer?

I'm sorting through how to interpret the lights and the manual was written by someone who obviously thinks in a counter-intuitive mode.

Google has not turned up a clearly labeled peekchure.
 
This is the most concise instruction summary I've been able to find:http://www.accumate.co.uk/Optimate%204%20Instructions.pdf. Even that is pretty bewildering, with many referrals to the full manual to read "notes".

The "user interface" on the Optimate 4 is horrible. The display is not intuitive, and I usually need to read the majority of the manual to be sure I'm interpreting it properly. I bought it largely for its dual-mode (CANBUS/conventional) capability and there is no indicator of its current mode.
 
This is the most concise instruction summary I've been able to find:http://www.accumate.co.uk/Optimate%204%20Instructions.pdf. Even that is pretty bewildering, with many referrals to the full manual to read "notes".

The "user interface" on the Optimate 4 is horrible. The display is not intuitive, and I usually need to read the majority of the manual to be sure I'm interpreting it properly. I bought it largely for its dual-mode (CANBUS/conventional) capability and there is no indicator of its current mode.

Actually - there is when you first turn it on, but it certainly isn't something you'd find without careful study of the manual.

The manual appears to have been written by one expert for another expert - always a problem when an engineer writes the manual and another engineer proof reads it. As noted - the user interface is not intuitive, but with enough use you can sort of learn what it's telling you at a glance.

One caution: The Optimate 4 does turn the Can-Bus circuit on for the auxiliary port on the bike, without any need to toggle the key or turn the bike on or any other folderol - but that circuit does not turn off automatically when you unplug the Optimate or disconnect it. That circuit is shared with the GPS - and with a Garmin 660 - in the mount - there is enough current drawn by the charge circuit on the 660 to deplete the battery if it's left on for a few weeks. I learned this when I was off my bike for about 6 weeks due to a slightly broken leg.

So - after the charge is completed - to turn the circuit off - turn the key on for 60 seconds - then turn it off. Make sure the GPS powers itself off with the warning that power has been lost..

I don't leave the Optimate connected to the bike. Instead - I put it in "normal" (non-CanBuss mode) - and leave it connected to my spare bike battery. It monitors it quite nicely and about once a day puts about 10 minutes worth of charge into that battery. My bike gets ridden enough even mid-winter so I don't feel it needs a maintenance charge.
 
Thanks to all for the various links and documents. The lights on the thing are making sense but -- holy moly, the wall of my garage appears as if it has a flashing-lights Christmas tree stashed behind the DR650!

Digging around I came up with the following review at the link, which includes a number of other links for further information. Interetingly, many of the reviewers for the particular unit said (in essence) "works great, but too many blinkin' lights."

As one guy commented, "When charging a battery all I want from the charger is on - charging - finished, not to be entertained."

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?64529-Optimate-4-Battery-Charger-by-tecMate
 
Back
Top