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My R1250GS Kills Batteries

J

jbtex

Member
I have a 2019 R1250GS that seems to have developed a habit of killing batteries and I'm a bit puzzled.

Apart from an SAE connector to hook up a battery tender, no accessories are connected to the battery. With the battery tender not connected, the battery is dead after a few days to the point where it cannot be charged. Putting another battery in the bike and connecting it to the battery tender, the tender indicates that the battery is being charged, but after a few days the indicators on the tender show that the battery is barely alive.

Couple of things: Tender is good, as it charges and maintains other bikes without issues. I already went through two good batteries with the same symptoms. Judging by observing both points, I have eliminated at the moment the tender and batteries as the issue.

Any thoughts on best approach to diagnose the problem?
 
I always like to ask as to the age of the battery, in this case both batteries?
OM
 
Are the charging indicators on the Battery Tender indicating charge? Sometimes I have to refresh my memory on the tender operation.
What happens if you have a good ride with good charging indicated- 14.2 is great, and you DON’T put it on the tender? Is the battery still drained?
Could the SAE connector be reversed on the battery?
OM
 
jbtex said:
I have a 2019 R1250GS that seems to have developed a habit of killing batteries and I'm a bit puzzled.

Apart from an SAE connector to hook up a battery tender, no accessories are connected to the battery. With the battery tender not connected, the battery is dead after a few days to the point where it cannot be charged. Putting another battery in the bike and connecting it to the battery tender, the tender indicates that the battery is being charged, but after a few days the indicators on the tender show that the battery is barely alive.

Couple of things: Tender is good, as it charges and maintains other bikes without issues. I already went through two good batteries with the same symptoms. Judging by observing both points, I have eliminated at the moment the tender and batteries as the issue.

Any thoughts on best approach to diagnose the problem?
Click to expand...

Most tenders have fairly low current output, 750-1500ma, so the battery will slowly discharge if parasitic draw with the key off exceeds that. Under normal circumstances it won’t, as current draw with the key off should only be a few milliamperes to keep the ECU clock running. If it’s more than that, you will need to determine why.

Is this bike keyless by any chance?
 
Amazing and helpful responses from everyone! Really appreciate it.

Continuing troubleshooting the issue, I have taken another battery, hooked it up to a charger outside of the bike to ensure it's in a healthy state before putting it into the bike again. I used a battery tester which indicated good cranking power and a charge of 12.89 Volts. Put it into the bike and took it for a 15 minutes test ride, observing the 14.2 Volt charge again during the ride. After getting back, turned off and started up the bike several times, which was no issue.

Bike started up again this morning after sitting overnight not connected to the battery tender. Final test now is keeping it connected to the tender to see if there are some issues there potentially with a parasitic drain. I'll report back in what I find.
 
Once I put the newly charged battery on the bike, it would start up. However, on subsequent starts, it would fail. It seems like the cranking power just isn't there.

I have a video showing the issue and now I'm wondering which battery I should replace it with. The previous user's battery failed, so I tried a new one but it also died quickly. I ended up using a battery from my R1200GS for the video. I'm concerned that I may have had a series of bad batteries, even the new one I purchased. I just want to make sure there are no other problems with the bike, like a starter issue.

Would welcome your input. Any recommendations for a solid performer for a battery to try?

 
If it's charging OK, as evidenced by the reported voltage when riding, then the likely issue is the battery or its wiring, particularly its ground.

Before I went out and bought a new battery, I'd be checking for things like a loose cable to ground or to the starter itself. Along the way, use a multimeter to test for continuity in the cables. Simply set it to resistance and see if you get a reading when you touch the probes to each end of the individual ground or starter cables.

It'd be interesting to see if the battery voltage drops below 12V when you hit the button. Right now, you're only diagnosing it with a go/no go and that doesn't provide any data to figure out whether the battery is good. You're only testing its state when you hit the button.

I'd consider testing the battery by charging it, then letting it sit overnight completely disconnected from the bike. Record the voltage in the evening or whenever you set it up, then measure it again in the morning and see if you have a voltage drop. If it's dropping voltage, then the battery is no good. If the battery is fine, then you may have a parasitic draw which may be more difficult to trace.

But I'd start with testing the battery and ensuring you have step 1 of diagnosing any electrical issue: a known good and fully charged battery.
 
Added: Note that after you turn it off, the voltage is down to 12V like ten seconds later and drops below that when you start it. If it's losing charge that fast, I think your battery may be toast.
 
I had a similar problem with my R1200GS. It took three dealers and many, many months to finally resolve it. It turned out to be the ground module, which is one of the bike's electronic module. Dealers always insisted it was something else, like a bad battery, a bad USB accessory, etc. Some even told me it was normal and I should carry a charger with me! Multiple times they told me it was fixed or there was nothing wrong, and when I went to pick it up the battery would be dead. I disconnected my only accessory (Clearwater lights), installed a new battery, and kept a daily battery voltage log to be able to show them what was happening. It doesn't seem like service technicians know how to diagnose a problem like this. I finally pointed them to a thread on ADVRider with the same problem that identified the ground module as the issue and they grudgingly agreed to replace it. I understand why they don't want to do that right away -- it was expensive -- but it was very frustrating to get them to move beyond the common problems. I think you can see the thread here.

Good luck! Ken
 
kbowman said:
I had a similar problem with my R1200GS. It took three dealers and many, many months to finally resolve it. It turned out to be the ground module, which is one of the bike's electronic module. Dealers always insisted it was something else, like a bad battery, a bad USB accessory, etc. Some even told me it was normal and I should carry a charger with me! Multiple times they told me it was fixed or there was nothing wrong, and when I went to pick it up the battery would be dead. I disconnected my only accessory (Clearwater lights), installed a new battery, and kept a daily battery voltage log to be able to show them what was happening. It doesn't seem like service technicians know how to diagnose a problem like this. I finally pointed them to a thread on ADVRider with the same problem that identified the ground module as the issue and they grudgingly agreed to replace it. I understand why they don't want to do that right away -- it was expensive -- but it was very frustrating to get them to move beyond the common problems. I think you can see the thread here.

Good luck! Ken
Click to expand...
Ken, thanks for the link. Interesting read. I'm glad you got it figured out.

I'm not familiar with the ground module and can't find it in the parts fiche, at least not for the electrical components. Is it also called something different?
 
Did you catch this ADV thread?

advrider.com

2016 GSA Parasitic battery drain RESOLVED!

Sorry bro. For next month or so we will have to call you limited ceiling. I am still dealing w same parasitic drain issue. Dealer said the problem was...
advrider.com advrider.com

It was sorta a double tap.

I’m thinking that the module deal has merit. You should be able to start and stop that bike until the battery goes dead. Seem like totally shutting off the bike is “resetting” something.
You could try “stalling” the bike instead of using the switch as a test. Sorta like an intersection stall that you need the bike re-fired quickly.

OM
 
It sounds to me as if the starter might be binding up. A bad bearing or a loose magnet could be the cause. First check the battery ground connection and the battery positive connection (big cable) at the back of the starter. If these are clean and tight then I would remove and inspect the starter.
 
jbtex said:
Any thoughts on best approach to diagnose the problem?
Click to expand...

Have you done any diagnosis? The original battery in my 2016 R1200 GSA LC lasted just over 7 years and and that is what I call a short life in my battery world.

What does the voltage display in your instrument panel when riding? What is the temperature?

And stop using a Battery Tender or any maintainer unless you are storing the motorcycle while you are away for over a month. During riding season my battery will display 12.9V while parked and a week later, it'll still display 12.9V, and then 12.8V in the second week. You do not need a maintainer if you ride every two weeks.
 
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