The battery on my new-to-me 2004 R1200CLC is flat dead. The battery is not conveniently accessible, apparently being buried beneath the gas tank. The dealer says I can charge it by connecting a Battery Tender to a stud marked "+" on the starter casing and a corresponding "-" stud on the cylinder head, but that's not working. The dealer also suggested using the rearmost of the two frame-mounted sockets, but I'll need a BMW-specific connector to plug into that. Advice, commiseration, good-natured mocking all welcome.
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charging battery on a chromehead
- Thread starter gslobosco
- Start date
roger 04 rt
New member
gslobosco, I don't mean any offense but it sounds like you may be out of your depth. The advice given you should work. Your problem may be as simple as picking the wrong point to connect the (-) terminal of your charger.
The large lug on the starter is battery (+). When you connect to it make sure that your charger clip-on isn't touching anything else. Then find an unpainted, unrusted metal bolt on the engine and clip-on solidly to that.
If this doesn't work, try and find someone with a DVM to help out. It's also possible that your battery won't or can't be recharged due to the type of charger you're using or due to the battery being beyond recovery.
The large lug on the starter is battery (+). When you connect to it make sure that your charger clip-on isn't touching anything else. Then find an unpainted, unrusted metal bolt on the engine and clip-on solidly to that.
If this doesn't work, try and find someone with a DVM to help out. It's also possible that your battery won't or can't be recharged due to the type of charger you're using or due to the battery being beyond recovery.
Chromeheads.org
gslobosco
Check out chromeheads.org for a vast knowledge base of all things chromehead. Removing the gas tank is not particularly difficult and there are technical how-to directions within the forum. Click on Cruiser Talk Forum to start your adventure then use the SEARCH function to find what you need. You can access the forum without registering; it's how I found my bike.
I have a new-to-me 2003 R1200CLC and though I've been riding old airheads for 20 years and bikes for 37 I find the CLC to be a fantastic ride. My wife enjoys riding pillion on this one far superior to the RT's I had before.
Enjoy!
gslobosco
Check out chromeheads.org for a vast knowledge base of all things chromehead. Removing the gas tank is not particularly difficult and there are technical how-to directions within the forum. Click on Cruiser Talk Forum to start your adventure then use the SEARCH function to find what you need. You can access the forum without registering; it's how I found my bike.
I have a new-to-me 2003 R1200CLC and though I've been riding old airheads for 20 years and bikes for 37 I find the CLC to be a fantastic ride. My wife enjoys riding pillion on this one far superior to the RT's I had before.
Enjoy!
chromehead battery
That's good advice, and on previous bikes where the battery was more accessible, I generally installed connectors for my Battery Tender for convenience. If I'm unable to charge the battery on the CLC from outside, I'll end up doing that here. Ride safe.
That's good advice, and on previous bikes where the battery was more accessible, I generally installed connectors for my Battery Tender for convenience. If I'm unable to charge the battery on the CLC from outside, I'll end up doing that here. Ride safe.
chromehead battery
No offense taken - I'm frequently out of my depth. I subsequently connected a more powerful charger using the lugs on the starter cover and on the cylinder head. I got a good connection, but it produced a fault reading indicating that the new, dealer-installed battery is sulfated. I'm not sure why using the same lugs with the Battery Tender produced a "no connection" signal. In any event, it appears I'm going to have to get to and remove the battery to address the problem. Thanks for your advice.
No offense taken - I'm frequently out of my depth. I subsequently connected a more powerful charger using the lugs on the starter cover and on the cylinder head. I got a good connection, but it produced a fault reading indicating that the new, dealer-installed battery is sulfated. I'm not sure why using the same lugs with the Battery Tender produced a "no connection" signal. In any event, it appears I'm going to have to get to and remove the battery to address the problem. Thanks for your advice.
chromehead battery
Thanks, I went to the site and found good instructions. It looks like I'll need to remove the tank and remove the battery to address this issue, so the advice on the website is invaluable. I'm glad to know you're happy with the CLC - I look forward to getting this problem sorted and taking the wife out for an inaugural ride.
Thanks, I went to the site and found good instructions. It looks like I'll need to remove the tank and remove the battery to address this issue, so the advice on the website is invaluable. I'm glad to know you're happy with the CLC - I look forward to getting this problem sorted and taking the wife out for an inaugural ride.
Paul, your advice is spot-on as usual. The charger I tried after failing with the Battery Tender showed a "sulfated" fault, so the dealer-installed battery has apparently suffered some failure. I'm temporarily without a workshop or garage, but I may be able to get the tank off and get new battery installed.
We're hoping you and Vonnie will make it to Steve and Helen's for our Club anniversary picnic in May. I'll look forward to showing you the new CLC there. Best regards, Gerard Lobosco
Congrats on your CLC, I picked up an '03 last May and I'm still loving it. It might not be as fast as the other BMW's but you can still ride it December behind that big batwing fairing. In the summer just put a shorty screen on it and take off the wind wings and it's still comfortable.
The first thing I had to do with mine was put in a new battery, so I took the advice of 90% of the people on the Chromeheads forum and bought an Odyssey PC-680. CLC's have really good fuel line quick disconnects and check out the link to Pokies Pages on the same forum, he has a good tutorial on tank removal (among many other good tutorials). I think he has a C instead of a CLC but most of the stuff is almost the same. You'll have to put in some filler material in the battery box since the PC-680 is smaller than the stock battery, and you'll also need to properly insulate the positive terminal since the stock battery terminal won't fit the PC and your bike has an old school metal tank. I just used some packing foam for both purposes and it seems to be working fine. Other people have used rubber sheets, cardboard, whatever non-conductive material is handy. Just do a search on the Chromeheads forum and you'll get a lot of hits with good pictures and details.
The first thing I had to do with mine was put in a new battery, so I took the advice of 90% of the people on the Chromeheads forum and bought an Odyssey PC-680. CLC's have really good fuel line quick disconnects and check out the link to Pokies Pages on the same forum, he has a good tutorial on tank removal (among many other good tutorials). I think he has a C instead of a CLC but most of the stuff is almost the same. You'll have to put in some filler material in the battery box since the PC-680 is smaller than the stock battery, and you'll also need to properly insulate the positive terminal since the stock battery terminal won't fit the PC and your bike has an old school metal tank. I just used some packing foam for both purposes and it seems to be working fine. Other people have used rubber sheets, cardboard, whatever non-conductive material is handy. Just do a search on the Chromeheads forum and you'll get a lot of hits with good pictures and details.
globalrider
Alps Adventurer
Less guessing and more measuring.
If you put a digital multi meter (Walmart has them for peanuts) on those two terminals, you should read battery voltage whatever it might be. The positive stud is wired directly to the positive battery post.
CL battery woes
Thanks for your advice. I ended up putting the bike on a trailer and hauling it to the dealer. They kept it for a week and said the battery was o.k., just severely discharged. I've ridden it a little now and I put it on the Battery Tender every two or three days to maintain a charge. The studs on the left side of the engine case work for this purpose. So, far, this approach is working for me. I'll probably fuss with it more when I get back into my garage in a few weeks. Do you find that you have to keep the ignition in the fork locked position to minimize battery discharge when parked?
Thanks for your advice. I ended up putting the bike on a trailer and hauling it to the dealer. They kept it for a week and said the battery was o.k., just severely discharged. I've ridden it a little now and I put it on the Battery Tender every two or three days to maintain a charge. The studs on the left side of the engine case work for this purpose. So, far, this approach is working for me. I'll probably fuss with it more when I get back into my garage in a few weeks. Do you find that you have to keep the ignition in the fork locked position to minimize battery discharge when parked?
Chromeheads
Thanks for the encouragement, Bob. I'm living in San Antonio, Texas, but I (mis)spent my youth in Paterson, NJ. As I get miles on the CL, I'll spend time on the chromeheads website. I look forward to the benefit of advice from CL veterans there.
Thanks for the encouragement, Bob. I'm living in San Antonio, Texas, but I (mis)spent my youth in Paterson, NJ. As I get miles on the CL, I'll spend time on the chromeheads website. I look forward to the benefit of advice from CL veterans there.
I don't have any negative experience with battery discharge but I keep mine locked due to the possibility that the radio might be on.
rocketmanli
Chromehead
You never need to keep the ignition locked to avoid current draw. Whether you keep it locked or unlocked, there's no extra juice flowing either way. If you turn past lock, you'll light up your parking light in the headlight bucket, as well as the tail light. That will indeed discharge your battery if left that way for a while. Unless you're worried about someone rolling your bike away, no need to lock the forks. There is small current draw to keep the clock running in your CL and the memory settings in the ECU, but nothing that will kill your battery.
bobs98
Hey Chromehead !
You should also be able to plug your Battery Tender in to one of the accessory ports on your CL, as long as you have the BMW plug end.
R Position
gslobosco
The R position of the ignition key (between OFF and ON, just before ON) will energize the radio circuit. Other components may also be powered by the R position contact. The previous owner powered the GPS unit off this circuit. Leaving the key not-far-enough-out of the R position I reduced the battery overnight to an unable-to-start-the-bike voltage.
In fairness, I was advised by the previous owner that this could happen.
gslobosco
The R position of the ignition key (between OFF and ON, just before ON) will energize the radio circuit. Other components may also be powered by the R position contact. The previous owner powered the GPS unit off this circuit. Leaving the key not-far-enough-out of the R position I reduced the battery overnight to an unable-to-start-the-bike voltage.
In fairness, I was advised by the previous owner that this could happen.
