BMW Motorrad Battery Charger Plus issue

harrisrc740

harrisrc740

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I purchased the BMW Motorrad Smart Battery Charger Plus from a member on this site but I have noticed whenever I attempt to use it I get an error stating "Short / Reversed polarity". This error occurs with ALL ports on both my bikes, so I know the ports are not bad or shorted, because I can also plug devices into each of those ports and they will get power with the bike on...... As I am typing this I do not think the bike needs to be on during the charging sequence?? Correct? Is there a way to open the smart charger and change the polarity or did I just get a bad smart charger?IMG_3210.jpeg
 
I had that problem with my NOCO charger.....seems the pigtail that the !@#$% dealer installed...they reversed the +/- pigtail battery wires ....just reverse the wires or cut and reverse the charger wires. Short/Reverse charger indication is simply reversed polarity. Not a difficult problem...pretty simple!
 
Maybe I am missing something.... I read the manual and downloaded it before posting in hopes of a solution, but unless I have to open the unit to switch the polarity I do not see any other way of doing so
 
NO NO NO NOT TO OPEN YOUR CHARGER UNIT!!! The pigtail your dealer installed on your bike had the + and - wires to the positive and negative grounds to the battery reversed.....it is just the pigtail!!! Because the pigtail wires to the battery were reversed, the connector attachment to your charger showing a Short/Reverse. Just follow the pigtail wires to the positive and negative battery connections and reverse them. Just reverse where the pigtail wires are attached on your bike. Please do not open your charger unit....!!!
 
1911tex said:
NO NO NO NOT TO OPEN YOUR CHARGER UNIT!!! The pigtail your dealer installed on your bike had the + and - wires to the positive and negative grounds to the battery reversed.....it is just the pigtail!!! Because the pigtail wires to the battery were reversed, the connector attachment to your charger showing a Short/Reverse. Just follow the pigtail wires to the positive and negative battery connections and reverse them. Just reverse where the pigtail wires are attached on your bike. Please do not open your charger unit....!!!
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no pigtail, plugs directly into one of the 2 on-board sockets on either bike.
 
o.k than possible someone reversed the wires going from the charger to the plug that goes into the socket? Maybe someone else can chime in...NOTE: IT IS NOT YOUR CHARGER....it is the 2 wires going from the charger to the plug that goes into the socket; these 2 wires are reversed. I am not familiar with your charger....can the long wires going from the charger to the plug be reversed at the charger OR at the plug? Perhaps someone familiar with your charger will chime in?
Try to plug into the other on-board socket?
 
Ok so if I connect directly to the battery it works, just not using the sockets….
 

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As the battery leads use the plug from the charger It would appear that the sockets
on the bike are wired wrong, Do you have any way of checking the polarity of the
onboard sockets? I would suggest trying to use something powered by the socket,
the downside is the strong possibility of damaging whatever you use as a test item.
 
Is your bike used (advise)..maybe someone rewired the sockets (I doubt that)?
You got a good working connection straight to the negative and positive battery points....that is great. Now just find out why the onboard sockets do not work; I'll bet it is not the sockets...someone opened the plug or.....could be a bad plug...can you disassemble (unscrew) the plug and reverse the wires inside the plug? That would be the easiest solution.
Otherwise, I would permanently connect a pigtail like you did using the clamps and plastic wire tie the pigtail to the frame. Pigtails are cheap.....I just plug my NOCO charger into to pigtail...a <3 second job. You can do the same.
 
Rider0974 said:
As the battery leads use the plug from the charger It would appear that the sockets
on the bike are wired wrong, Do you have any way of checking the polarity of the
onboard sockets? I would suggest trying to use something powered by the socket,
the downside is the strong possibility of damaging whatever you use as a test item.
Click to expand...
I would think that also, but I am getting the same error on my 2023 R18B and my 2016 K1600GTL. Hard to believe all 4 sockets are wired wrong, I have had both bikes since new. When I get a chance later I will run down and check the polarity with my multimeter.
 
1911tex said:
Is your bike used (advise)..maybe someone rewired the sockets (I doubt that)?
You got a good working connection straight to the negative and positive battery points....that is great. Now just find out why the onboard sockets do not work; I'll bet it is not the sockets...someone opened the plug or.....could be a bad plug...can you disassemble (unscrew) the plug and reverse the wires inside the plug? That would be the easiest solution.
Otherwise, I would permanently connect a pigtail like you did using the clamps and plastic wire tie the pigtail to the frame. Pigtails are cheap.....I just plug my NOCO charger into to pigtail...a <3 second job. You can do the same.
Click to expand...
Both bikes I have had since new and for both neither of the sockets have been touched. Also I have used the sockets a few times to power GoPros or my cell phone while out for a ride without issue.
 
harrisrc740 said:
I would think that also, but I am getting the same error on my 2023 R18B and my 2016 K1600GTL. Hard to believe all 4 sockets are wired wrong, I have had both bikes since new. When I get a chance later I will run down and check the polarity with my multimeter.
Click to expand...
Absolutely... Check with a Volt meter

With the RED test lead on the Center Pin of the charging plug and the Black test lead on either of the two Ground contact plates on the plug should read +13.8 V DC and NOT -13.8 V (Test both Ground Contact Plates - maybe one of them isn't correct); if you get a Negative (-) symbol on your volt meter, I would think the leads are soldered incorrectly within the charger unit. If so, you can just cut the charging cable and reverse or correct the cabling.

All said... I'm not sure why it appears to work correctly when using the alligator clip adapter directly to the battery...? Again, check with your volt meter..

I have a working charger and a volt meter, let me know if you need some comparison data, I'd be happy to take some measurements on my bike and or charger for you...
 
Thanks Scott!!! OK I do have a problem with my R18 somewhere. Checking with a multimeter I am getting ground on both terminals for both sockets on the R18. The K1600 is working just fine. I guess I was plugging too quickly from the R18 to the K1600 and it still held the error from the R18. But the K1600 will charge from the sockets without issues, just need to research why I am getting a ground signal into the positive side of both sockets.
 
harrisrc740 said:
Thanks Scott!!! OK I do have a problem with my R18 somewhere. Checking with a multimeter I am getting ground on both terminals for both sockets on the R18. The K1600 is working just fine. I guess I was plugging too quickly from the R18 to the K1600 and it still held the error from the R18. But the K1600 will charge from the sockets without issues, just need to research why I am getting a ground signal into the positive side of both sockets.
Click to expand...

WTF...?? Seriously...?? That's absolutely crazy, how can that be? Any ideas how that happened?
 
Whatever the problem is, it has been present for a while, I received the smart charger 20 Mar and the error has been present since then for sure. One of the main reasons I drove 1400 miles to pick up the Kern-Stabi I purchased, I thought I got burned with that purchase, but I see the error was on me....
 
OK problem found... I added A ThunderBox U01 so I could power extra accessories (Garage door opener, wireless charger & under body lighting) and that is what is causing the problem. I need to see if it is due to the way it works or did I cross something in my wiring. It automatically powers up the devices about 30 seconds after the bike is running and powers them down 30 seconds after the bike is shut down. Guess I am slipping with my direction following in old age....
 
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