[Captain]

Does anyone know what would happen if I grounded to the right screw on your picture (which I assume is the negative on the battery)?
Doesn't negative on negative work?

You will probably get a few dramatic sparks and then your ECU will shut everything down, that's if you don't fry the battery first. hmy:

Both of the screws on the same plate in the first picture are positives

Please look carefully at the picture again and take note that two metal screws, into two metal lead tabs, into one metal bar. :nerd:

You are not able to access the negative battery lead that easily. The battery is grounded to the motor and frame.
You pick up a negative point either on a metal part of the frame, or via the jumpstart bolt on the motor.

 

[BaldyDave]

If you are talking about the right screw in the first picture in post #180 @Captain is 100% correct. This is a positive bus bar screw and if you ground it you will do a good impression of an arc welder and possibly risk damage to the bike (or yourself).

Find a screw that connects to the frame or engine to use as an earth point.

Again, looking at the top photo, the shiny screw that holds the cast seat bracket to the frame (towards the bottom of photo) might be a good candidate. If you have a multimeter check that you get low resistance (virtually a short) between the screw and another earth point on the frame (e.g. engine screw). If you do then it'd be a good earth point to choose.

 

[Mr. Lee]

Right now I have my Battery Tender installed Black to Black and Red to Red. I'm getting ready to install a new battery. Should I change the order to be Red to Red and Black to Ground? Is the way I did it the first time really that bad, I mean it works?

I'm getting some conflicting results from Google and YouTube and want to be safe.

 

[LoRez]

Either way works.
I prefer a direct ground/earth to the battery, to eliminate any questionable continuity.

 

[Mr. Lee]

Either way works.
I prefer a direct ground/earth to the battery, to eliminate any questionable continuity. /forum/images/NineTOwners_2014/smilies/tango_face_smile.png

I will try the Black to Ground method. Seems to be most popular here. Thanks.

For accessories like lights or aftermarket heated grips, do I wire them the same way? Red to Red. Black to Ground?

 

[LoRez]

OK, now I am questioning that I understood your original question.
What do you mean by "red to red" and "black to black"?

What I was referring to was the difference of grounding directly to the battery as opposed to the frame (or other).

You could wire all your accessories directly to the battery along with the charging pigtail, but if you have many things to add, this can quickly become a rats nest.
I would keep the Tender wired directly, and add a PDU (Power Distribution Unit) for all the extras.
Depending on the unit, it may have it's own grounding system or you need to make one.

 

[Mr. Lee]

OK, now I am questioning that I understood your original question.
What do you mean by "red to red" and "black to black"?

What I was referring to was the difference of grounding directly to the battery as opposed to the frame (or other).

You could wire all your accessories directly to the battery along with the charging pigtail, but if you have many things to add, this can quickly become a rats nest.
I would keep the Tender wired directly, and add a PDU (Power Distribution Unit) for all the extras.
Depending on the unit, it may have it's own grounding system or you need to make one.

I was talking about hooking up the Red (+) cable from the Battery Tender Jr. to the Red (+) Post on the battery. Do I then hook the Black (-) Cable from the Battery Tender Jr to the , 1.) Black (-) Post on the battery or do I , 2) Ground the Black (-) cable from the Battery Tender to the frame? Does that make more sense?

 

[BaldyDave]

I was talking about hooking up the Red (+) cable from the Battery Tender Jr. to the Red (+) Post on the battery. Do I then hook the Black (-) Cable from the Battery Tender Jr to the , 1.) Black (-) Post on the battery or do I , 2) Ground the Black (-) cable from the Battery Tender to the frame? Does that make more sense?

If I understand you correctly it should make no difference if you connect the negative lead from the battery charger to the battery negative terminal, or to a good earth point on the bike.

 

[LoRez]

I was talking about hooking up the Red (+) cable from the Battery Tender Jr. to the Red (+) Post on the battery. Do I then hook the Black (-) Cable from the Battery Tender Jr to the , 1.) Black (-) Post on the battery or do I , 2) Ground the Black (-) cable from the Battery Tender to the frame? Does that make more sense?

Perfectly clear now.
My first comment still stands.

 

[Mr. Lee]

OK, now I am questioning that I understood your original question.
What do you mean by "red to red" and "black to black"?

What I was referring to was the difference of grounding directly to the battery as opposed to the frame (or other).

I was talke

You could wire all your accessories directly to the battery along with the charging pigtail, but if you have many things to add, this can quickly become a rats nest.
I would keep the Tender wired directly, and add a PDU (Power Distribution Unit) for all the extras.
Depending on the unit, it may have it's own grounding system or you need to make one.

Finished up last night and all seems to be working.

 

[gopam]

Just want to ask a question since I just bought the OptiMATE 4 Can-bus battery charger. And I’ve been just as confused as others here with the manual.

Package says it is ready to plug in already in can-bus mode. I plugged it into the r ninet pure but didn’t see the bottom 3 & 4 lights flashing as noted in the manual to be can-bus mode. So I followed instructions to switch modes.

Now I only see bottom 3 & 4 lights flashing aka can-bus mode when the charger is plugged into the outlet and NOT plugged into the R ninet.

When plugged into the outlet AND plugged into the R ninet, the bottom 3 & 4 lights do NOT periodically flash.

But the charger seems to be working? After charging it is doing the flashing green then solid green then flashing green.

So when it is in can-bus mode is it correct to NOT see bottom 3 & 4 lights flashing when plugged into the OUTLET AND the BIKE?

Does the charger only show that it is in can-bus mode by flashing bottom 3 & 4 lights when plugged into the OUTLET ONLY?

I’m doing my best to understand the manual and this charger. Thanks.

 

[LoRez]

I seem to recall something about those two lights flashing during the "handshake" process when the charger connects to the bike.

As long as they connect (in CANBUS Mode), then the flashing should cease and the usual charge/maintenance starts.

If no connection is made they will continue to flash without charging.

 

[ralexford9t]

Battery; auxillary socket

I tried charging my R9T battery using a cheap battery tender with a adaptor plug into the aux socket, it wouldn't work, I tried turn on the ignition and off, it worked for 5 min then off, then I found this charger on the website TecMate OptiMate 4 Dual Program Battery Charger for BMW CANbus - RevZilla.
It seems that the charger must be compatible with the can bus system, is this the right charger? Do I have to buy one from the dealer? Any one has a good suggestion, thanks

I bought a new one from the dealer/on line when my R9T was new and have been using it ever since. Despite these efforts, my battery went Kaput here in 2019 from my original purchase (approx. 2013). Even with the actual BMW charger, I have to turn the key off and on and back off again. Then the charger will do its thing. After a certain amount of time, the BMW will turn off the socket and no information or power will be allowed in. (This is a piece of engineering stupidity by BMW. I think somewhere in the owner's manual or the mechanic's workshop manual, a reason is provided. This reason is nothing more than hog wash. This was another attempt by BMW to ensure that the owner can't do obvious and easy maintenance on their own bikes and make them beholding to a BMW motorcycle authorized dealer for everything. It is also part of the "dunning down" process in computers and cell phones. These corporations want everyone to become dependent on those corporations, so that they can maximize their profits. Most BMW Motorcycle owners are fiercely independent and they find a work around for all of this. There may be a work around for this "timer" with the power socket, but I haven't found out yet what it is.

 

[Hojodadi]

I picked up a 2015 Classic in May (2200Miles) it came with an optimate charger which I set into CAN-bus mode.
If you look in the owners manual (page 30 -ish I think) IGNITION it gives you different ignition switch positions and in only ONE of those positions does it state that the battery can be charged using the accessory socket.

In all other positions such as steering locked or simply "off" there is no mention of charging the battery through the socket.


In CAN -bus mode on the Optimate 4 the red and green LEDs (bottom left) flash to indicate that the charger is attempting to "wake" the socket. Once the connection is made the yellow button on the bottom right will flash and the three yellow LEDs above it will flash in a combination to indicate that the rate at which the charger is pulse charging the battery. once the battery appears full to the charger the charger then checks to see if the battery retains a full charge - if it doesn't then it will resume pulse charging until it does at which point the charger goes into "maintenance"mode.


Well at least that's how I read it?

 

[Desmoface]

Hello everyone,

As a long time lurker, I just returned from the dealer and purchased a '19 r nine t classic...WOOHOO! They are installing a battery tender lead directly to the batter and that had me thinking...my old battery tender is 20 plus years old, so I'm thinking maybe it's time for a new one. Reading Amazon reviews, it appears that deltran's quality has taken a dive..should I be looking at another option? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Steve

 

[JohnT]

Reading Amazon reviews, it appears that deltran's quality has taken a dive..should I be looking at another option?

Get an Optimate 3 or 4. Hook a pigtail direct to the battery terminals for it. That will protect your bikes' electronics.

 

[Desmoface]

Hi JohnT, turns out the dealer installed a pigtail for the battery tender...while I have one that has served me well, I placed an order for a new Battery Tender Plus, as my old one has to be the better part of 20 years old. Since The pigtail is hooked directly to the battery, it should be safe to use with my bikes electronics - correct? Thanks again.

Steve

Get an Optimate 3 or 4. Hook a pigtail direct to the battery terminals for it. That will protect your bikes' electronics.

 

[JohnT]

Since The pigtail is hooked directly to the battery, it should be safe to use with my bikes electronics - correct?

Correct. If you feel a need for a Battery Tender I would have suggested the Jr, Battery Tenders smallest charger. It will do the least damage. I have one on the battery of my 20 yr old chevy van that mostly sits. I figure it's ok on a BIG battery. I won't use them on a MC size battery. Battery Tenders aren't as smart as they're made out to be. They don't cycle in float or maintain mode. They're constantly on and tend to overcharge. Optimates are smarter, they do cycle and actually monitor you batteries health and cycle, charge or float as required. I have 2 Optimate 4's and a 3. One for my R9T, one for my Sportster and one for my mower. All bought used on e-bay

 

[Archer]

I picked up a 2015 Classic in May (2200Miles) it came with an optimate charger which I set into CAN-bus mode.
If you look in the owners manual (page 30 -ish I think) IGNITION it gives you different ignition switch positions and in only ONE of those positions does it state that the battery can be charged using the accessory socket.

In all other positions such as steering locked or simply "off" there is no mention of charging the battery through the socket.


In CAN -bus mode on the Optimate 4 the red and green LEDs (bottom left) flash to indicate that the charger is attempting to "wake" the socket. Once the connection is made the yellow button on the bottom right will flash and the three yellow LEDs above it will flash in a combination to indicate that the rate at which the charger is pulse charging the battery. once the battery appears full to the charger the charger then checks to see if the battery retains a full charge - if it doesn't then it will resume pulse charging until it does at which point the charger goes into "maintenance"mode.


Well at least that's how I read it?

This is how it works for me, using the auxiliary port. Zero issues, no messy cables or having to remove the seat.

 

[dbrdh]

Thanks for the advice guys......I ended up hooking the positive to the positive jump post and the negative through the right hand bolt that holds the bracket where the 2 positive terminals are. This offered 0.00ohms resistance to the negative jump point on the engine.

Hi all,

Did the above with my trusty Halfords 2/4A motorcycle battery tender/charger which I used on my previous Honda Crosstourer for years. Connected the pigtail to one of the red posts under the plastic cover and the other to frame, on the RHS screw under the plastic carrier for the two Battery +ve terminals just behind the tank under the seat.

My bike is 5 days old and the battery seemed a little low on switch on at 11.9v. A few days commuting a short distance to work and it was 12.9 at rest. Plugging in the charger after coming home with heated grips on, the battery took about 20-30mins of charge then the charger went into trickle mode. On switching on after removing the charger, display shows immediate battery volts at 13.2. The reg/rec seems to provide a constant 14.4v when engine running so everything seems to be OK... ?