Battery Charge Current Light PART II

[mojosaan]

I search and didn't see a post on this, so if I missed one, my apologies. I just got home today from riding my bike from work. About 1/2 mile from my house I noticed that at every stop light my Battery Charge Current light would light up. However, when I either rev the engine or get going again, the light will go away. I also noticed that my green Neutral light would not light up when I put it into neutral. Lastly, when I got home, I checked all my lights and turn signals all worked proper, just not the Neutral light and the red Battery light would light up. I also noticed that when I left it idling for a minute the batter light would turn weak and the neutral light will shine a very weak light also. What gives? Anyone knows? Any help is appreciated.

[towerworker]

You didn't mention the year or milage on your bike but several things come to mind.
Sounds like the charging system may not be working properly. Could be a loose alternator belt or the belt has stretched to where the alternator is not being turned adequately. Might be an alternator problem itself. Or a battery going out on you.

Year and milage would tell alot of what direction to go. If the bike is 4 yrs old or older with the original battery that would indicate possibly a weak battery.

Does it start up well? Turn over quickly or does it kinda drag?

Need more information.

Wayne

[duckdave]

Alternator light coming on/neurtal light not coming on.

While the appearance of two problems at the same time is suspicious, they might be unrelated. And I can't think how they might be related. Will read here for more on this topic from the experts.

What is your idle rpm? If too low, that might explain the alternator light.

What about the widely cited problem with overly tight zip ties around the steering head? Or could the neutral lightbulb simply be burned out?

[mojosaan]

The bike is an October 2004 make with everything original and about 8800 miles. The start up does whine a bit and I've noticed this since I've never put the bike on a battery tender during the winter storage. Aside from this problem and one time while I was cruising, the bike stalled and I couldn't get it started, had it towed, the next day it started up fine and haven't had any other problems. Otherwise, the bike has been fine. This issue puzzles me because I've never had the light come on. On my other bikes, when the batteries went out, it never displayed the light, although my other bikes has been japanese brands. Very puzzling.

[Beemeridian]

33

[boxermania]

mojosaan

Battery light - 1) Loose belt or 2) a bad diode on the charging bridge (this is located in the alternator) either condition will allow less voltage than required to keep the baterry light off.

Neutral light - tTis is a switch located low on the back part of the transmission right around the shock mount. I would check the activaton or the electrical connections.

Starter motor - The whine is indicative of two things 1) dirt or worn bushings, albeit the bike is way to new for that and 2) Missalignmnet of the starter to the ring gear, or too tight a contact between teeth.

If the bike is under warranty or has been worked on by the dealer for any of the above conditions I suggest taking it back to them. Good luck.......

[mojosaan]

Here's an update on my situation. I changed the battery and noticed that the neutral light was still out. So, I checked the fuse, 4 amp, and it was blown. I changed it out and all seemed fine until I took it out for a test ride, then it happened, the fuse blew again. However this time, as I rode the bike back I noticed that the battery light would also come on when I am cruising and the RPM needle would irratically go back and forth on the dial. The bike also stalled one time and it restarted without any problems. So I took it to the dealer and they didn't have a 4 amp fuse so they popped in a 5 amp fuse, test rode it and it didn't blow the fuse. I asked them to order 4 amp fuses and diagnose the problem as I am incomfortable in leaving in the 5 amp fuse.

Anyhow, don't know if anyone has any other ideas they can offer but I'll keep you posted.

[towerworker]

A somewhat, kinda sorta educated guess here.........If it blows a 4 amp fuse but not a 5 that would tell me there is no serious short as it would easily blow a 5 amp fuse as well probably a larger one too. If you are comfortable with a little troubleshooting yourself I would look at the devices and connections associated with that 4 amp circuit. Poor connections or slightly corroded connections will cause a voltage drop which equates to an increase in current drawn--hence the blown fuse. Maybe just a little connection cleaning is all that is necessary.

Same thing happens in common lighting circuits in homes. When a particular lamp seems to blow alot of bulbs it can often be traced to loose or bad connections.

Good luck!

Wayne
04r

[touchton]

What about the widely cited problem with overly tight zip ties around the steering head?

This is where I would look. Could be the wire that supplies current to the neutral light is intermittently shorting to ground. And, it sounds from the other symptoms there may be other wires that are compromised in some way.

.

[mojosaan]

Okay, the dealer said it was a tight zip tie that cause the connector to the instrument panel to have a loose connection. So, far the fuse has not blown and the replacement of my air filter (to K&N), installation of a Techlusion, a Leo Vince slip on, and a set of Dunlop Qualifers, they have given the bike a better sound and lean angle. As far as power goes, seat-of-the-pants dyno meter says lower RPM is minimal but a definite increase in higher RPM range, 5500 - 7000. I'm not sure of the surge issue is gone but it is only my second ride after the change. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. However, looks like BMW needs to make sure the zip ties aren't too tight! Thanks to all with the suggestions!!!

[mojosaan]

Okay, the fix from the dealer lasted a week and the fuse blew again. Except now, I noticed that the tach doesn't fluctuate, it stays zero and the Battery Charge Current Light is always on, no more revving and the light goes away situation, it just stays lighted no matter the revvs. After reading a lot of posts here, I bought some new 4A fused at $1.25 each , cut some zip ties and new the fuse blows immediately after it started and the light is consistently on and the tach doesn't work. This leads me to believe that the alternator is broke. I also checked the poly v belt and that is at spec, so again, I believe it is the alternator. So, I used a multimeter and the voltage from the battery is 12.36 while the bike is off. Once the bike is started and idling, it goes up to 16, which seems like it is charging but in one of the postings on here someone said the voltage should not go over 15, which mine clearly does.

So, what's the right reading I should be getting from the battery when the bike is idling? The manual shop manual says that the alternator should be putting out 18 at 4000 rpm, so why should a reading of 16 at idle be a problem? I am all confused as to what can be causing this problem that seems to be getting worse. Might ths problem be one of the relay's is borken? Once again, any comments and suggestions is much appreciated!