Looking under the seat of my new-to-me 1200DVT, I've got what appear to be two Optimate leads - one the later 'square' pin style (which hangs out of the side panel) and an older style 'round' pin one tucked away. The Round one is connected straight to the battery so no problem there. The square one, however, goes into a plug and then vanishes off into the loom somewhere. I don't want to do any electrical damage so I'm hesitant to plug it into the square one (which my Optimate uses) when I don't know where it goes. Is this a factory thing or has a previous owner done something strange with it? And is it a charging lead at all or maybe a heated clothing lead (not like any modern Gerbing or Keis connection I've seen). Any thoughts appreciated.
Square pin/round pin? This is the current (has been for a while) SAE connector. The square connector, if you can call it that, sounds like the TM71 Tamiya connector they used years ago. On a 1200 DVT you could use one of these which connects to the diagnostic port under the seat. Possibly the previous owner had two different brands of battery tender, one Optimate and another, or older Optimate, that uses the TM71 lead. However, I'll wager another brand as the Ducati diagnostic connector like that wasn't around when Optimate used that connector.
Ah, OK, thanks. So could it be the PO put a Tamiya connector into the dignostic port? If so, presumably not a good idea to plug the Optimate into it? Or not?
You can charge though the diagnostic port. The later lead I linked to does just that. This is what I have on my Multi. Just suprised at the Tamiya connector if it was for an Optimate.
My Optimate has the Tamiya plug. It looks like he's cut off the original plug and joined in the Tamiya. Then someone has put the SAE harness directly on the battery If the Ducati charger fits in the diagnostic port then it should be OK to use my Optimate on it. Thanks for clearing that up.
Just found this page of the Optimate website. Explains all about the subject. Looks like your charger with the Tamiya (TM) connector is pre 2012. Whilst the Euro4 diagnostics port charging option is from 2021, though I don't think that's accurate, bought my Euro4 connector from Optimate shortly after buying my bike in 2018. Think they must be confusing the date with the introduction of the Euro5 port as mentioned on the same page, this sounds correct. I understand that Euro4 was introduced in 2016/17. It would be worth you verifying the battery you have fitted. If the previous owner has fitted both leads, it might be that he's also fitted a Lithium battery and had to change his charger to suit and was too lazy to remove the old lead (can't think why though, simplest of jobs). Plugging your older Optimate in if this is the case wouldn't be a good idea as you need a specific charger for Lithium batteries.
