Anyone with a Multi 1200 or more specifically a 1260, have a parasitic draw on the battery? my 2018 1260s is on its second battery now. I have it on a battery tender when parked in the garage, and the battery tender is plugged into a timed outlet that turns the power on every other day, for 5 hours. I just checked the battery voltage using the dash, and it indicated 11.6v DC ...
just checked voltage when the bike is idling ... at warmed up idle, 13.8 - 14.2v DC. next, I will measure the battery tender to see what voltage it is putting out when in charge mode.
just checked what the battery tender is putting out ... 13.8v DC ... but indeed, that might be the tender's "float" mode, as the bike's battery is charged at the moment. I really HATE electrical issues.
I have not ... the only additional electrical add-ons I have added is a Garmin Zumo XT GPS, and that draws power from the factory "keyed" power plug, under the left side top of the fuel tank on the 1260s. I am going to try leaving the battery tender on 24/7 when the bike is not being ridden (https://www.batterytender.com/Batte...attery-ChargerBattery-Tender-6V-12V-4A-Select) that supposedly automatically switches from charge mode to float mode . the previous Battery Tender I had connected to the 1260s was a 6 year old battery Tender Jr model ... and it decided to do a murder suicide on the original battery ... which prompted me to get this upgraded model, and put it on a timer to not be on all the time. so, I removed the timer from the equation now, leaving the tender plugged in and powered on all the time when connected to the bike. will monitor to see what happens. I REALLY dislike electrical issues ... my father was an electrical engineer, trained in the Royal Navy ... and he was always teasing me on my inability to grasp electrical issues ... but he could not deal with mechanical issues, which I excel at ... so it all evened out ;-)
I have a 2018 1260s, plugged into the optimate 24/7 when not in use and never had a problem. Watching this with interest. Hope you get to the bottom of this issue.
If the tender is left connected to the battery and not powered from the mains the electronics in the charger will draw the battery down. Suggest leaving the tender unplugged once the battery is fully charged and seeing what happens or leave permanently powered like I do. Never had a problem.
I think it might be 'just you' gmoss, as I've seldom had any need to change a battery at three years, five years or in one case, until it was 8 years old and only then as it wasn't properly charged by a bike storage place where I had the bike stored for circa 5 months.
The LED on the battery tender will draw current from the battery in the same way an alarm LED will do if its connected to the bike and not switched on. You are also likely powering some diagnostics in the charger too which will enhance the current draw rate Either leave it switched on, or unplug the lead from the bike, your issues should be sorted.
well, in the continuing saga of John vs. anything electrical ... I was trying to do a parasitic draw test on the battery earlier, using my father's Fluke 79 III multimeter ... and while video chatting with a friend who actually KNOWS electronics/electrical things, we ascertained that the fuses inside the Fluke are blown. so, as every single electrical supply store in my area has closed down over the years ... ordered a set of both fuses on Amazon. hopefully I can actually complete a parasitic draw test once the new fuses arrive.
Yep, I did that on mine as well. You are likely aware that you need to wait for a while, forget but maybe up to 3min, for the bikes monitoring circuitry to go to sleep? One other thing (I do not know this for sure tho but worth bearing in mind) is that if you have the key in close proximity it can use more standby power than it should.
You will be aware I assume, that the act of attaching a multimeter to check any current leakage, will also draw some current itself
I’ve nothing to offer on this other than a degree of surprise as to how often my Optimate appears to be charging the battery. i.e more often than not. I leave it permanently switched on.
@john clelland Hi John, Although this does not address the parasitic draw directly, I've had an Anti-Gravity Lithium on my 1260 from day 1 with no such issues. I seldomly put in on the tender. Prior to winterization, I top-it-up, disconnect the negative and leave it in a freezing cold garage without a tender. No issues in the spring.
so ... I've decided not to risk blowing up the entire electrical grid in my surrounding neighborhood by attempting to further test this issue ... and instead have decided to simply leave the Multi connected to the Battery Tender while it is parked in the garage. that said, I have not been idle ... I decided to install a set of EBC Double H sintered pads on the front (cleaning the calipers fully, deglazing the rotors with acetone and Scottish-brite pads, bleeding and replacing the brake fluid with Motul RBF 600) ...and also bled and replaced the fluid in the clutch line as well. later this week, will remove the slip-on, rear wheel and right side passenger peg bracket, so I can replace the pads on the rear caliper ... and do the same steps (clean caliper, clean rotor, etc...). mechanical tasks are fun and easy for me ... electrical, not so much ;-)
