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Lithium battery use with CAN bus???

4K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  Capt howdy 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone; I'm new here, but just picked up a nice '10 K1300 GT which will be a replacement for my classic '03 1200 GT. As it's a 2010, and has the original battery in it, and seems to be a little weak, I decided to try a lithium battery in it. I have one in my classic 1200 GT and it works great. Unfortunately the CAN bus system in the 1300 doesn't like it! I got all kinds of strange electrical problems like "master caution", "brake failure", warnings and the speedo dropping out for anywhere from a split sec to over a second. I charged the old battery, put it back in and no warnings or issues of any kind.
So my question is two fold; Did I do any damage to anything? Will there be a bunch of codes to clear by the dealer or a GS911? Has anyone else had any experience with a lithium battery and our CAN bus system?
Thanks!
 
#5 ·
OK; For everyone following this thread, thanks for your suggestions. Here's what I've learned and how I resolved it. The "new and improved" Battery Tender by Deltran batteries have a feature they call "Smart BMS" (Battery Management System). It's to protect the battery from over charging, over discharging etc. which is done by a micro processor in the case. The CAN bus computer can "see" this, but can't talk to it, so it went crazy! The previous generation batteries did not have this, and as I have one of those in my classic 1200 GT, it's only a couple years old and has worked great, I swapped them. The 1200 with no CAN bus system doesn't care about the smart BMS chip, so works great in that application, and the older style battery with no chip doesn't upset the 1300's CAN bus, so it's working great in that bike!
Thought I'd pass this on to anyone contemplating the use of a lithium battery. They are smaller, very lite, and have amazing cranking power; claimed 300 Amps or more, so I just got rid of 15 pounds of lead directly under the handlebars. I'll report back on longevity if one of them dies prematurely. Thanks again!
 
#6 ·
So many people use Battery Tenders. They are not the best choice. Work on many bikes but not all. And what really riles my toast is that it is a common name for maintenance chargers in general in many circles. Sixty five percent of electrical problems are dead or failing batteries. I keep my bikes on maintenance chargers all the time and I know this covers up a failed battery (capacity). I keep an eye on this problem. I keep spare dry charge Yuasa batteries on the shelf. I change batteries every 2 years. No problems 1500 miles from home.
 
#7 ·
I tried a Earth X Lithium battery for my K1200R and learned to hate it. I live in the Northeast US and it gets pretty COLD in the winter. The battery does NOT like cold and is very slow cranking in the winter. I had days where I had to jump it to get it to start when it was in the teens 15 -20 deg F. It doesnt even like the 30 deg F range.
My YUSA battery is 100% better and cost a TON less and works fantastic. Even in very cold weather. No more lithium batteries for me.
 
#8 ·
I tried a Earth X Lithium battery for my K1200R and learned to hate it. I live in the Northeast US and it gets pretty COLD in the winter. The battery does NOT like cold and is very slow cranking in the winter. I had days where I had to jump it to get it to start when it was in the teens 15 -20 deg F. It doesnt even like the 30 deg F range.
My YUSA battery is 100% better and cost a TON less and works fantastic. Even in very cold weather. No more lithium batteries for me.
Good to know about the lithium batteries dislike of cold weather. I'm in CA where we rarely even get a lite frost in the winter, so hopefully not a problem here.
Thanks for adding your note!
 
#10 ·
Yep Lithium hates the cold....but are great when above about 10-15c......much lighter and heaps of cracking power...and no need for battery tenders. Just give them a top up charge if you leave them sitting for long periods or just before a start up in cold weather. (for some reason they seem to like a 'wake up' charge /discharge in the cold)
 
#12 ·
I have had a lithium battery for 5 years in my k12 r with absolutely no problems. Canbus doesn’t care what battery is fitted so long as it meets specifications. The other big advantage with a lithium battery is the weight. Around 20% of that of a wet battery. Given the high placement of the Ks battery this makes a massive difference to the ‘flickability’ of the bike. The battery can be a bit slow in really cold weather but turning the headlight on to warm it up works fine. I will not go back to a wet battery.
 
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