CE 04 Charger locked on bike after charging

[Delray]

PRO TIP if your charger stays locked on the bike after charging: Press and hold the arrow on the BMW key fob. That should release it. Found that tip on the Facebook CE 04 page and it worked. Just sharing here.

Here's the story ....

Charged my CE 04 overnight at my house. When it was finished, I turned on the bike and unplugged the power, as I normally do. But instead of the satisfying "thunk" of the charger lock releasing ... nothing. The charger remained locked on the bike. A few seconds later, a nasty message appeared on the screen (photo).

That hasn't happened in my three weeks of ownership. Never happened to the previous owner in his three years. I turned the bike on and off. Plugged and unplugged. The charger stayed locked. I checked the owner's manual and found an "emergency release lever" behind the front fairing beneath the windscreen. Easy to remove the fairing. There's a handle-type slot at the top. Gently work it toward you and it slides forward.

My bike, a '22 U.S. model, clearly does not have the release lever shown in the manual. I noticed the OBD port for diagnostics, so that's good to know. I started Googling for answers and found the aforementioned tip on Facebook. That easy solution made my day. I LOVE the CE 04 but it's still new to me, and the unknown boogieman of "an electronics problem" that requires a dealer visit still looms in the dark parts of my imagination. I admit to thinking, "maybe a gas-powered bike isn't so bad" this morning. But the ending was happy. I continue to think this might be the best motorcycle in the world, and I'm lucky to own one.

 

[Fleabag]

The manual says to turn on the bike then release the charging cable. You unplugged the power supply before releasing the charging cable which may have somehow go you into this situation.

 

[Delray]

The manual says to turn on the bike then release the charging cable. You unplugged the power supply before releasing the charging cable

Prior to turning on the bike and releasing the charging cable, the manual says, "end the charging process at the charging station BEFORE (emphasis mine) detaching the charging cable." However, these are instructions specifically for charging at a charging station. The manual does not give a step-by-step for domestic charging.

In my mind, unplugging from my household socket was the equivalent of "ending the charging process at the charging station." Perhaps not. I swear I've done it this way a few times, but I can't be sure. I know turning on the bike did not produce the "thunk" of the charger being released -- which is what you're saying the manual is instructing.

I'll start with that next time, turn on the bike to see if the charger releases. Admittedly I'm still getting the hang of this. I feel much better knowing the key fob will release the charger if I don't follow the right procedure. Thanks.

 

[Fleabag]

Prior to turning on the bike and releasing the charging cable, the manual says, "end the charging process at the charging station BEFORE (emphasis mine) detaching the charging cable." However, these are instructions specifically for charging at a charging station. The manual does not give a step-by-step for domestic charging.

In my mind, unplugging from my household socket was the equivalent of "ending the charging process at the charging station." Perhaps not. I swear I've done it this way a few times, but I can't be sure. I know turning on the bike did not produce the "thunk" of the charger being released -- which is what you're saying the manual is instructing.

I'll start with that next time, turn on the bike to see if the charger releases. Admittedly I'm still getting the hang of this. I feel much better knowing the key fob will release the charger if I don't follow the right procedure. Thanks.

I hear you. My thought that ending the charging process at the charging station is a shutdown “process” as opposed to just yanking the plug which is an unexpected power loss.

 

[Delray]

My thought that ending the charging process at the charging station is a shutdown “process” as opposed to just yanking the plug which is an unexpected power loss.

Good point. I likely had the bike turned on when I unplugged, which may have screamed "power loss" to the bike. I'll unplug with the bike off, then turn it on and see if it releases. Pretty sure that's been my routine at home.

Simply haven't done this enough times to be sure of my sequence (had the bike three weeks as of yesterday, charged it three times, twice at home and once at ChargePoint).

If anyone has a domestic/household sequence they're 100% sure of, please cite it. Thx.

 

[Delray]

To close the loop, I just had a trouble-free "uncoupling" experience with this simple procedure:

1. Unplug from household socket.
2. Turn on the bike. I heard the "thunk" of the charger lock release ...
3. Unplug the charger.

It's that easy. I'm guessing I ran into my original issue of the charger not being released because I unplugged while the bike was turned on. The manual says if the bike senses a power interruption, it will wait for power to return then resume charging. So the bike was waiting, and not unlocking, while I was waiting in vain for it to unlock.

 

[Tron]

I admit to thinking, "maybe a gas-powered bike isn't so bad" this morning.

With my current G1250GS, the tank doesn't have a key anymore but unlocks with the remote unlock via the key fob. Some people have had the issue of that not working somehow, which left them standing at the gas station with an empty bike and a locked tank. Pretty much the same situation, if you ask me...

 

[wspollack]

With my current G1250GS, the tank doesn't have a key anymore but unlocks with the remote unlock via the key fob. Some people have had the issue of that not working somehow, which left them standing at the gas station with an empty bike and a locked tank. Pretty much the same situation, if you ask me...

That's the same deal with my current '23 and my former '22 C 400 GTs: gas cap unlocks in the presence of the fob, within a minute or something like that of turning off the bike.

I think there's a thread on this issue in the 400 forum. In any event, a gas-cap problem is not a show-stopper for me, because (as I posted in another thread somewhere) I carry this little thing in my Shad topcase on the 400:



(And the BMW toolkit comes with a T25 gizmo, too, but I keep that toolkit under the seat, along with the rest of my tools.) Bottom line is it's pretty trivial to take out the Torx screws on the gas-cap rim, and you then can move the cap out of the way.

Oh, and the springy latch on the cap should be oiled once in a while, too, or it may get stuck.

(I keep a spare button battery for the fob in the topcase, too, because you can't be too careful.)