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C400GT DIN Socket?

J

jrk36

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Re C400GT DIN Socket in right hand glove box: I'm away for several weeks and wanted to leave scoot connected to Redarc Smart Charger. I tried using a DIN powerlet plug into that Socket and the charger simply shows the error light 😞. This can mean incorrect polarity or simply not connected.
I took the battery access panel off and connected direct to the battery and it works just fine.
Q: is that DIN Socket not a Powerlet type (just something similar) or have people had issues with it?
 
jrk36 said:
Re C400GT DIN Socket in right hand glove box: I'm away for several weeks and wanted to leave scoot connected to Redarc Smart Charger. I tried using a DIN powerlet plug into that Socket and the charger simply shows the error light 😞. This can mean incorrect polarity or simply not connected.
I took the battery access panel off and connected direct to the battery and it works just fine.
Q: is that DIN Socket not a Powerlet type (just something similar) or have people had issues with it?
Click to expand...
The BMW/DIN-something/Powerlet/Hella socket in the right cubby is powered only when the bike is running, or just SHORTLY after it's turned off. Thus, since the connection outbound isn't on when the bike is not running, neither is the inbound connection back to the battery.

You MAY be able to charge the battery if you hook up a charger through that socket almost immediately after turning off the bike; that is, I think the circuit may remain open if the CANbus senses some current flow in either direction. Even if that's the case, it's an "iffy" situation, i.e., not guaranteed to work; it will certainly NOT work if -- days later -- you have a momentary interruption in your home's electricity, i.e., once your house gets electricity back, even if it's just a few seconds later, that connection through the bike's socket will have been lost.

Basically, your direct connection to the battery is the best way to accomplish what you want to do, because it doesn't involve the CANbus or any "intelligence" governing when the stock outlet is or is not powered.

Here are the relevant pages in the owner's manual that discuss this:

174.webp

175.webp

A variation on what you've wound up doing, but without removing the battery panel cover, is something I've done on all my bikes for 17 years now: add a permanent BMW/DIN-something/Powerlet/Hella socket connected directly to the battery (fused on the hot side) on each bike.

I do this for smart-charging -- I keep my bike(s) on a smart-charger whenever they're in the garage, i.e., each day, just as a matter of principle, to hopefully make the batteries last longer (and also use that socket, although very rarely, for heated gear). I discussed this modification in detail, with lots of pictures, in several posts in this short thread from a few weeks ago:

E

Thread 'Adding power feed for heated clothing'

Hi all,
I ride through the winter unless it's icy, but these days I need something better than the heated grips to keep my hands warm (over the last couple of years I've developed Reynauds condition). I've got a pair of Keiss heated gloves which work great from the bike's 12V system, but I can't decide where to route the power feed - specifically where should the bike end of the harness poke out of the bodywork? The gloves come with a cabling yoke that runs down the jacket sleeves to the gloves and the other end is long enough to reach the bottom edge of the jacket. From there it plugs...

Good luck.
 
Last edited:
mzflorida said:
I charge through the DIN on my 23 model year.
Click to expand...
Good for the community to know (although you know me: I have added direct-to-battery Powerlet sockets on all my bikes since 2007).

A couple of questions:

1) Do you have to plug in the smart-charger within a minute or two of turning off the bike?

2) If you have a power failure in your house, does the smart-charger-to-bike connection still work in your setup when power is restored? (This might be relevant to some folks who leave town over the winter in some parts, and head to, say, Florida.)
 
wspollack said:
Good for the community to know (although you know me: I have added direct-to-battery Powerlet sockets on all my bikes since 2007).

A couple of questions:

1) Do you have to plug in the smart-charger within a minute or two of turning off the bike?

2) If you have a power failure in your house, does the smart-charger-to-bike connection still work in your setup when power is restored? (This might be relevant to some folks who leave town over the winter in some parts, and head to, say, Florida.)
Click to expand...
Those are both good questions. I initiate the charge at different times relative to shutdown. Sometimes the next day, sometimes right away. I have solar and whole house battery backup on this house which prevents us from ever knowing when the power goes out so I cannot answer that. I posted it somewhere here on the site that BMW has confirmed that every one of their bikes with a DIN will accept a charge through that device. I also have the SAE charger plug, and it looks like crap the way it is placed. I'll post a pic on that charging device and test by unplugging.
 
mzflorida said:
Those are both good questions. I initiate the charge at different times relative to shutdown. Sometimes the next day, sometimes right away. I have solar and whole house battery backup on this house which prevents us from ever knowing when the power goes out so I cannot answer that. I posted it somewhere here on the site that BMW has confirmed that every one of their bikes with a DIN will accept a charge through that device. I also have the SAE charger plug, and it looks like crap the way it is placed. I'll post a pic on that charging device and test by unplugging.
Click to expand...
Thanks, re unplugging. Just curious, especially because on our car's forum this issue has been discussed a few times: with that car's software, you have to plug in a charger within something like 15 minutes, and if there's a power failure later the connection is not reestablished.

Re a crap-looking SAE plug, in case you missed a couple of posts I wrote -- and a LOT of pics I included -- you may be interested in this thread from last month:

E

Thread 'Adding power feed for heated clothing'

Hi all,
I ride through the winter unless it's icy, but these days I need something better than the heated grips to keep my hands warm (over the last couple of years I've developed Reynauds condition). I've got a pair of Keiss heated gloves which work great from the bike's 12V system, but I can't decide where to route the power feed - specifically where should the bike end of the harness poke out of the bodywork? The gloves come with a cabling yoke that runs down the jacket sleeves to the gloves and the other end is long enough to reach the bottom edge of the jacket. From there it plugs...
 
Hi, I have a C400 GT 23 model year. I also have an Optimate 4 Dual Program (CAN-bus edition) and an Optimate 4 Quad Programme charger. Both work seamlessly with my C400 GT and CE 04 through the DIN socket. The Quad Program charger is the more user friendly of the two because it is easier to swap between CAN-bus and direct charging mode (used for direct-connection charging to a battery or charging bikes without CAN-bus systems).

Bob
 
I charge my 24 GT through the DIN socket using an Optimate 4 charger no problem.. It also charged my 21 GT for three winters.
You’ve got to set the polarity correctly….
 
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