My £20 charger stopped working, split cable, so I bought a new Optimate 4 canbus enabled charger. My question is this, do I have to charge through the canbus system or can I attach an ordinary Optimate cable directly to the battery and charge it that way. If I can do that, what are the advantages of doing it through the canbus or are there any disadvantages of doing it, for want of better words, the normal way. Don't want to fry my electrics on the Multi, but don't want to spend an extra £27 on another piece of cable.
As far as I can tell, the Canbus option is for charging via the power output sockets. You can still wire it directly as before and it'll work 'normally' The Canbus sockets are disconnected on switch off, so you'd need the 'Canbus option' to keep them activated if charging via them. It's advantages are that you don't have to do the extra work adding the charge cable-just use the existing accessory sockets.
If your using the Optimate one ibg, you still have to fit the Optimate accessory cable 0-47 (£27), but it doesn't go into any of the power outlet's, it fits into I think it's called a DDA ?socket, which then has a female opposite end for the male end attached to the Optimate.
The DDA socket has a permanent +12V (pin1) and ground (pin2), so the charger gets it's connection to the battery through that. Nothing to do with the CANBUS, although for BMWs that may be different as, from reading their website, I think the Optimate uses the CANBUS to keep the socket active for charging.
I think it says in the Optimate 4 instructions you can connect directly to the battery when using in Can Bus mode.I ave previously used a standard Optimate cargwr on a Can Bus bike with no problems.
So I don't need the canbus mode. If I connect an ordinary (normal) Optimate cable, directly to the battery and charge normally and there shouldn't be any issues ? I only need the canbus mode to charge through a hella port should I so wish on a (BMW or Ducati) then. Sorry for being so naive about this electric stuff. It's all alchemy to me
