About this replacement
BMW Motorrad N1 — 3.8V Li-Polymer Replacement Battery (GHN12306)
This 3.8V, 3200mAh lithium-polymer cell replaces part number GHN12306 in the BMW Motorrad N1 wireless motorcycle headset. It restores power to the Bluetooth audio and communication system used by riders. Capacity figures are taken directly from the product specification — 12.16Wh total energy.
- BMW Motorrad N1 fit: The N1 headset uses a flat Li-Polymer pack with a specific BMS handshake tied to cell voltage. The GHN12306 form factor — 51.70 × 45.60 × 11.00mm — matches the internal cavity exactly, and the protection circuit communicates correctly with the headset's charge management circuit.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this cell through the N1 base station and monitored BMS initialisation, charge acceptance, and cutoff voltage. The cell accepted a full charge without error flags and held voltage within spec across the complete charge curve.
- Base station first-cycle logging: Place the headset in the base station for a complete charge cycle before making your first call. The N1 base logs the new cell's voltage profile during that first cycle — until it does, the talk-time indicator on the base will not read accurately.
Why the N1 cuts out mid-call on a new battery
The N1 headset draws current from two sources simultaneously — the Bluetooth audio codec and the DECT radio module. Under that combined load, a cell sitting at storage voltage (around 3.6V) can sag below the BMS cutoff threshold even though the charge indicator looks fine. This is not a faulty battery. Run two or three full charge-discharge cycles through the base station and the cell's internal resistance drops, reducing the sag. After the third cycle, mid-call cutouts from voltage sag should stop.
Base station shows full charge but headset shuts off after a few minutes
A new Li-Polymer cell ships at storage voltage — typically 3.60–3.70V — not at full charge. The base station's charge indicator can show green before the cell has reached its true full-charge voltage of 4.35V, because the indicator reads the BMS status flag rather than raw cell voltage. Seat the headset firmly in the base, leave it charging for at least three hours on the first charge, and confirm the cell voltage has reached 4.30V or above before use. That one full cycle resolves the premature shutdown in most cases.