Battery Tender Failure

[SpidyJ]

Anybody had one go out?..........mine's about 20 years old.

Lights go on etc but won't keep the battery charged.

Guess I can just look for a 12V output?

[Bighead]

You sure your battery just won't hold a charge? Have you tried to meter the charger to see if it is actually not working?

[SpidyJ]

You sure your battery just won't hold a charge? Have you tried to meter the charger to see if it is actually not working?

If I just put a meter across it w/o a load I get zero volts, red light blinking.
If I hook it up to the battery I get 12V the ligt goes solid red and I get 12V.  But that could just be the battery voltage?

Shouldn't I get an open circuit voltage of 12V with no battery hooked up?

[DLSSOJC]

I had a Battery Tender Jr. go out that I bought new 2-3 years ago? At the same time I have a 12 year old Yuasa tender and a 9 year old Harley tender still going strong. Anything electronic is subject to go out at anytime.

[Grandpot]

Battery Tenders are designed not to have an output unless they are connected to a good battery.  The battery can be discharged, but must be in otherwise good condition.  Check the voltage of the battery before connecting the battery tender and then after it is connected.

[sandy]

RJ and I use a CTEK 3300. Go to their website and read. I wouldn't have a Bat Tender. Too many failures reported.

[Jess from VA]

My 4 are still perfect after many years.

They will not bring a dead or low battery back up (they won't even try).  Put a regular charger on 10 amps for 4-5 hours, then see if the BTender is really shot. 

Edit, that's for a car battery. 

If a bike battery, stick a regular charger on 3-5amps for half a day or so, then try.

[SpidyJ]

The battery is bad.  Won't hold a full charge.
I am so sick of buying batteries every year.
Won't be able to tell if the Tender is good until I get the replacement.
I ordered a Yuasa YTX14 BS.....hope it lasts longer than one season!
What makes these batteries go bad so fast?

[9Ball]

The battery is bad.  Won't hold a full charge.
I am so sick of buying batteries every year.
Won't be able to tell if the Tender is good until I get the replacement.
I ordered a Yuasa YTX14 BS.....hope it lasts longer than one season!
What makes these batteries go bad so fast?

A short answer...the Yuasa battery you listed above should last anywhere from 5 to 10 years as many of us here can attest.  You have some other issue if you're only getting one year out of these batteries.  Two things that make them last...follow the initial fill/charge procedure to a "T" and keep the battery on the tender whenever you let the bike sit for longer than a week without running.  My 15 year old Valkyrie is on it's third battery and both the replaced batteries were changed based on time and for reliability prior to cross-country trips rather than failure of the battery.

Good luck...

[SpidyJ]

I was keeping the bike on the Tender all the time.

Will that kill the batteries prematurely?

[Ricky-D]

Not all Yuasa's are equal.

Jus sayin'

***

[R J]

I used to use BT's and it got so I bought at least one new battery a year.    Dam glad I was getting a discount at the time.

I stumbled across this Ctek 3300 battery maintainer.   That was like 5  maybe 7 years ago. I'm still on the original battery that it started on.

I still say BT's do a # on a battery, like frying it like a hard yolk egg.    I have tossed all of my BT's in the trash.

Neighbor heard I dumped them and wanted one.   Told him I didn't trust the damn thing.   He gave me some smart assed response like too bad you don't know how to use it.

Gave him the BT, and walked off.   Last spring he hollered at me and said you gave me a mucked upp battery maintainer.    I think you owe me a battery.   Told him to shove the new battery up his butt, since I had warned him.    He came over a couple of weeks ago and said the old BT had fried his battery.  Told him I warned him, he walked off and wasn't in a huff like he was when he came over............

I hate it when ya tell someone something and they call you a liar.   That's when I give in and let them have the product..............

[sandy]

RJ: That was me that posted the CTEK info and you bought one. Amazon sells the 3300 model for about $51.

I used to use BT's and it got so I bought at least one new battery a year.    Dam glad I was getting a discount at the time.

I stumbled across this Ctek 3300 battery maintainer.   That was like 5  maybe 7 years ago. I'm still on the original battery that it started on.

I still say BT's do a # on a battery, like frying it like a hard yolk egg.    I have tossed all of my BT's in the trash.

Neighbor heard I dumped them and wanted one.   Told him I didn't trust the damn thing.   He gave me some smart assed response like too bad you don't know how to use it.

Gave him the BT, and walked off.   Last spring he hollered at me and said you gave me a mucked upp battery maintainer.    I think you owe me a battery.   Told him to shove the new battery up his butt, since I had warned him.    He came over a couple of weeks ago and said the old BT had fried his battery.  Told him I warned him, he walked off and wasn't in a huff like he was when he came over............

I hate it when ya tell someone something and they call you a liar.   That's when I give in and let them have the product..............

[9Ball]

I was keeping the bike on the Tender all the time.

Will that kill the batteries prematurely?

No, I have done this for years without problem; however, if you by chance have a bad battery tender then that may be the problem.  Tenders are different than trickle chargers and should not be confused for each other.  A trickle charger will kill a good battery if improperly used.

My other post references the fill/initial charge issue.  If you buy your battery dry, make sure to follow the fill times precisely and charge using the amperage/time guide on the battery.  An incomplete or improper initial charge will definitely result in a poor performing battery.

[SpidyJ]

Not all Yuasa's are equal.

Jus sayin'

***

Rut Roh.........did I buy the wrong one?

[Hef]

I have a BT I have used for over 15 yrs and in that time I have bought two batteries. The second battery I have now is 7+ yrs old and still good. By the way what kind of oil do you use?

[Jess from VA]

I was keeping the bike on the Tender all the time.

Will that kill the batteries prematurely?

No, I have done this for years without problem; however, if you by chance have a bad battery tender then that may be the problem.  Tenders are different than trickle chargers and should not be confused for each other.  A trickle charger will kill a good battery if improperly used.

My other post references the fill/initial charge issue.  If you buy your battery dry, make sure to follow the fill times precisely and charge using the amperage/time guide on the battery.  An incomplete or improper initial charge will definitely result in a poor performing battery.

I'm with 9Ball, my bikes stay on Battery Tender Juniors  24 X 7 X 365 when not riding or traveling.  In the past, I had up to 4 bikes doing the same thing.  I have never lost a battery or a Battery Tender, and only replaced a battery after 10-11 years just cause I thought I better. (never a Walmart battery)

I also have a Battery Tender Plus I keep on my car the same way, since I only drive it twice a month.

Can a Batter Tender go bad?  Well, I'm sure it's possible...... but mine haven't, under continuous use around 10 years.

Now I murdered a HOG battery with a quarter amp straight trickle charger over a winter (20 years ago), cause it never stops charging..... had overcooked battery acid do a number on my frame powder coat too.

[SpidyJ]

It was the battery and the Tender.  The Tender won't come off red with the brand new Yuasa that I charged with my 2/6A charger.

Bought a Cetek 3000 too.

The bike starts so fast now it scares me. 

[Brian]

I am using the Argus Battery Bug voltage meter wired directly to the battery terminals. I see my battery voltage all the time, on the BT, and while running. I check it every time I plug the BT in and after disconnecting it. I am glad I added this as it let me know my 7 year old Yuasa was starting to get low. Although, I put the old Yuasa in my garden tractor last spring and it still starts my 13hp Kohler engine. Now that I have my Cub Cadet adapted to hold this smaller battery I plan to buy another Yuasa for the bike when the tractor needs a new battery.  Sure beats buying tractor batteries that don't last. 

[cookiedough]

I'm no battery expert, but the best way to charge in my opinion is on a 1 to 1.5 amp trickle/battery charger for say 10-12 hours or more once filled up with acid.  Having 2-3 amps or more is not good for a cycle battery, slower charge is better always on a cycle/garden, etc. smaller battery. 

I never have used a battery tender since I drove my cycle April thru November at least once every 2 weeks never had an issue.  I take out for winter use and charge it from Dec. thru March on 1.5 amp battery charger.  I usually get 5-6 years on a Yuasa vs. cheaper made cycle batteries 2-3 years tops. I'll pay the extra 30 bucks or so to get a better quality better to hopefully not leave me stranded since don't want to push my VAlkyrie anytime soon.

Yuasa is one of the better batteries.  I got mine with separate acid pack good prices on amazon.com

Speaking of batteries,  my darn HP laptop battery will not hold a charge and just found the 1 year warranty receipt 3 days prior to 1 full year just now after hunting for that darn receipt.  Hey, don't laugh on keeping receipts,  the battery was 75 bucks 1 year ago and is not 99.99.  The store should replace even swap I would think tomorrow going in thus saving 100 bucks (minus 20 in gas to get there and back)  I hope I don't have to pay the extra 25 dollar price increase.  Heck, my 5 year old HP 17" laptop has gone thru 3 batteries now and now going to be the 4th in 5 years.   Previous battery went 1.5 years.  Pays to keep receipts I guess?  Store better not give me any slack spent 30 minutes going thru all my receipts to find it. 

Next laptop won't be an HP and will not be 17" since I know for a fact the 17" laptops take a ton more battery juice than a 15.6" laptop and batteries don't last as long and not as much run time on a bigger laptop screen since takes more juice to keep it running.

[pancho]

Here is an article on the power requirements of different systems in a laptop.

             http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.87.5604&rep=rep1&type=pdf