Battery Tender Plus Went Sour and also Fried My Battery (I think)

[mmvalk]

Hey all, was wondering if any you experienced the following and what you did to resolve. 

I purchased a Batter Tender Plus in October 2004 and have happily used it steadily since to maintain my 1999 Honda Valkyrie's OEM Yusa battery that I replaced less than two years ago.  I went to inspect my motorcycle this morning and heard a distinct clicking sound and when I disconnected the battery tender the sound went away and also noticed that the battery lost it's charge.  I also noticed that the tender displayed a steady green light when disconnected from the motorcycle.  I then disconnected the tender from it's power source, waited a few minutes and reconnected it to the power source and the green light was on despite not connected  to my bike.  I then reconnected the tender to my bike and the clicking noise returned.  I think the tender went sour and fried my battery.

Faulty Battery Tender?  Faulty battery?  Need to replace both?  Preventative measures that I should have taken?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Marty

[DaveD(MI)]

Marty,

I had a post last week about my Battery Tender Jr. It would not bring my battery to full charge, and it actually dropped voltage (slightly) . A couple guys said they are junk and threw them away. Mine emits the green light whenever hooked to ANY battery, even dead.

I think I am going with the CTEK charger. I am sure some CTEK users will chime in and say  how good they are. Sorry to hear about your battery, I know they are not cheap!

[mmvalk]

it's damn disappointing that after more than five years the unit died and while dying fried my battery... 

do any of you recognize the symptoms?  shall i not only get a replacement tender but is it definite that the battery is toast as well? 

[Larry]

Had problems with my tender too not bringing my lawn tractor battery up to full chage this winter. Had it on the bike last year but didn't notice any battery issue then. My battery is 10 years old and have only had a couple times when it died. Once from excessive cranking starting in the spring and the other time when I  got off the bike and left the key on. My other chragers have worked fine.

[RUDE DOG - Steelers]

My battery tender just died last week also.  I used it mostly for my tractor.  I took the advice here and just got one of the CTEK chargers.  Nicely made unit.  Got excellent reviews everywhere I researched.  Supposed to be what Porsche uses and sells as their charger with their name on it.  They also say that this charger can repair a partially damaged battery back to life. So far so good. I got the CTEK 3300 from Amazon for $52 and free shipping.

[Farther]

For what it's worth there is a product evaluation in the April issue of Motorcycle Cruiser magazine.  The seem to like the Pulse Tech X-xtreme Charge.  www.xtremecharge.com

[Ricky-D]

Hey all, was wondering if any you experienced the following and what you did to resolve. 

I purchased a Batter Tender Plus in October 2004 and have happily used it steadily since to maintain my 1999 Honda Valkyrie's OEM Yusa battery that I replaced less than two years ago.  I went to inspect my motorcycle this morning and heard a distinct clicking sound and when I disconnected the battery tender the sound went away and also noticed that the battery lost it's charge.  I also noticed that the tender displayed a steady green light when disconnected from the motorcycle.  I then disconnected the tender from it's power source, waited a few minutes and reconnected it to the power source and the green light was on despite not connected  to my bike.  I then reconnected the tender to my bike and the clicking noise returned.  I think the tender went sour and fried my battery.

Faulty Battery Tender?  Faulty battery?  Need to replace both?  Preventative measures that I should have taken?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Marty

The green light I would surmise, should be on since the tender is not recognizing a low voltage source nor any drain on the tender system.

A poorly charged battery that is failing could be giving your tender 'hell' and also causing you tender to exceed it's design parameters. This could be the cause of your 'clicking'

I wouldn't condemn the tender quite yet, but throw that battery away!

***

[Gryphon Rider]

Why do you think the battery is bad?

it's damn disappointing that after more than five years the unit died and while dying fried my battery... 

do any of you recognize the symptoms?  shall i not only get a replacement tender but is it definite that the battery is toast as well? 

[9Ball]

FWIW...

The BT plus has a 10 year warranty, the BT Jr. has a 5 year warranty.

www.batterytender.com

386-736-7900

maybe tech support can give you some remedy.

[mmvalk]

thanks for the Deltran contact info - I called and they offered to inspect / repair the unit.  they're unsure if the battery caused the problem or if their unit was the cause.  as it is so damn cold here in NYC (more snow forcasted!), I can't ride for a while anyway - I'll send the tender back and wait for their response before spending $89.99 for a new YUA-YTX14BS battery from HDL.  Sheesh!  Anyone know of a cheaper battery source?

Marty

[sandy]

My last battery was from Wal Mart. About $65 and it lasted out here in HOT AZ for 6 years. I'm one of the www.ctek.com charger fans. My 3300 unit is great. My local repair guys (friends too) sell DEKA chargers and use them in the shop as well. They won't sell the battery Tenders because of the problems they've experienced. The Amazon price previously posted was even better than my "good guy" discount I got from the local friends. Go for it.

[mmvalk]

Gryphon Rider - just noticed your question...  after I disconnected the tender from my bike, i had no power at all - no lights, turn signals, horn... 

i'm beginning to think the bttary fried the tender - i think i felt a light electrical charge a day or so ago whilst working on moving my PIAA driving lights from the crash guards to a Headwinds lightbar - does that indicate a battery fault?

I'm going to return the tender to Deltran for repair and wait for their analysis results before purchasing a new battery.  Unless you know for sure that the battery was the cause, if so then I'll just go ahead and buy a battery.

Marty

[Gryphon Rider]

Some auto parts stores will do a free battery load test for you.  If you have this service available, it can't hurt to confirm that the battery is either good or bad.  If your battery is more than five years old, it's probably worth it to replace it if you don't trust it.  Another thing you could do is borrow a buddy's charger and see if that gives you better results.

[John U.]

thanks for the Deltran contact info - I called and they offered to inspect / repair the unit.  they're unsure if the battery caused the problem or if their unit was the cause.  as it is so damn cold here in NYC (more snow forcasted!), I can't ride for a while anyway - I'll send the tender back and wait for their response before spending $89.99 for a new YUA-YTX14BS battery from HDL.  Sheesh!  Anyone know of a cheaper battery source?

Marty

Motorcycle Online Store has Yuasa YTX14-BS a lot cheaper. The YTX14-HBS is 240CCA compared to the standard 200CCA.
The Yuasa batteries will last longer, IMHO

http://www.shopmotorcycleonlinestore.com/productdetail.htm?browse=-19812&productId=-136143&shopBy=-2178&catalogId=-534

[Farther]

Are the Yuasua YTX14-BS and YTX14-HBS the same dimensions?  Or will the YTX14-HBS fit in the Valk battery box?

[mmvalk]

Hey John U - thanks for the link - their batteries are indeed cheaper than HDL's.   The part closest to  YTX14-HBS is YTX14AHL-BS  is that the same battery? 

[John U.]

I checked them out on Yuasa's web site. The HBS is the same size as the BS and both come up as reccomended for the Valk.

[John U.]

Check out the Yuasa website, The HL and AHL are different, not for the Valk.

[R J]

Hey all, was wondering if any you experienced the following and what you did to resolve. 

I purchased a Batter Tender Plus in October 2004 and have happily used it steadily since to maintain my 1999 Honda Valkyrie's OEM Yusa battery that I replaced less than two years ago.  I went to inspect my motorcycle this morning and heard a distinct clicking sound and when I disconnected the battery tender the sound went away and also noticed that the battery lost it's charge.  I also noticed that the tender displayed a steady green light when disconnected from the motorcycle.  I then disconnected the tender from it's power source, waited a few minutes and reconnected it to the power source and the green light was on despite not connected  to my bike.  I then reconnected the tender to my bike and the clicking noise returned.  I think the tender went sour and fried my battery.

Faulty Battery Tender?  Faulty battery?  Need to replace both?  Preventative measures that I should have taken?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Marty

I tried to post here that those Tenders sucked.   Got me a new arse hole ripped out.    Said I was crazy, and the Tender was as good as sliced bread.    Blah Blah Blah.    Yeah BT replaced 3 of them for me, but it cost me the batteries.

I now have a CTEK and it does just fine.    I have monitored it all winter and it brings the battery up to about 12.5 and drops the charge.  It hits close to 11.0 and she kicks in again.   1st time I have been able to spin the old Boy over any time I wanted to in the winter without a boost of some sort.    Same for the Trike.    I alternate the CTEK on these 2 units.  30 days on 1 and then 30 days on the other one.    I'll buy another CTEK this spring.     Then I can keep the mower and the snowblower up on full charge.

Brace yourself for the best-est arse eatin you will ever receive........

I don't usually post to these anymore, but you sounded desperate.   Battery might be junk.   Ditch the Tender, get a CTEK and see if it will bring the battery back.      If memory serves me correctly, I got the CTEK 3000 or 3300 or some damn # starting with 3............   Love it.......

[mmvalk]

Thanks R J and the others that recommended that I trash my tender and buy a CTEK - I just ordered a CTEK Multi US 3300 12V Smart Battery Charger via amazon.com for about $60 all-in.  Will wait to see if this charger will revive my battery before I buy a new one.

Much appreciate all of your prompt and on the mark responses.

Marty

[Ricky-D]

In order to attempt to bring a battery back from the brink you must employ a charger that has not got a tapering charge feature.

The battery needs a jolt from a charger, not a baby paddle. Tapering chargers do not offer this feature. I'm talking about something around 12 amps or so.

Slap it to the battery, break thru the sulfation and see what it will do.  You have to keep an eye on the process and not ignore what is going on.  I think an hour or so would reveal results if there is hope.

You need along with the charger a volt/ohm meter. It is important to check the voltage very close. Wait at least a couple of hours to check the voltage, surface charge must be eliminated. You could also do the same with a illuminating a taillight bulb for two or three minutes.

12.8 volts is the goal.

***

[Farther]

Are the Yuasua YTX14-BS and YTX14-HBS the same dimensions?  Or will the YTX14-HBS fit in the Valk battery box?

In case anyone else has the same question, here is the answer provided by Motorcycle Online Store:  "Yes it is the same size, The H is just heavy duty".

[mmvalk]

just ordered a Yuasa YTX14H-BS from motrocyclestoreonline.com for $75 plus $9.95 shipping...

again much appreciate all of your help.

Marty

[asfltdncr]

I use, and have used for 5 winters now, the cheap ones from Harbor Freight with the same success as the Battery Tender brand.  They cost as little as $4.99-$6.99.  You may have to splice on a different adapter to accommodate your bike.  I don't recall whether they had an SAE fitting on it but they surely have spring-clips.

[valkyriemc]

I use, and have used for 5 winters now, the cheap ones from Harbor Freight with the same success as the Battery Tender brand.  They cost as little as $4.99-$6.99.  You may have to splice on a different adapter to accommodate your bike.  I don't recall whether they had an SAE fitting on it but they surely have spring-clips.

I ocaisionally buy stuff from HF but not a charger. The cheapest I'd go is a bat ten, which I bought on line. Plus the factory is about an hour south of here. My 2C's.

[Curley Wolf]

Been using a battery tender I bought at Walmart and a Walmart battery.  Think I have a short but have replaced battery about every 6 months and wouldn't start when I stopped along side of road last night.  Just ordered a new Yuasa battery and CTEK Smart tender.  Thanks for the info, Guys!!!!