technical battery tender question.

[shadowfist]

I got my bike fired up last night and in the excitement i managed to drop my battery tender (the power brick that plugs in the wall) about 4 feet onto concrete. once i got back from my quick ride around the block i plugged it back in and the red LED started flashing (which is normal when nothing is plugged in) and when i plugged the tender into the bike the LED went solid red (also normal when it is charging a battery)

now, when i got up this morning to ride my bike to work the LED was still red which i though was strange as usually an over-night on the charger tops off the battery (which was full when i finally got the bike started last night). when i tried to start the battery it was (nearly) completely dead. all it did was click without the starter motor turning the engine. so obviously the tender did not charge the battery and was not charging the battery as it thought it was.

I have a DVM or DMM i guess, but is there way way to test my tender to see if it really is trying to charge it or if it just THINKS its trying to charge it? what sort of response should i get out of the tender? or out of the battery with and without the tender plugged in.
did i kill my week old tender?

[geisterfahrer]

What brand of battery tender are you using? I have a Battery MINDer, and it has two LEDs on the brick. When it is plugged into the wall, you have one green LED to indicate AC power, and then the red LED indicates whether the battery is charging or in maintenance mode. The instructions warn that leaving the unit connected to the battery without plugging it into the wall will drain your battery. So, if you have a broken internal AC connection, it may not be receiving AC power even when it is plugged into an outlet.

[bonanzadave]

I just measured my tender output at 13.27VDC

[shadowfist]

mine is the deltran battery tender Jr.
I will check the voltage tonight. thanks bonanza!

[MelodicMetalGod]

Mine is the Battery Tender brand and has the same light indicators that you mention. After over two years, my battery is in great shape. I'd guess that, if the battery was fine (and not on it's last legs anyway) when you hooked up and dead the next morning, that the Tender may have someting crossed up that is actually draining the battery somehow.

Also, the red/green light on the Tender can cycle periodically as the Tender is "tending" to the battery - it monitors the batterys state and charges/turns off as needed to maintain the battery. Thus, at any given time, when connected either red or green light may be on (although, usually red at initial connection for a while).

FYI: The instructions with my Tender (actually the "Jr." version) indicate that the brick should not be plugged into a power source (outlet) until AFTER the connection to the battery is completed. Also, I'm supposed to unplug the from the outlet BEFORE I disconnect on the battery side. Not sure why, but I've followed those instructions for 2+ years with no issues.

[shadowfist]

FYI: The instructions with my Tender (actually the "Jr." version) indicate that the brick should not be plugged into a power source (outlet) until AFTER the connection to the battery is completed. Also, I'm supposed to unplug the from the outlet BEFORE I disconnect on the battery side. Not sure why, but I've followed those instructions for 2+ years with no issues.

that may be my problem, i had been leaving it plugged in to the wall and just plugging and unplugging the bike from the lead.
hopefully I will get it charged up when i get home, otherwise i guess i am calling amazon ;-P

[bonanzadave]

I leave mine plugged in all the time. Its supplying pwr to my auto phone charger cause the damn dog ate my home charger. Anyway it still works !

[Steve]

Not sure how the circuitry is on the Deltran units (but they are rated among the best), but some chargers need to sense a load before they actually put out anything that is measureable.

If you are looking for a reasonably-priced replacement, consider the Schumacher charger/maintainer from Wal-Mart. It is less than $20 and does the same job as the Battery Tenders from Deltran. I have four of them here and they have all been working will for several years.

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[SqDancerLynn1]

They want you to unplug it from the wall first to avoid sparks That could ignite the fumes & blow up in your face. Makes no difference to the battery. I have a $6 harbor freight .75a float charger and a conventional 1A charger that is probably 25 years old. You shoulc be able to fix it although you might have to wrap with ducktape to put it back together

[twistedwankel]

. when i tried to start the battery it was (nearly) completely dead. all it did was click without the starter motor turning the engine. so obviously the tender did not charge the battery and was not charging the battery as it thought it was.

You shouldn't have to recharge the battery every nite. Your battery must be on it's last legs or your stator is going/gone bad.

I only put the tender on when the bike will sit for several days or more and gets below 12.3VDC. It ususally puts it back to 12.6VDC full charge in a couple hours and shuts off.

[GQROD]

Not sure how the circuitry is on the Deltran units (but they are rated among the best), but some chargers need to sense a load before they actually put out anything that is measureable.

If you are looking for a reasonably-priced replacement, consider the Schumacher charger/maintainer from Wal-Mart. It is less than $20 and does the same job as the Battery Tenders from Deltran. I have four of them here and they have all been working will for several years.

.

Not to jack the thread but i have this Schumacher unit and has worked fine, however i noticed that the plastic housing on the top and the bottom has expanded slightly to form a dome. Have you had or heard of this problem with this unit? Thanks