Battery Tender Jr. observations and suprise

[CurtG]

Why?

bbad design? There likely isn't a new electronic equiped vehicle out there that doesn't draw atleast a milliamp or 3 when it's shut down. It's the price we pay for the convience of the electronics. I spent 30 some odd years dealing with alarm panels withvarying degrees of "smart" charging circuits in them. Some good some horrible and even the good ones could have benefitted from better componets. A battery tender's smarts are only as ghood as the componets in the comparator circuit that controls it. I'venever bothered to watch either one of ours.Doesn't matter howw long we're out both the Bug and the Ural will want to start off showing a charge state as long as they're green when I'm ready to go they're doing what I bought 'em for. For the price and ther convience f no cooked batteries they're great, but I'd be surprised if any of the internals are better than 10% tolerance.

Ride and ride safe,

 

[Dan_Ashley]

Can an old batter tender overcharge the battery causing damage to any of the electronics on a Spyder?

 

[Magdave]

Can an old batter tender overcharge the battery causing damage to any of the electronics on a Spyder?

Good question I have a HF tender and after looking at the specs it said" not for use on an AGM battery" which is what we have. Why I do not know but BT Jr. states they are compatible.

 

[NancysToy]

I agree that Dave is reading too much into the idiot light .. er ...LED Indicator.

A good multimeter will only show battery voltage which can be a real fooler.
A really crappy battery hooked to a charger can read in the high 13 volt range and give you the impression that all is well when, in reality, it's only a surface charge.

I should have been more clear. The battery voltage should be read when off the charger. Readings at the end of a ride, the next morning, after charging, etc., will tell a bit more than the idiot lights. Even then, it is probably not worth worrying about.

 

[ARtraveler]

Good timing. My :spyder2:'s go on the battery tenders today. Will pay some attention to the lights, etc. :thumbup:

 

[Bob Denman]

Dave,
YOu're always bringing some VERY interesting conversations to these screens. Thanks! :thumbup:

 

[Magdave]

Dave,
YOu're always bringing some VERY interesting conversations to these screens. Thanks! :thumbup:

I try no sense in being boring. :thumbup: I don't mind a little controversy either ( I am sure you have noticed) nothing like getting the blood pumping. :roflblack:

 

[Bob Denman]

:thumbup: Even though I kind of prefer that blood just pool up; nice and quietly... :shocked:

 

[bluestratos]

I use the CTEK 3300 to charge and maintain my Spyder. The charging system on the bike never completely tops the battery off on mine, so if I leave it for a week or so it barely starts. I first tried a battery tender and it was ok but died in a few months. I replaced it with the 3300 which is a more sophisticated set up and does an even better job of keeping the battery in top condition. When I come back from a ride, just like you, it will charge red for a few hours. But, if I disconnect it and plug it back in after a few minutes it will start red but switch back to green in less than a minute. Since I have been using it I get great cold starts every time.

Now.. don't ask me about my $400 Shori Battery...

 

[zbunker]

Harbor Freight float charger, and the colored lights---ala Timmothy Leary

I used my new Battery Tender Jr. last night for the first time and was a little surprised . First the back story. The way the light works goes like this
1. When you plug it in the wall it will flash red( no load or connection).
2. When you connect it properly if below 80% charge it will go solid red.
3. When it reaches 80% it will flash green until fully charged( low amperage charge).
4. When fully charged it will go solid green (full charge/ float mode).

So here is the surprise. I went for a 1/2 hr ride yesterday after it sat for a week. Enough to charge the battery? Nope.
After plugging it in it went solid red for 4 hours until the next stage ( flash green 80% charge level) kicked in. It was solid green this morning. So apparently my battery was below 80 % ( how much :dontknow and this was after a ride that I thought should be charging it back up. I am guessing sitting a week can take the battery down over 20% although there was no starting issue. I guess this makes the case for using a device like this and to realize it takes much more than a 1/2 hr ride to charge the battery up after sitting. It is good to know that it works as advertised and that not using one may lead to a no start sooner than later. Also low batteries can pop codes. For $23 on Amazon it something worth having and using. I have read posts of people who never use a float charger all winter and still start in the spring. I am wondering how they can do that and I do not like buying new batteries every 1-2 yrs ( like my mower guess I gotta get one for it too). I am impressed with the quality and function of the unit I have a Harbor Freight float charger but it does not give any feed back on battery condition. IMHO money well spent.:thumbup:

The next step is to see what happens after my next ride and see if and how long it takes to get to full charge or if the bike cannot keep it at full charge.

I too have the Harbor Freight Float charger, and here is my trick. Stick an amp meter in the circuit. Don't be looking at lights. (Dig on the colors man. You 60's generation crowd are all alike. :joke:.....Actually, me too!:yikes: ) Numbers are a lot more fun. The next time you see a 20% discount in a Harbor Freight ad, and they offer the free multimeter, (or go for the 4 bucks if they don't) pick one up and measure the amperage of the charge, not the voltage. I find that after a ride- long or short- plugging in the float charger with the amp meter in the circuit, the amp reading starts around 0.5A on a 10 Amp scale. Over a short period of time, the meter readings start to fall, and level out in the neighborhood of around 0.03Amp.
(For whatever it means, the led always shows red)
Now the real fun part. The HF meter is powered by a 9 volt battery. I found a 6 volt DC transformer and wired it in to the meter. Not only does the meter constantly take readings, the transformer runs cool. So you can always measure the change in current flow to the battery, and not have to depend on the flashing colored lights, man:joke:

Of course if one does not want to go through all the hassles attempting to take a constant battery operated digital reading, one can always use the the old fashioned dinosaur non battery method using an analog amp meter. It may be a bit more difficult to get a "precise" reading, but it is a quick and dirty way to get a "ball park" reading of what is going on.

 

[Polish Eagle]

I did not know that the RT is pulling power even when the key is in the "OFF" position. Its seems like this is a bad design - and this is the reason some have battery tenders on their Spyders when they stop riding. Sorry - did not know that just having a bike sit around for 2 weeks could drain the battery because power is still being pulled from the battery.

Do the dealers inform new Spyder RT owners of the battery drainage situation? Or is this something that you have to figure out on your own?

I found a tender in the frunk of mine when I picked it up. The Dealer included it. I think I'll take the hint. :thumbup:

 

[Michael211_2000]

Though I have 2 of these Battery Tender Jr "wall-warts" (1 for my SeaDoo RXT, 1 for my jet boat), I'd not tried putting one on my Spyder RS till this morning. I was reading this thread last night and thinking to myself, "Self, I've made several short trips to town and back on the Spyder lately but no rides over 15 minutes long without killing then restarting it!"

And it's getting cold here this weekend thru next week (~45 degrees.... yeah I know but that's cold for my part of Texas!). So I put one of the Battery Tender Jr's I have on the Spyder this morning just to see...

At 1st the LED was solid red, but within 45 seconds or so it turned to blinking green. Hmmm.... not as depleted as I was imagining it might be. About 2 hours later I went back to check and it was solid green already. I would have expected the battery to have been down much farther than that, I really don't take any long rides on the Spyder mostly just short 15 minutes trips to town and back. Apparently it either takes very little to start the engine or the charging system on my 2012 RS is more than adequate to recharge the battery even on very short trips. :dontknow:

Regards and stay warm and dry ya'll.

- Michael

 

[NancysToy]

Though I have 2 of these Battery Tender Jr "wall-warts" (1 for my SeaDoo RXT, 1 for my jet boat), I'd not tried putting one on my Spyder RS till this morning. I was reading this thread last night and thinking to myself, "Self, I've made several short trips to town and back on the Spyder lately but no rides over 15 minutes long without killing then restarting it!"

And it's getting cold here this weekend thru next week (~45 degrees.... yeah I know but that's cold for my part of Texas!). So I put one of the Battery Tender Jr's I have on the Spyder this morning just to see...

At 1st the LED was solid red, but within 45 seconds or so it turned to blinking green. Hmmm.... not as depleted as I was imagining it might be. About 2 hours later I went back to check and it was solid green already. I would have expected the battery to have been down much farther than that, I really don't take any long rides on the Spyder mostly just short 15 minutes trips to town and back. Apparently it either takes very little to start the engine or the charging system on my 2012 RS is more than adequate to recharge the battery even on very short trips. :dontknow:

Regards and stay warm and dry ya'll.

- Michael

One of the advantages of the RS is that it does not have the parasitic draw that the RT does. The battery is therefore depleted less in storage, and if not externally charged it is higher to begin with before starting. Another advantage is that owners tend to rev it higher, making it charge better during use. JMHO

 

[Sarge707]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-DECKER-Battery-Maintainer-BM3B/202710992

After having various Battery Junior type tenders Over the years I Now have 2 of the above.
Blinks Green while charging and Green when charged. Simple as a Pimple!:shocked: