Battery charging

[waldohaha]

Hi I have a 2014 rt limited. I'm new to the spyder is there a good trickle charger to use over the winter and also is there a special place to hook it up?? I have heard of people connecting it under the seat but mine doesn't have the post that people are talking about. Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

[CopperSpyder]

I use a Batter Tender Jr. Your battery is in the front unlike the older models were under the seat. Don't use a trickle charger, use a battery maintainer there is a difference. There are different types of maintainers as I said I use the Battery Tender Jr that you can buy almost anywhere amazon Walmart ect.

Others will chime in and let you know what they use and how they set their bike up with the battery in the front like yours.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hi I have a 2014 rt limited. I'm new to the spyder is there a good trickle charger to use over the winter and also is there a special place to hook it up?? I have heard of people connecting it under the seat but mine doesn't have the post that people are talking about. Any help would be very much appreciated.

I would NOT use a trickle charger ….. UNLESS it has the ability to stop all charging if the battery is at full charge ….. Just look for a Battery MAINTAINER, they are All designed with circuitry that prevents over-charging ….. good luck …. Mike hyea:

 

[trikermutha]

Battery Tender and I run the wire thru my liner in the frunk from my battery. My battery is pushing 6 years now. hyea:

 

[JayBros]

+ three for Battery Tender Jr.

 

[RICZ]

When you buy a Battery Tender, I believe it comes with a pigtail to connect to the battery. That will give a permanent and easy way to connect the float charger. I have mine hanging into the frunk. Easy peasy to connect to there.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Hi I have a 2014 rt limited. I'm new to the spyder is there a good trickle charger to use over the winter and also is there a special place to hook it up?? I have heard of people connecting it under the seat but mine doesn't have the post that people are talking about. Any help would be very much appreciated.

As others have said make d*** sure it says "Maintainer" on it, often as "Charger/Maintainer". There are many good brands of units out there starting at around $30 and up. Sometimes cheaper on sale. The easiest way is to move fuse F6 to F7 in the right fuse box. That makes the accessory outlets in the trunk and frunk powered all the time. Get a maintainer that includes a cigarette lighter plug with it and plug the maintainer into either one of the accessory outlets.

 

[carbonation]

NOCO Genius G3500. Currently on sale for 36 and change and free ship at Amazon. Multiple selections for wet cell, AGM, temperature compensation and Lithium.
I've used one of these since they came out, and while I like the basic Battery Tender that everyone seems to have, the NOCO wins hands down for flexibility, the ability to maintain several different types of batteries and it's ability to rescue discharged and sulfated batts.

 

[Realtor]

I would NOT use a trickle charger ….. UNLESS it has the ability to stop all charging if the battery is at full charge ….. Just look for a Battery MAINTAINER, they are All designed with circuitry that prevents over-charging ….. good luck …. Mike hyea:

I'll bite, whats the diff of a maintainer, and a trickle charger? if the all prevent over charging?

 

[Peter Aawen]

I'll bite, whats the diff of a maintainer, and a trickle charger? if the all prevent over charging?

The difference between them is that Battery maintainers will prevent overcharging; most battery trickle chargers won't!! :shocked:

Altho with the growing availability of 'Smart Chargers' that can detect what type of battery they are connected to and tailor the charging profile to suit, as well as acting either as a maintainer or a charger depending upon the battery's state of charge and condition, that definitive line is becoming a little more blurred as the technology improves! :lecturef_smilie:

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I'll bite, whats the diff of a maintainer, and a trickle charger? if the all prevent over charging?

A trickle charger continues to push a charge current through the battery regardless of the state of charge. When you do that to a fully charged battery it can get hot and all sorts of damage will take place internally. A maintainer starts and stops the charge current according to the charge level of the battery. Every battery will self discharge over time even with no load attached. The Spyder draws a small amount of current all the time to keep the memory in the electronics alive. A trickle charger can easily push more current into the battery than what the electronics are drawing which leads to the battery being overcharged. A maintainer won't overcharge because when it detects the battery is fully charged it turns off the charge current. Then after the voltage drops to a certain level (don't know what that is exactly) the maintainer turns on the charge current. In short, the trickle is continuous, the maintainer is stop and go.

 

[wilpir]

+ Battery T ender Jr..I have several never have failed me.I plug mine in trunk thru cig adapter works great!

 

[Realtor]

I've had my mower, classic cars, motorcycles, plugged in for years. never had any issues.... good info though..

 

[SCWSpyder]

Another vote for Battery Tender Jr. They work well enough that Harley supplied one with the Ultra I bought 14 years ago (tomorrow in fact). Plan on using it on Spyder when it shows up!

 

[ARtraveler]

Hi I have a 2014 rt limited. I'm new to the spyder is there a good trickle charger to use over the winter and also is there a special place to hook it up?? I have heard of people connecting it under the seat but mine doesn't have the post that people are talking about. Any help would be very much appreciated.

The battery for the 2014 is in the frunk, behind the liner. Mine came with a pigtail pre-attached by the dealer. When I used to put the Battery Tender Jr. on, it was a simple plug and play set up. So far this year, no battery tender needed.

 

[Martman4]

I have a 2012. Under the seat I found a pigtail with a connector. Can I use it to maintain the battery?

 

[CopperSpyder]

More than likely yes, I cant see it but I bet that is what it is for, your battery is under the seat on the 2012 RT. If you get a batter tender Jr. or something like that than your good to go.

 

[krakum1967]

I went to the Lithium "Battery Tender 24X sized (the Can Am Standard size not the smaller 18) BATTERY. It cost me 250 dollars, but I have over 450 CCA's now, and I have not needed the battery tender on the Can Am since I changed the battery out in December, it has TONS of crank power, I even ran my jumpers, jumped my trumpy not running the trike, than jumped my BMW Funduro in 25 degree weather. THAN I started the Can Am. That monster sized Battery Tender Lithium Battery is well worth the money hands down.

 

[krakum1967]

Here is one on FleaBay right now, I made an offer on the one I bought and got a little break.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Battery-Tender-BMS-12-Volt-Lithium-Battery-BTL24A480CW/174051477406

Hands down, the BEST Update I have done to my RS-S, hands down.....

AND, All three of the bikes in my CarPort have the Battery Tender Lithium Batteries, they are a really nice battery.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

That monster sized Battery Tender Lithium Battery is well worth the money hands down.

If you can productively make use of all that capacity. But for someone like me, whose only real concern is being able to start the RT whenever I want to use it, it would be a waste of money! :dontknow: I look at it as kind of like using a Mack truck to bring home the groceries when a Chevy S10 is plenty big enough. But, to each his own!