Why you should use your battery tender

[Tango]

I use mine even when parking overnight. I have always done that with all my touring bikes.
Like you said, something is always on.
mtbear

As soon as the engine cools. I plug mine in. Always! :thumbup: Tom :spyder:

 

[jaherbst]

All the more reason to have a manual crank and handle hanging out the front like the reliable Model T! :joke:

​Jack

 

[pitzerwm]

Right. Which reminds me... If you have a Sena Bluetooth dongle on your Spyder, drawing power from the entertainment system, I believe that may always be charging.

I don't think so. If I forget to turn my dongle off, it goes dead, apparently it has a small internal battery. When it goes dead, the bike will start to charge it but it doesn't seem to work as well so I end up charging it in the house, and then it acts normal. So remember to turn that off after your ride.

 

[billybovine]

:agree: If the Spyder is like most modern vehicles, the ECM is always drawing a little current. I'd bet that the D.E.S.S. is always drawing some as well.

The DESS is not drawing power after shutdown. That's why it's so funny when people talk about pulling the key out and walking away for an hour so it cannot be detected by the DESS or all other versions of this myth.

 

[billybovine]

I don't think so. If I forget to turn my dongle off, it goes dead, apparently it has a small internal battery. When it goes dead, the bike will start to charge it but it doesn't seem to work as well so I end up charging it in the house, and then it acts normal. So remember to turn that off after your ride.

That is correct if the dongle is connected the way BRP intended by the radio. When the key is turned off the power is turned off to the dongle.

I do not have the dongle hooked up that way. Mine is hooked up always on. It is just a pain in the ass to open the front trunk and switch it off and on. So it is on all the time. I also have my helmet headset plugged in and charging when parked as well. So with those extra loads my battery will discharge enough in 4 or 5 days I cannot start it anymore. So I plug into the tender when I am not going to ride for a couple days.

I have a friend with a 2010 RT with the original battery in it. It sits for 4 or 5 months of the year. Does not disconnect the battery. He does not use a battery tender. This spring he complained because it would not start without booster cables. This is the first time it would not start in the spring.

 

[robmorg]

That is correct if the dongle is connected the way BRP intended by the radio. When the key is turned off the power is turned off to the dongle.

Thanks for the clarification. I have my BT dongle mounted in the trunk with the "finless Bob" power cable connected to the radio. But like you, I never turn it off, and never paid a lot of attention to whether it was charging or discharging. I just plug in the battery tender if I'm not going to be riding every couple of days. That keeps both the Spyder and the music always ready to go. Sometimes, if I haven't ridden for several days, I have to cycle the dongle off and on before it will connect to my headset. The fact that it is apparently not charging while the bike is turned off explains the reason for that.

 

[bigbadbrucie]

All the more reason to have a manual crank and handle hanging out the front like the reliable Model T! :joke:

​Jack

Yeah, right! And your going to tell us with a straight face that you would welcome going out and cranking over your Spyder, right?

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Interested

I am pretty new to all of this but we learned that if you leave the key in the ignition it too will drain the battery! Had one of our members leave the key in her bike all day and when we went to leave....no battery!

 

[cognaccruiser]

I am pretty new to all of this but we learned that if you leave the key in the ignition it too will drain the battery! Had one of our members leave the key in her bike all day and when we went to leave....no battery!

This surprises me a lot. Our Spyder is kept in our secure garage so we actually never take the key out of the ignition. Its been in there for 2 1/2 years so except for trips when I have to remember to NOT leave it in the ignition, that's where it stays. I do use a battery maintainer and have for many years but occasionally forget to plug it in and have not had an issue with draining the battery.
Quite a few folks use Lamont's IPS and leave their key in and I have not heard of that draining any batteries as I'm sure they don't all use battery maintainers. Perhaps your friend's Spyder had some other issue going on.

Gary

 

[billybovine]

I am pretty new to all of this but we learned that if you leave the key in the ignition it too will drain the battery! Had one of our members leave the key in her bike all day and when we went to leave....no battery!

That is wrong. Leaving the key in the ignition will not run the battery down. Another related myth is that leaving the key in will cause random faults to appear. More BS.

 

[robmorg]

Yeah, right! And your going to tell us with a straight face that you would welcome going out and cranking over your Spyder, right?

Jack will certainly tell you that, but you cannot see on your computer whether or not his face is straight.

 

[Pampurrs]

That is wrong. Leaving the key in the ignition will not run the battery down. Another related myth is that leaving the key in will cause random faults to appear. More BS.

:agree: I don't know where that silly idea that leaving the key in the ignition will cause the battery to run down or cause fault codes came from, but it's another of those that are aimed at the gullible. There's no plausable explanation as to how or why that could happen.
I always leave my key in the ignition while my RT is parked in the garage, and have been doing so for the 14 months that I've owned it. I've had no issue.

Pam

 

[jegarh]

Leaving the key in and running down the battery is the homeopathic explanation of mystery battery failure.

 

[Deanna777]

On the off season (Oct. to April) mine goes on the Deltran Battery Tender Junior( switches automatically from charge to float!). During the season I do not use it, I have a 2014RTS-SE6, and it starts up. Deanna

 

[sandeejs]

Cure For Leaving the Key in the Ignition

I had a tendency to leave the key in the ignition, without turning the bike completely off! Turning the engine off with the ignition switch or (on a 2 wheel) by putting the kickstand down. The battery WOULD die if the lights etc were still on. Just leaving it in the bike with everything turned off shouldn't kill the battery.

Anyway, I always have the key tied to me. A long decorative string or a fancy plastic coil doohickey hooks the key to my belt. At least once or twice a month I try to walk away from the bike and leave the key in it. As I park on the street (no garage) this is not a good idea.

BTW, that's why I can't leave the scoot on a tender. The sidewalk is between me and my Spyder, the extension cord would be a problem if it was always out there.....

~Sandee~

 

[spyderryder53]

I am pretty new to all of this but we learned that if you leave the key in the ignition it too will drain the battery! Had one of our members leave the key in her bike all day and when we went to leave....no battery!

my key is in the bike 24/7 and only us the tender for winter and never had any problems starting up.
Leon

 

[pitzerwm]

I use a Battery Minder, not the Battery Tender brand. It is on the Battery Minder all the time when not ridden unless I forget.



http://www.batteryminders.com/12-volt-maintenance-charger-desfulator-1500

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200589669_200589669

http://www.impactbattery.com/blog/w...ltrans-battery-tender-and-vdcs-batteryminder/

Paul, other than the lights on the front, what is the actual difference in how they do what they do? Thanks

After I posted, I saw the comparison link, it appears to me that the tender doesn't know when to shut off, is that the big deal?