Testing battery tender

[Mikey]

How does a person test a battery tender
I took the multimeter and put a probe on each side of the charger and got nothing
Does it need to be connected to the battery and tested somehow?

 

[Mailman]

That’s an interesting question, especially since battery chargers charge at different rates. I have three of them, a bigger one for car batteries and two smaller ones for motorcycles. The two smaller ones are different brands and styles, one always gets hot when it’s in use, while the other stays cool to the touch. I’ve always wondered if the one that gets hot is working properly.

 

[Mikey]

That’s an interesting question, especially since battery chargers charge at different rates. I have three of them, a bigger one for car batteries and two smaller ones for motorcycles. The two smaller ones are different brands and styles, one always gets hot when it’s in use, while the other stays cool to the touch. I’ve always wondered if the one that gets hot is working properly.

If the one tender gets hot doesn't that there's some resistance
I just noticed on one of my bike the tender would go from red light to red and green going back and forth
Put the multimeter on the battery and it's down to like 10.6 volts the battery is toast
I wouldn't think the tender could take out a battery
If it ever stops raining it's off to batterys plus for a new battery

 

[Mailman]

I wouldn't think the tender could take out a battery

I had an El Cheapo battery maintainer from Walmart, years ago. Had it hooked up to the battery in my BMW, I walked out into the garage and couldn’t figure out what I was hearing. It turned out to be the sound of my battery boiling. The battery and the tender were very hot, I was lucky I discovered it. Now I throw a charger on only as long as it takes to show the battery is fine charging then I disconnect it.

 

[jetmechmarty]

I had an El Cheapo battery maintainer from Walmart, years ago. Had it hooked up to the battery in my BMW, I walked out into the garage and couldn’t figure out what I was hearing. It turned out to be the sound of my battery boiling. The battery and the tender were very hot, I was lucky I discovered it. Now I throw a charger on only as long as it takes to show the battery is fine charging then I disconnect it.

I have a battery charger that looks like the right size to charge my laptop. I’ve charged my car battery with it overnight. It charges my motorcycle battery in a few hours and I unplug it. I’ve had it many years. It’s just fine for me.

 

[Adamc]

I had an El Cheapo battery maintainer from Walmart, years ago. Had it hooked up to the battery in my BMW, I walked out into the garage and couldn’t figure out what I was hearing. It turned out to be the sound of my battery boiling. The battery and the tender were very hot, I was lucky I discovered it. Now I throw a charger on only as long as it takes to show the battery is fine charging then I disconnect it.

I use C-Tek battery conditioners.
They are great at maintenance and at recovering dead batteries.

 

[gggGary]

Most of the new generation chargers check the battery for at least some voltage and correct polarity before starting to charge. So a test without a load may show nothing, put it on a battery and you should see an increase in voltage up to mid 13's or so.
For a really discharged battery you may need to start with an old fashioned "Dumb" charger to get the threshold voltage high enough for a smart charger to do it's job. As always careful with old school chargers on MC batteries cuz yeah boiling batteries are good for no one.
Shouldn't go beyond a 2 amp charge rate on a smaller motorcycle battery
Like Marty an old 12 volt DC wall wart may be enough to get things going.
I'm also in the leave NO charger (including the ones that SAY you can leave it on and forget it) connected to any battery for more than a day or two.
A battery's longest life is mostly spent completely inactive in low ambient temperatures.

 

[5twins]

I also don't like leaving a charger on any longer than needed. I've gone through quite a few chargers over the years. They just seem to go belly up after a few years. I've had well know brands (BatteryTender, Schumacher) and no-names, they all crapped out eventually, lol. My latest is a Viking from HF and so far, it works good. It's kinda fancy with a "repair" feature .....

https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...ntrolled-battery-chargermaintainer-63350.html

But honestly, after 4 or 5 years, if a bike battery starts acting up on me, I just replace it.

 

[Mikey]

Most of the new generation chargers check the battery for at least some voltage and correct polarity before starting to charge. So a test without a load may show nothing, put it on a battery and you should see an increase in voltage up to mid 13's or so.
For a really discharged battery you may need to start with an old fashioned "Dumb" charger to get the threshold voltage high enough for a smart charger to do it's job. As always careful with old school chargers on MC batteries cuz yeah boiling batteries are good for no one.
Shouldn't go beyond a 2 amp charge rate on a smaller motorcycle battery
Like Marty an old 12 volt DC wall wart may be enough to get things going.
I'm also in the leave NO charger (including the ones that SAY you can leave it on and forget it) connected to any battery for more than a day or two.
A battery's longest life is mostly spent completely inactive in low ambient temperatures.

I checked my old old dumb charger and it's shot but I can borrow a friends to see if the battery can be brought back up to 12v and maybe be serviceable for awhile
The battery was fine up until 2 days ago and I doubt the maintainer took it out
I just know when I went to start the bike I heard a little click (as in I just blew a fuse)
Fuses were all good but now the battery is showing voltage in the 10-11v range
This battery is on my Honda Sabre which had been starting great up until I heard the little click
Time to get the battery sorted out first and then reinstall and see if the bike will start
And since it's out of the bike I could take it over to Batteries Plus and have them check it out too

 

[gggGary]

I checked my old old dumb charger and it's shot but I can borrow a friends to see if the battery can be brought back up to 12v and maybe be serviceable for awhile
The battery was fine up until 2 days ago and I doubt the maintainer took it out
I just know when I went to start the bike I heard a little click (as in I just blew a fuse)
Fuses were all good but now the battery is showing voltage in the 10-11v range
This battery is on my Honda Sabre which had been starting great up until I heard the little click
Time to get the battery sorted out first and then reinstall and see if the bike will start
And since it's out of the bike I could take it over to Batteries Plus and have them check it out too

Jump from a NOT running; car, garden tractor etc. ?

 

[Mikey]

Jump from a NOT running; car, garden tractor etc. ?

I could take the battery out of my riding lawnmower and jump it with that

 

[5twins]

Is this a new sealed type battery or the old fashioned wet cell type? If the new sealed kind, that's how they usually go, good right up to the moment they're not. The old wet cell type usually just start getting gradually weaker, not cranking as well as they used to. This is a good "warning" that you better get a replacement soon. But, they can just up and fail too.

 

[Mikey]

Sealed type
I'll just see what Batteries Plus says the have been a real straight up company to deal with

 

[5twins]

A good thing about the new sealed type batteries is they hold a charge better over time. So, unless that Honda has been sitting for like 6 months or more without a charge, I'd guess the battery has failed.

 

[Mikey]

Sealed type
I'll just see what Batteries Plus says the have been a real straight up company to deal with

Batteries plus is going to give the batterie a try at charging (no fee)
if it's shot it's shot and they will sell me a new one

 

[Mikey]

A good thing about the new sealed type batteries is they hold a charge better over time. So, unless that Honda has been sitting for like 6 months or more without a charge, I'd guess the battery has failed.

I always rotate the battery tender around to all my batteries just for a day and just keep switching from one vehicle to the next especially in the winter

 

[Adamc]

But honestly, after 4 or 5 years, if a bike battery starts acting up on me, I just replace it.

I’m with 5T, if it’s over 3 years and neglected, just buy a new one.

 

[Mikey]

I'm sure that's what Batteries plus will say tomorrow too

 

[Tinker Taylor]

I bought a small Stanley battery maintainer a couple of years ago when I bought the Bullet. I also bought a new battery soon after and going on two years now. During the cooler seasons and most times I would pull the battery out and bring it inside. Sitting it on a wooden stool I would only put the small 1.5 Amp tender on it before a ride. It would sometimes take as much as 10 to 15 minutes for the yellow light to turn green, and I would pull the tender off. Right now I have had the battery in the bike for at least ten days, through rain and 60 degree weather on the average, and after a couple of kicks just for circulation, the starter does fine. It is a sealed unit. The tender was only about 19.95 from Wal-Mart. The battery was 109.00 from O'Reilly's.
'TT'

 

[ckahleer]

As metioned earlier, a smart charger will not charge a completely dead battery. In this situation, I use a dumb charger for a few minuites, then switch over to a smart charger.
You will need a known good battery to test a smart charger. Check battery voltage before charging. Once hooked up the voltage will be above the before voltage. It is not possible to say what that voltage will be, depends on the power of the charger, size of the battery, and amount of battery discharge. as the battery charges, the voltage will keep rising to somewhwhere between 14.5 and 15.5 volts. Then it will switch over to maintain/float mode and keep the battery at around 13.1 volts.