Battery Tender fried battery? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Battery Tender fried battery?

S

spitRR

Well-known member
So I decided to start my bike the other day (2002 VFR 800 vtec), and no dice.

I had it hooked up to my Battery Tender since I put it away the first week of January and everything looked good afterwards - green light on for "storage". When I try to start it, it cranks very slow and just dies like it wasn't hooked up to the charger at all.

This bike is new to me and has the accessory connector hanging from underneath the seat so I connected the tender to that instead of using the clips like I have on all my other bikes. I've since reconnected it using the clips to the battery terminals, but it's been a few days and it still in "charge mode" - only the red light is on, green is not even blinking.

Has anybody ever heard of a tender frying a battery? Or maybe it's the tender that's fried? I have yet to do a load test, but that's the next thing I'll do. Just wanted to get some input beforehand.

Thx in advance.
 
Haven't had them fry any batteries but I'd say boost it off a car (not started) and go for a a ride on a nicer day, turn it off only when you get back home and see if it starts again.
 
spitRR said:
So I decided to start my bike the other day (2002 VFR 800 vtec), and no dice.

I had it hooked up to my Battery Tender since I put it away the first week of January and everything looked good afterwards - green light on for "storage". When I try to start it, it cranks very slow and just dies like it wasn't hooked up to the charger at all.

This bike is new to me and has the accessory connector hanging from underneath the seat so I connected the tender to that instead of using the clips like I have on all my other bikes. I've since reconnected it using the clips to the battery terminals, but it's been a few days and it still in "charge mode" - only the red light is on, green is not even blinking.

Has anybody ever heard of a tender frying a battery? Or maybe it's the tender that's fried? I have yet to do a load test, but that's the next thing I'll do. Just wanted to get some input beforehand.

Thx in advance.
Click to expand...

Is the accessory connector connected directly to the battery or is there an ignition-switched relay between the two? If there's a relay the tender may not have been connected to the battery. The lights on the tender suggest it was connected but you should check to be sure.

If the battery spent the winter in a cold garage with no trickle-charge applied it may have sulfated to the point it can't be charged or salvaged.
 
is it one of those batteries that you need to top off? Maybe the fluid level is below the line? You should either throw in distilled water or battery fluid till it reaches the mark that says ''full/top'' mark.
 
It would be possible, if there was a power drain on the bike significant enough, for some battery tenders to charge up to a voltage considered fully charged, and then switch to a trickle charge that would cover the self-discharge of the battery without further checks (i.e. charger does not switch back to the full charging rate) resulting in the drain overwhelming the trickle charge and flattening the battery. Manuals for these chargers will tell you this and tell you to fully disconnect the battery from the bike for long-term storage.

Jimsun said:
is it one of those batteries that you need to top off? Maybe the fluid level is below the line? You should either throw in distilled water or battery fluid till it reaches the mark that says ''full/top'' mark.
Click to expand...

If the fluid level got low enough to affect battery output, it's too late to fix it by adding more.
 
TwistedKestrel said:
If the fluid level got low enough to affect battery output, it's too late to fix it by adding more.
Click to expand...

If it's dried or below threshold then it should be okay to add battery acid (fluid). When i buy battery for my bike the acid comes separately and I have to fill up the cells myself.
 
I have a Yusa float charger. With the charger plugged into the wall, RED light shows if NOT connected to the battery, AMBER light shows when it's charging and GREEN light shows when it's float charging. Might be a good time to consider buying a cheap digital multimeter when they go on sale next time. Fully charged lead/acid battery will be 12.6 volts and yes if you've haven't kept distilled water in the battery to cover the plates, it's probably pooched. I'd also clean the battery connections and put some dielectric grease on the connections. Good luck.
 
1. How old is the battery? Even though the battery is connected to a tender after a certain number of years or being discharged fully and treated badly they will just give up.
2. Verify the existing pigtail you used was connected to the battery terminals.
3. Just putting a volt meter on the battery to see voltage tells you nothing. A battery may show 12 ish volts but not have enough in it to start a motor,

My bets are if this was a used bike like you said and since you have no idea how old the battery is and no idea it's life history (eg. been discharged 100% a few times or not maintained) I would bet on the battery is pooched.
 
Jimsun said:
If it's dried or below threshold then it should be okay to add battery acid (fluid). When i buy battery for my bike the acid comes separately and I have to fill up the cells myself.
Click to expand...

you should add distilled water (for maintenance) if req'd - not acid.
 
Last edited:
TwistedKestrel said:
It would be possible, if there was a power drain on the bike significant enough, for some battery tenders to charge up to a voltage considered fully charged, and then switch to a trickle charge that would cover the self-discharge of the battery without further checks (i.e. charger does not switch back to the full charging rate) resulting in the drain overwhelming the trickle charge and flattening the battery. Manuals for these chargers will tell you this and tell you to fully disconnect the battery from the bike for long-term storage.

It would be possible, if there was a power drain on the bike significant enough, for some battery tenders to charge up to a voltage considered fully charged, and then switch to a trickle charge that would cover the self-discharge of the battery without further checks (i.e. charger does not switch back to the full charging rate) resulting in the drain overwhelming the trickle charge and flattening the battery. Manuals for these chargers will tell you this and tell you to fully disconnect the battery from the bike for long-term storage.

If the fluid level got low enough to affect battery output, it's too late to fix it by adding more.
Click to expand...

+1 and +1
 
taximan62 said:
1. How old is the battery? Even though the battery is connected to a tender after a certain number of years or being discharged fully and treated badly they will just give up.

My bets are if this was a used bike like you said and since you have no idea how old the battery is and no idea it's life history (eg. been discharged 100% a few times or not maintained) I would bet on the battery is pooched
Click to expand...

This is my bet as well. If this bike is "new to you", you don't know the history of the battery. If it was at or near the end of it's life when you bought the bike, no matter how well you took care of the battery over the winter, it could be toast. Get a new one, enjoy the summer, put the tender on it next winter, and you'll have a happy battery next spring, and for years to come.
 
Don't be offended by my question (as I made the same mistake), but; do you have an actual battery tender or a trickle charger?

I toasted my first battery by using a $20 trickle charger for two seasons, thinking it was the same thing as an actual (more $$) battery tender.
 
Kri$han said:
Don't be offended by my question (as I made the same mistake), but; do you have an actual battery tender or a trickle charger?

I toasted my first battery by using a $20 trickle charger for two seasons, thinking it was the same thing as an actual (more $$) battery tender.
Click to expand...

ouch. you can safely use a trickle charger to maintain your bikes battery. Just use it once a month for a few hours depending on its rated (or actual) output. a 2 amp trickle charger will likely do the job in ~ 25-60 minutes. a tiny 200mA (0.2 amp) charger may take ~ 6-18 hours. maintain your battery in the range of 12.8 to 13.1 volts. I bought a small 200mA charger (on sale) at canadian tire for $6 about 10 years ago. battery tender is way easier to use, and pretty much foolproof.
 
Last edited:
Wow, thanks for all the quick responses!

The battery is a Yuasa YTZ 12s, so as far as I know it's sealed and cannot be topped up (?). And my Tender is an original Deltran Battery Tender; been using it for over 10 years with no issues - I thought perhaps it was showing its age.

However....

I tested the battery today and it is indeed toast. Voltage was dancing between 10 and 11v and amps were very low; can't remember the number, but was well into the red.

Anybody else notice battery prices have gone through the roof?

Thx again for the replies, much appreciated.
 
Yes snow city quoted me a battery ytz14s yuasa for 125 at the end of last season. And it was 185 this spring..

while we are on the battery tender subject. Does anyone know if a disconnected battery tender (at the wall) will drain a battery if left plugged in on the bike side? Long story short. Bought a new battery 2 weeks ago. Charged it up. Put it on the bike. Left it alone. Someone along and unplugged the cord without separating it. And came to a dead battery today. ��

That at being said I am somewhat skeptical about the tender doing the draining, but could it be? No alarm installed and all the appliances were off. Ideas? Short somewhere in the wiring?
 
H4x0rz said:
while we are on the battery tender subject. Does anyone know if a disconnected battery tender (at the wall) will drain a battery if left plugged in on the bike side?
Click to expand...

A "genuine" Battery Tender (branded) has reverse current protection as one if their features. It wouldn't surprise me one bit that other models may very well not, in which case, yes, it's very possible that if left connected to a battery but unplugged it would kill the battery.
 
PrivatePilot said:
A "genuine" Battery Tender (branded) has reverse current protection as one if their features. It wouldn't surprise me one bit that other models may very well not, in which case, yes, it's very possible that if left connected to a battery but unplugged it would kill the battery.
Click to expand...

It was a battery tender Jr. That I bought from gpbikes. I'm assuming it's a legit model ;-). I know the Jr and another model share the same instruction manual. But I'm unsure if the Jr has reverse drain protection
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom