Battery Tender Question

I have an 04 RT with the gel battery. I also have the BMW gel battery tender to go with it. When I plug the accessory socket into the bike and plug in the tender The red light lights up and the green light flashes.

I know this is supposed to mean that I am at 80% charge and still charging right? However I went out to start it this winter (sorry not a rounder yet) and of course the battery was dead, just clicking. The tender had been plugged in for weeks. I figure it has gotten to cold in my garage and the battery just went dead. So I ordered a new battery from the dealer in fort Wayne. I install it start the bike everything is great. I plug in the tender and leave it for a month go back to start the bike and dead again.

I call the dealer he offers to ship me a new battery, but I ask if it is Ok if I hook up my car battery charger on the 2 amp setting (it was over 40 that day and I wanted to ride later) and let it charge for a few hours (used the alligator clips and took the tuppaware off). The dealer said it would not hurt the bike. Short version car charger worked.

Long story for a short question

Do the battery tenders break frequently? Or I am doing something wrong in a process that seems idiot proof? Do the tenders have a warranty? as everyone knows my local dealer, where I got the tender is out of business , do you think another dealer would replace it?

I know that Battery Tender will take care of warranty issues from when I was in a similiar situation with a closed dealer.

I also know that it takes a different type of charger for a Gel battery, but I don't know all the specifics since I don't have a Gel.

is it possible for an uplugged tender to drain the battery? i think that if i plug my charger into my cell phone, but dont plug the charger into the wall, it drains the cell phone battery really quickly, like overnight.

are you sure the circuit your plugging into isnt tripped somehow?

you might also try measuring the voltage at the accesory socket without the tender plugged in to see if it's hot. maybe the accesory plug fuse has blown, and so it won't allow you to charge the bike?

keep us posted, and good luck with it.

IndyRT said:

When I plug the accessory socket into the bike and plug in the tender The red light lights up and the green light flashes. I know this is supposed to mean that I am at 80% charge and still charging right?

Click to expand...

Right. Like you, I have an '04RT, a gel battery, and a BMW charger ("advanced battery charging system") that I've been using this winter. After plugging the charger into an accessory outlet and then plugging in the AC cord,
1. The red light turned on, indicating the AC power was on and the charger was connected correctly.
2. A few seconds later, the green light started flashing, indicating the battery was at least 80% charged. There was one time when the green light did not flash, but I had not charged the battery for a couple of weeks.
3. In all cases, the red light had turned off and the green light became steady/on after charging overnight.

Did you ever see the no red/steady green light sequence?

Assuming you're going to contact Deltran, you might want to verify that the light sequence will detect an accessory adapter that has been wired backwards.

IndyRT said:

Do the battery tenders break frequently? Or I am doing something wrong in a process that seems idiot proof?

Click to expand...

There is nothing like a DMM (Digital Multi Meter - under $30) to actually confirm voltage levels. Why don't you measure the battery voltage when it is on charge the next time. During charge, it should go to about ~14.4 volts before switching to a ~13.2 volt float mode.

Battery Charger

Check the plug for current that you plug into the bike. If it fails you will get the same readings. It can be repaired. JON