Battery Tender Jr. Fix

[swooshdave]

With, ahem, numerous bikes in the garage I keep them all on tenders. I have one older Battery Tender Jr. that is chugging along nicely, but two of the newer ones started acting up. I believe there is an even newer style but I don't have one.

 

The LEDs started flashing green rapidly. Not good. Cursory search of the interwebs showed this to be... bad. Then the other one did the same thing. At $20 ea I was not happy to have to replace them both. Being it's wintertime and riding will be sporadic for several months (it's going to get pretty cold really soon and although the garage is well insulated it still gets chilly in there) I needed to keep the batteries alive.

 

I found an older video showing how to fix them. It seems the capacitors go out and just replacing them should work. Off to Amazon I went and for $5 (Prime) I had 5 capacitors in my hands in a couple days.

 

Now I'm no electrical wizard but the fix was within my meager capabilities. The first one when somewhat smoothly although I had a hard time getting one leg to cooperate. But when I buttoned it up it worked perfectly. At this point I'm up $19 so might as well do the other one.

 

I now have two working tenders and the Guzzis will have lovely batteries at the ready. And I have extra capacitors if I need them.

 

[docc]

Fixing stuff is part of the fabric of Guzzisti.

[swooshdave]

I suspect not all Tender Jrs will fail like this. It may just be this particular vintage.

[docc]

I don't recall those chargers being on Odyssey's Approved Charger list . . .

 

(Assuming you are using a Hawker Odyssey.)

[fotoguzzi]

If the charging system on your bike is working properly (keeping the battery fully charged, or nearly so), then using a tender all the time is not necessary and can actually get you into trouble. It will pretty much insure that your bike will start every time......when at home. When you DO reach the point where your battery is worn out, however, it will start at home but then won't at the other end of your trip. It is MUCH better to have the weak battery show up at home rather than out on the road. Unless your charging system is not working right or all of your rides are really short, constant use of a tender does little or nothing to extend your battery life.

[swooshdave]

I don't recall those chargers being on Odyssey's Approved Charger list . . .

 

(Assuming you are using a Hawker Odyssey.)

 

It still has the battery in it from when I got the bike. No need to change it out... yet.

[swooshdave]

If the charging system on your bike is working properly (keeping the battery fully charged, or nearly so), then using a tender all the time is not necessary and can actually get you into trouble. It will pretty much insure that your bike will start every time......when at home. When you DO reach the point where your battery is worn out, however, it will start at home but then won't at the other end of your trip. It is MUCH better to have the weak battery show up at home rather than out on the road. Unless your charging system is not working right or all of your rides are really short, constant use of a tender does little or nothing to extend your battery life.

 

So during those long cold winters in Minnesota your battery does just fine in the spring?

[docc]

So . . .  AGM batteries have unique requirements to properly charge and maintain well their State of Charge (SOC).

 

There are a few simple principles that appear to stand up to AGM practice and the manufacturer's recommendations:

 

>Bring the battery to a full SOC using at least 6 amps, 14.7 volts. Do not exceed 15.0 volts. (Temperature corrected).

 

>With a temperature corrected charger, the battery can be "floated" at 13.5-13.8 volts. Not less.

 

>The batteries benefit from discharge, then charging. But should not be allowed to statically discharge below 12.65v.

 

>Always discharge before charging, starting, or checking the SOC.

 

> This one straight from Odyssey,

     "Performing more than one discharge and recharge cycle is beneficial to increasing restored capacity. "

       In other words, *don't just leave it on the trickle charger* and expect the best results.

         Especially if that trickler has low voltage (less than 13.5v) and low amperage.

[footgoose]

There's a little thingie in the tender that knows when the battery is charged, and switches to float mode. If that goes faulty, it will cook the battery. It happened to me once. Since then, I still use a tender, but only once in winter, and once in spring. Leaving on for only a couple of days.

[docc]

Check your float voltage with a quality voltmeter.  Is it 13.5-13.8?

[fotoguzzi]

 

If the charging system on your bike is working properly (keeping the battery fully charged, or nearly so), then using a tender all the time is not necessary and can actually get you into trouble. It will pretty much insure that your bike will start every time......when at home. When you DO reach the point where your battery is worn out, however, it will start at home but then won't at the other end of your trip. It is MUCH better to have the weak battery show up at home rather than out on the road. Unless your charging system is not working right or all of your rides are really short, constant use of a tender does little or nothing to extend your battery life.

 

So during those long cold winters in Minnesota your battery does just fine in the spring?

 

My garage is heated.. It's really nice on those days I must to use a car (pre-warmed) because it's sub-zero outside,   so I have not used a tender for years.. and fully expect my DR to start on Jan 1 for the I-cycle derby (it's been going on continuously for 69 years) I have 3 or more tenders on a shelf if I ever need one, they came with bikes I've bought.

hardly any snow last year,

 

9 above zero in 2011

[docc]

You guys amaze me!