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Battery on tender problem

R

RAWLDYMAN

Active Member
Have had my sporty on the battery tender for about 3 weeks now due to the bad weather (could'nt get out for a ride). Any time I looked, the green light was on, indicating full charge & ready to go.
In the garage today, however, I just noiced that the red light has come on the tender (could have been like this for a few days) which to me means that something is not right - like its loosing charge?? Or is the tender bad?
Anybody know what would cause this and, better still, what I should do about it? I did'nt want to try starting the bike as I still can't get out on the roads and I've read on here that it's not good to start her up without putting a few miles on.
Where do you start? Any advice appreciated.
BTW have only 7k miles and don't ride in the wet.
 
INDICATOR LIGHT OPERATION

RED FLASHING - When the red light is flashing, the AC power is applied to the charger and the microprocessor circuitry is functioning properly. There is no battery connected or there is a problem with the connections between the charger and the battery.

RED - When the red light is on, the battery charger is in the process of fully charging the battery. In order to properly charge large capacity batteries, the charger may remain in this mode for several hours or even days.

APPLICATION INFORMATION
Always operate the charger in a well ventilated area If neither indicator light comes on after you plug in the AC cord, then check the AC power receptacle. If the green indicator light comes on too soon, check the battery and the output connections from the charger.

GREEN FLASHING - When the green light is flashing, and the red light is on, the battery is greater than 80% charged and may be removed from the charger and used if necessary. Leave the battery on charge until the green light is solid whenever possible. Once the green light begins to flash, it will remain flashing until the battery charger output current drops below the optimum recharge threshold, or until the absorption timer expires.

GREEN - When the green light is lit, the battery charger is in the storage mode of charge. In this mode the charger will maintain the battery at full charge.

RED & GREEN ALTERNATING - This will indicate either a reverse polarity connection where the charger output cables connect to the battery, a sulfated batttery, a corroded battery terminal, or other high resistance output connection..
 
Yeah the green indicator light showing that the tender is getting mains power was and remains on.
the red light indicating the charge status is on also - this is after being green for the last 2 weeks. Should this not stay green if the battery is being maintained at full charge - at least that's what it says on the tender info?
I'm away out on the town partying now but I'll be looking into this tomorrow - right, there's my cab, Bye!!
 
RAWLDYMAN said:
Yeah the green indicator light showing that the tender is getting mains power was and remains on.
the red light indicating the charge status is on also - this is after being green for the last 2 weeks. Should this not stay green if the battery is being maintained at full charge - at least that's what it says on the tender info?
I'm away out on the town partying now but I'll be looking into this tomorrow - right, there's my cab, Bye!!
Click to expand...
Try unplugging Tender from outlet for a little while and plug back in and see what happens......
 
RAWLDYMAN said:
could have been like this for a few days which to me means that something is not right -
Click to expand...

But you don't know that for a fact. I would not condemn any parts just yet. Just keep an eye on the red light and see if it goes out after a short period of time. Remember that if you do not have the battery disconnected from the bike, the parasitic drain from the electrical system will pull from the battery when the Tender is in "watch mode". It just may be the charger putting back into the battery what was removed from the keep alive circuits of the bike.
 
Hoople said:
But you don't know that for a fact. I would not condemn any parts just yet. Just keep an eye on the red light and see if it goes out after a short period of time. Remember that if you do not have the battery disconnected from the bike, the parasitic drain from the electrical system will pull from the battery when the Tender is in "watch mode". It just may be the charger putting back into the battery what was removed from the keep alive circuits of the bike.
Click to expand...

Just back and checked; red light still on.

Hoop: I was'nt aware that there would be a constant drain from the battery due to the electrical system - if it's hooked up to a tender. Being that the bike does'nt have any electrical "add ons" that would increase demand above basic, is the tender not meant to maintain the battery at full charge in a "ready to go" condition at all times?
Also, on a few occasions in the past the bike has sat maybe 2 weeks without being hooked up to the tender and there's never been a problem with the battery. Its just because of this recent 3 week period of snow/frost when I knew I would'nt be riding that I thought it best to use the tender.
Tomorrow morning I will check again and then maybe disconnect the tender for a while and put it back on and see what happens. I won't be riding so I guess its best not to try and start her??

Many thanks for all your advices.
 
I suppose you could have had a "brownout" where the input voltage dipped and then surged back on. It could also have been an actual blackout for few minutes that reset the processor and started the charge mode.

It both cases I would use a DMM and 1) Check the inline fuse to be sure it is intact...2) Expose tiny bit of the mating contacts by backing them out slightly, and measure the charge voltage: if < 12.8 VDC the battery is nominal or low and requiring charge...if > 13 VDC the charger has raised voltage to float the surface charge level.

If red charging light is on and never goes off, it may mean that the battery has one or more cells shorted, so it is drawing most of the Battery Tender voltage away and basically working the poor thing trying to keep the rest of the battery cells up and not enough to ever reach full surface charge level.
 
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RAWLDYMAN said:
Just back and checked; red light still on.
Click to expand...

So it has been more than a couple of hours and the red light is still on. I would have thought it would be off by now. If it stays on for more than 4-5 hours I would say something is not right. I am going to shift gears and say maybe give the people at Tender a call (as ThreeSteps suggested) just to see what they tell you.

I assume the battery came with the bike and is only a few years old.
If you call the Tender people, Plz let us know what they say...
 
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