Are all battery tenders worthless or am I doing something wrong?

[dodgestang]

I've had two already trying to keep my 96 GTS charged.

If I drive it everyday....no problems.
After 1 day it will start
After 2 days it will start, but will idle funny like it is struggling with voltage for the first few seconds
If I leave it sit 3 days, it will open the doors, but won't have enough juice to start (just clickclickclickclickclick)
If I leave it sit 4 days, I can't even open the doors.

If I put a hot jump on it, it fires right up.

So.....I hooked up a battery tender.....sometimes, just sometimes, it will start on day 3, never of day 4.
So.....I bought a different, newer, better tender. Here's the kicker, I hooked it up on the car after it sat for 3 days. The battery was already below 12v on my meter....I plugged the tender in....and after 10 seconds the tender says "Fully charged"

Car obviously doesn't start. WTF is up with these tenders? Do I have less of a voltage drain and more like a bad ground?

[mad prof]

How old is the battery? Do a amp test first. If not satisfactory, replace with Optima. Check also if you have a draw in the system. Good luck.

[dodgestang]

Battery came with car and with a receipt showing it is new (aka less than 6 months old at this point).

[Indy]

Sounds like a defective battery....if you still have a receipt, try to exchange it.

[mad prof]

Puzzling. I still will test the battery and if the system drains when stationery. My battery was brand new but defective, so it is false assumption that yours is OK

[01sapphirebob]

Sounds like a bad battery. Replace it eith a DIE HARD Platinum series battery. Well worth the money.

[Torquemonster06]

^^^^^^What 01sapphirebob said. ^^^^^^^

[Fatboy 18]

So do you plug in the battery tender after every drive or are you using it just now and again?
Where do you connect the leads? Are you setting the immobliser too?

I have heard mixed reports on the Optima batterys, the early ones were good but reports say they moved production to Mexico and the quality was not as good. People are currently recommding Sears batterys.

http://driveviper.com/forums/threads...attery-already

[LifeIsGood]

What battery tender is it...manufacturer and model?

[DrTaco]

Always try easy first. Do you have ANY idea if you have a draw in your system? For example, do the yellow LEDS in your door locks go off after 30secs or stay on? I would DEF replace battery just for the heck of it. I know it sucks to throw money away if battery is only 6mos old, but if it fixes the problem it will be priceless. +1 always plug in tender after U drive, just not every so often. +1 on Diehard. I have a 96 also.

[dodgestang]

Tender was getting plugged in after every run....but then it turned out to be useless anyway. (this was a 12v interstate brand tender)
I purchase a new tender that is a 6v 1.25amp unit from Deltran

The yellow LED door locks sometimes stay on without shutting off, if I lock the car they shut off, so I lock the car every time I park it (which is a pain when it is in the garage for reasons I won't go into).

What is an 'immobliser"?

First tender is wired in to hot post under the hood and ground down at the base.
Second tender was used with clips with the hot on the hot post under the hood and the neg on an exhaust stud

[Sam Goldfarb]

I have had similar problems with many vehicles and many types and brands of chargers and batteries. My solution was to put in battery disconnects and problem solved! Vehicle can sit for 6-12 months and still start! The idle may be rough for a little while but not a huge issue for me!

[Bugman Jeff]

If you battery is self discharging that much in four days, using a battery tender is like pissing into the wind. They don't really put out enough power to actually charge a battery, just keep it from going dead over time(well, it will charge, but it takes a very long time because of the low amp output).

Charge the battery then disconnect it. If it still goes dead in four days, you have a bad battery. If it holds it's voltage, you probably have a draw on the system somewhere.

[sparkrn]

Connect your tender directly at the battery, not at the charge point under the hood. The distance back to the battery from upfront is not conducive for charging. Also, don't buy a optima battery, buy any other brand. Check out the battery threads on the sight

[plumcrazy]

bad battery.

[gage]

battery is bad, my viper will sit for 2-3 weeks (no trickle charger) and fire right up...

[St.Char]

Battery came with car and with a receipt showing it is new (aka less than 6 months old at this point).

Once the battery is fully discharged it will never hold a full charge again. You need a new battery, nothing wrong with the battery tender.

[LifeIsGood]

Are all battery tenders worthless?

Absolutely not. I have Deltran battery tenders on my viper and 2 motorcycles...zero starting issues and they sometimes sit without being driven/ridden for months at a time.

[VoodooRob]

Connect tender directly to a new battery that hasn't been run down.

[dodgestang]

Connect tender directly to a new battery that hasn't been run down.

I am open to suggestions on how one could accomplish this given the battery location.

[sparkrn]

I am open to suggestions on how one could accomplish this given the battery location.

The deltran tender comes with a pigtail long enough enough to run out of the battery compartment. You may have to cut open the eyelet stake-on to slip in between the nut and washer at the terminal. The pig tail then is easily plugged in

[C.J]

I purchase a new tender that is a 6v 1.25amp unit from Deltran

You mean 12V?

[dodgestang]

You mean 12V?

No its a 6v, my other 12v has a switch on it allowing for 12v trickle or 6v trickle.

[DaveW]

My original battery lasted almost 10 years with no problems. When it went, it went. Considering the location of the battery box, I went with what I thought was the best, sealed battery on the market (Optima ). 6 months later, I had the exact same issues described, but could not believe it was the battery. It finally got so bad it wouldn't hold enough charge to restart the engine after a short trip. So it had to be the alternator . NOPE, it was the battery - shot, caput, just lead weights... Since it was under full warranty, I replaced it with another Optima. This time I got one of the good ones - 4 years and it goes months without charging during winter down times.

I'm not recommending an Optima, but your battery needs to be replaced. Good luck!

[C.J]

No its a 6v, my other 12v has a switch on it allowing for 12v trickle or 6v trickle.

My understanding is that a 6V charger will not charge a 12V battery. If you had a 6V system (some older cars & motorcycles), then the 6V charger would be appropriate.

Any EEs out there that would be willing to shed some light on this? Thanks.