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Battery Tender/bad charge

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Old Dec 29, 2011 | 10:19 AM
  #1  
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Default Battery Tender/bad charge

Bought a battery tender and hooked it up according to the instructions in my 2000 vert manual. One clip to the positive on the battery and the other clip on an unpainted piece of metal. Is this really necessary, placing the negative clip on an unpainted piece of metal as opposed to the negative post on the battery.

When I follow the book, the battery tender gives me a "bad" led reading and a flashing charge light (should be solid according to the manual) and then shuts off. Called their technical support and they claim that I may have a bad battery which I don't cause I just took it to Advance Auto Part and was tested to be OK.


How bout others using the battery tender, do you just place both clips on the battery?


Thank you.
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Old Dec 29, 2011 | 10:24 AM
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I clip on both battery terminals. C5s are known to have bad ground connections, especially over time. You need to check and clean your ground terminals, Bill Curlee has a great post on this.

Here it is:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...tion-long.html

Last edited by Oldvetter; Dec 29, 2011 at 10:27 AM.
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Old Dec 29, 2011 | 10:27 AM
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The light when flashing, just means the ("trickle?) charger is charging,
at that particular time.
After a while the light will go out when battery is fully charged.
I use the tension clips from the charger to the pos & neg posts of the batery, when using my trickle charger.
Good luck.
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Old Dec 29, 2011 | 01:16 PM
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Which type of battery trickle charger are you using?

I initially used "Battery Tender" then went to the CTEK 3300, which has been flawless.
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Old Dec 29, 2011 | 11:45 PM
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I use the Battery Tender Plus and hook the cables to the battery posts. When charging, the lights are red, then one turns to a flashing green when almost chaged and finally green when fully charged.
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Old Dec 30, 2011 | 12:04 AM
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I use a "Battery Tender Jr." and just plug it into the cigarette lighter socket. When charging it holds a steady red light and goes to green on standby.

OBD
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Old Dec 30, 2011 | 08:08 AM
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[QUOTE=OkieBikerDude;1579598924]I use a "Battery Tender Jr." and just plug it into the cigarette lighter socket. When charging it holds a steady red light and goes to green on standby.



Are you saying that you bypass the terminals on the battery and use a male adapter off the battery charger right into the cigarette lighter to charge/maintain the battery?

Thank you.
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Old Dec 30, 2011 | 08:20 AM
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Originally Posted by bontrager
Bought a battery tender and hooked it up according to the instructions in my 2000 vert manual. One clip to the positive on the battery and the other clip on an unpainted piece of metal.
If I remember correctly, the instruction you describe is for jump starting the car, and has nothing to do with a trickle charger on the battery. The battery tender is supposed to connect directly to the battery posts.
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Old Dec 30, 2011 | 07:24 PM
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[QUOTE=bontrager;1579600044]
Originally Posted by OkieBikerDude
I use a "Battery Tender Jr." and just plug it into the cigarette lighter socket. When charging it holds a steady red light and goes to green on standby.



Are you saying that you bypass the terminals on the battery and use a male adapter off the battery charger right into the cigarette lighter to charge/maintain the battery?

Thank you.
That is correct. Most cigarette lighter circuits use a 15amp or greater fuse and the circuit on my '02 is "hot" regardless of the switch position.
I don't have anything wired for remote charging.

OBD
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Old Dec 30, 2011 | 08:50 PM
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I used the cigar lighter adapter for my battery tender (it's not one of the cheaper one either) and it caused the lighter socket to burn out after 10 minutes. I checked the fuse and it is good. I am using the battery clips instead. Next time I have to take the radio surround off I will replace the lighter socket.
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Old Dec 30, 2011 | 10:31 PM
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Originally Posted by craig04c5
I used the cigar lighter adapter for my battery tender (it's not one of the cheaper one either) and it caused the lighter socket to burn out after 10 minutes. I checked the fuse and it is good. I am using the battery clips instead. Next time I have to take the radio surround off I will replace the lighter socket.
I have used the "powerlet" socket on my BMW scooter for years without any problems. My Battery Tender Jr. came with a plug for the cigar lighter and that's what I have been using. I recently purchased a Ctek 3300 from Double D Mods (a CF vender) which also came with a cigar lighter plug. Is it possible that your plug wasn't in the socket completely?
I will especially careful in the future. Thanks for the info.

OKIE
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Old Dec 31, 2011 | 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by OkieBikerDude
I have used the "powerlet" socket on my BMW scooter for years without any problems. My Battery Tender Jr. came with a plug for the cigar lighter and that's what I have been using. I recently purchased a Ctek 3300 from Double D Mods (a CF vender) which also came with a cigar lighter plug. Is it possible that your plug wasn't in the socket completely?
I will especially careful in the future. Thanks for the info.

OKIE
It worked just fine before I plugged the charger in and in fact the charging light came on and when I went back out in the garage later all lights on the charger were out so I hooked my phone into the socket and it was dead. I tried my GPS and cigar lighter just to be sure and it is indeed no longer working. Guess I'll need to get a new socket and pull the radio surround to get to it. I was tempted to plug it into the armrest socket but was afraid it would burn that out also and I need that one for my phone and other accessories. I also use the same charger on my Harley and lawn tractor so the charger is not the issue.
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Old Jan 1, 2012 | 09:29 PM
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I bought my CTEK 3300 from Amazon for $57, including delivery. Best deal and flawless operation with the quick disconnect.
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