Battery Tender Jr failures

[BlackICE]

I had 4 of these and over about 7 to 8 years 2 of them died so far. One would never turn to green, swap to another and it worked fine. Another would flash green and red (supposed to mean bad battery or bad connection) swapped to another unit works fine. I hope the Ford OEM units are more reliable given they don't have any indicator LEDs.

It seems that BT has two models now one for 49 states and a special one for CA, (high efficiency) BS!

I guess it more of big brother telling us what we can buy and what we should eat, etc!

I think I am switching to CTek that Kayvan recommends.


http://batterytender.com/products/automotive/battery-tender-junior-12v-at-0-75a.html

The Battery Tender® Junior High Efficiency is much more than a trickle charger. It has a brain. It's lightweight, compact, and fully automatic; very easy to use, especially in small spaces. It will keep your battery fully charged so that it is ready to go when you are! This unit replaces the 021-0123 in the California market.

http://batterytender.com/battery-tenderr-junior-high-efficiency.html

 

[junior]

We should feel special in Cali, a specific battery tender, holy electron Batman, I mean is this another marketing stunt aiming on insulting our intelligence :willy

 

[BlackICE]

We are special, specially F'd!

The land of fruits and nuts!

http://www.energy.ca.gov/appliances/battery_chargers/

http://www.energy.ca.gov/appliances...1-27_Battery_Charger_Manufacturers_Letter.pdf

 

[RPM217]

I've been using CTEK on the NSX for 12 years. I did replace the OEM battery at 9 years, still was working, but didn't want to push my luck. Got the GT on one as well. They're the best, and our cars deserve nothing less!! (unless you're EP, and than why even bother with a battery)

 

[BlackICE]

I've been using CTEK on the NSX for 12 years. I did replace the OEM battery at 9 years, still was working, but didn't want to push my luck. Got the GT on one as well. They're the best, and our cars deserve nothing less!! (unless you're EP, and than why even bother with a battery)

I just order one of these for the FGT. It has an Optima/AGM mode using a slightly higher voltage.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006G14FK8/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[analogdesigner]

ICE,

Sadly there are too many products that compromise quality for cost/profits. Also, wasn't this true with Optima batteries in the past few years? I have dissected some of these units after they have failed and was not impressed with the construction quality. I did a posting (many years ago) of the stock GT charger showing output voltage vs. load current if that is of any help. Good luck, Jay

 

[Howard]

Coincidently, I had a Battery Tender fail today (or, more accurately, I noticed the failure today) on a motorcycle battery. I'm through with BTs, this being my second failure. All my other vehicles are on C-TEKs or Battery Minders, both of which get my recommendation. Both are also temperature compensated which may be important in unheated, un-A/C storage like mine.

Howard

 

[BlackICE]

Maybe I should of got an F-car charger for $400.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ferrari-Fac...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item258aa562aa

Look about the same as a Ctek for $60. Fcar tax?

Maybe someone can get FGT labels and rebrand Cteks and make the big $$$ :lol

 

[SFGT]

I have a Ctek on 2 cars and it seems to work well, looks just like the Ferrari charger

Bought the Ctek on Amazon

 

[RALPHIE]

I still use the Battery Tender Jr. (Kendall's Float Charger) to maintain the battery voltage, but if the voltage drops to low for it, I've been using the NOCO Genius 3500 to restore the voltage, as it has AGM selections -

View attachment 34440

They also make a 7.2 Amp model, the G7200...

Here's a link -

http://www.geniuschargers.com/products

 

[BlackICE]

I took the Tender apart to see what was inside. It uses an 8 pin Atmel Tiny 13 processor that has ADC inputs.

http://www.atmel.com/Images/2535S.pdf

 

[RPM217]

FYI, the Ferrari charger is a CTEK, branded and marked up accordingly!!!

 

[jcthorne]

FYI, the Ferrari charger is a CTEK, branded and marked up accordingly!!!

I concur. I have had several Battery Tender and schumacher battery maintainers die over the years. My 6yr old CTEK just keeps working great. Guess which one is on the GT? As the others die on our bikes etc, they will be replaced with CTEK too. They just work. They need to build a solar model for my trailer. Been through 2 Battery Tender solar units in 3 years.....

 

[GEE-TEE]

I have used the Battery Tender Jr. (Kendal's)for 6+ years. I did replace it once last year as the unit just died. But it they work well and not expensive.

 

[beckertb]

I have 2 dozen battery tenders on things and find that occasionally they just die........battery tender jr, drag racings rebranded, schumachers. I ordered 3 cteks this am to see how these do.........for as cheap as they are, I don't expect any of them to last forever

 

[mmlcobra]

I have had great luck with the Autometer units.
Most of the ten I have are fifteen years old, and some being subjected to outdoor use, all still going strong.
Best,
Mark

 

[junior]

Is the C-Tek female plug (output plug) the same as the Battery Tender Jr. output plug ? (I have Kendall's BT where the receiving plug is securely mounted to one of the grill vertical frames)

 

[BlackICE]

Is the C-Tek female plug (output plug) the same as the Battery Tender Jr. output plug ? (I have Kendall's BT where the receiving plug is securely mounted to one of the grill vertical frames)

No. I had to cut off the connector and cable the Jr. and connect it to the Ctek adapter cable after cutting off the ring terminals.

The Ctek is now charging the battery in AGM mode after the Jr's charge cycle was complete with a green light.

 

[jcthorne]

Odd, My CTEK came with both ring connectors and that same 2 pin connector you show in the photo. Same as the BT units and schumacher units I have. The connectors are all common. I have that same port but mine is up at the base of the passenger windshield, just under the deck lid. Easier for me to connect there without crawling around on the floor.




I just went and looked at the Ctek chargers at Amazon. They have indeed changed connectors to a proprietary design. But they offer a CTEK 93-56-564 adapter that connects to the more standard 2pin connector you have. My older one had the standard 2 pin connectors.

 

[BlackICE]

My connector is a female power port I installed in one the a fake brake duct. That way if I forget to remove the charger's cable when I back out it just comes off without damaging anything.