I have a 2008 Harley Fatboy purchased used in June 2013. Bike now has 20,000 miles. Battery in bike is a DEKA. Bike is always on tender when not used. I have noticed recently that when I get it off Harley Battery Tender and try to start it, it cranks slowly but does crank. After riding a bit, stopping, and restarting, it starts just fine.
Should the bike start strong after being on the battery tender just like it does after riding a while? Not sure if the tender is wearing out.
SUP
The difference is the motor is cold off the tender and warm when you restart after riding it.
You have a battery thats telling you it's time.
Joe
That is a point that I have not considered. When it is warm / hot, it likely will crank easier and stronger. I am going to get a new battery. 3 1/2 years on this one is pretty good!
Bought my Deluxe Dec 2008, jan 2009 installed a new battery. Sold Sep 2015 with the same battery i purchased! Kept a bttery tender on it ALL the time, even after a ride.
Originally Posted by RoadKingofTexas
I work the Parts counter at a Texas Dealership.
I always ask when the battery was purchased when someone brings an old one in to be replaced.
Riders who report that they do not regularly use a tender experience an average battery life on an HD battery of approx. 2 - 3 years.
I had two individuals who came in on the last 6 months who bought their HD baggers new in 2009 and were here to get their first replacement batteries. That is a 7 year battery life and they used a tender regularly.
A $40 tender made a (now) $170 battery last 7 years... that's pretty good.
Just installed a new Deka Battery for my HD Fatboy. Checked the charge on it when I received it 12.8. Put it on a battery charger (2 amp rate) for a few hours and got about 14 on the meter. Installed it, cranked it, rode it just a bit and put it on the HD Battery Tender.
All is good
SUP
I've had the same tender on my bike(s) for over 16 years. I'd check your connections first, then that battery! If it wasn't taken care of by the previous then it's probably the problem.
Battery Tenders do go bad and do not necessarily fail completely. I had one that would not complete the charging cycle. BT gave me an allowance for it. I had to cut the cord flush with the housing and send a photo to them and then the sold me a new one for a deeply discounted price. I think they allowed me $50 off the retail price.
I had nothing to lose so I dug into the failed one. Did some research on the web and found that BT Juniors were known to fail capacitors and replacing them would fix the charger. So, I got the specs off the caps in the charger and bought new caps. I replaced them one by one on the circuit board. I then had to reterminate the lead that Deltran had me cut off. I plugged it in and connected to a battery and it worked like the day I bought it.
So, if your BT is not working properly, you can probably fix it yourself if you can solder.
For what it is worth, I take very good care of my batteries and got 17 years out of my 2001 OEM battery. It would still crank the engine, but not start it. That is when I bought the new OEM HD battery.
Over the weekend I picked up this 4.5amp Battery Tender at Costco for $50 - ($80 on Amazon)
I still have 2 of the 1.25amp smaller ones, but the tirke I just bought has a lithium battery and those only do flooded batteries.
I really like how solid built / heavy it is.
This one does flooded and lithium batteries.
I did a test on the HD 800mA, the same I believe as the Deltran 800mA junior.
I checked my battery and it was showing 13.15 volts. I switched off the tender and turned on the ignition for a few minutes. The voltage fell to 12.96 volts. I turned on the tender and observed the voltage going up and also saw the green led flashing on the tender. When the led went solid the maximum voltage on the battery was 14.63 volts. After that the voltage started falling which indicates to me the charger had switched off. After a few minutes the voltage had fallen to 13.23 volts.
In order to fully charge an AGM battery it does require around 14.6 volts. Maybe if these tenders are used on flooded lead acid batteries they might damage them long term.
I've used the same one for a little over a year now. It does great.
Originally Posted by theheder
Over the weekend I picked up this 4.5amp Battery Tender at Costco for $50 - ($80 on Amazon)
I still have 2 of the 1.25amp smaller ones, but the tirke I just bought has a lithium battery and those only do flooded batteries.
I really like how solid built / heavy it is.
This one does flooded and lithium batteries.
12-09-2016, 06:44 PM
