Battery charger ruined my battery?

[Dad's72Mach]

Just before Christmas I went out to the garage to fire up Betty on an unseasonably nice day. Click, click, click..... won't start. I ordered a Battery Tender Plus from Amazon, hooked it it and next day she fired right up. On Feb. 25 I unhooked the tender and drove her to a continuing education meeting about an hour and a half away with absolutely no issues. Today I went to back her out of the garage for a bath, tender has steady green light meaning it is "maintaining" battery. Click, click, click.... won't start. Maybe I didn't have a good connection to the tender so I hooked it back up, fifteen minutes later I have a steady red light and a flashing green which means battery is 80% charged. Huh? Jump started from my wife's car went out for a 20 minute cruise, averaging around 60 mph, got home shut her off in the driveway and she wouldn't restart.

I'm befuddled.

I would assume the battery went bad due to sitting too long but why did it work for a few starts after using the tender and now it's completely dead?

Any thoughts? I will be buying a new battery but now I'm worried about hooking up the tender to it and ruining it.

[Tommy Gun]

I don't think the tender would have ruined it. Do you have a meter to check things out?

Perhaps the battery was drain so much that the fluid was down? Even if you tendered it, it would still be low w just the tender on it.

Could be other issues as well. Double checking w a meter is a must.

For us people that bought our cars in 2006-2007 we are at he 5 year mark. In my experience a factory battery lasts "usually" from 5 years to 7 years, so keep an eye on them .

[onecrazydog]

In my experience a factory battery lasts "usually" from 5 years to 7 years, so keep an eye on them .


The one in my F150 is 7 yrs old... Guess I should test it...

[Tommy Gun]

The one in my F150 is 7 yrs old... Guess I should test it...


Yes.

Unless you have really kept up on it, you are on borrowed time.

Or unless you are 68fastback :rolleyes:

[onecrazydog]

Yes.

Unless you have really kept up on it, you are on borrowed time.

Or unless you are 68fastback :rolleyes:

Once in awhile when I wash the motor I will spray the battery down too, other than that I haven't touched it... I have added power cables for my amp and hid's to it...

It has only been boosted a few times... The whole truck has been good over those years...

http://www.onecrazydog.com/pictures/albums/F150/photo130.JPG

[papashelby]

Just before Christmas I went out to the garage to fire up Betty on an unseasonably nice day. Click, click, click..... won't start. I ordered a Battery Tender Plus from Amazon, hooked it it and next day she fired right up. On Feb. 25 I unhooked the tender and drove her to a continuing education meeting about an hour and a half away with absolutely no issues. Today I went to back her out of the garage for a bath, tender has steady green light meaning it is "maintaining" battery. Click, click, click.... won't start. Maybe I didn't have a good connection to the tender so I hooked it back up, fifteen minutes later I have a steady red light and a flashing green which means battery is 80% charged. Huh? Jump started from my wife's car went out for a 20 minute cruise, averaging around 60 mph, got home shut her off in the driveway and she wouldn't restart.

I'm befuddled.

I would assume the battery went bad due to sitting too long but why did it work for a few starts after using the tender and now it's completely dead?

Any thoughts? I will be buying a new battery but now I'm worried about hooking up the tender to it and ruining it.

I agree with TG, I don't think the tender did anything to your battery. I've been using them (I have 4) for 15 years and have never had a problem with them ruining a battery. I'm not a techie, but I do know heat is a battery's worst enemy, and with you living where you do, I have to agree again with TG, you were on borrowed time if your battery is more than 5 years old. You just need to move up here by me, and your batteries will last at least 7 years, LOL. I've had batteries last 11-12 years and all I do, is keep them clean and check the water in them at least once a year, even if they say "maintenance free". Just my 2 cents.

[68fastback]

I agree with TG, I don't think the tender did anything to your battery. I've been using them (I have 4) for 15 years and have never had a problem with them ruining a battery. I'm not a techie, but I do know heat is a battery's worst enemy, and with you living where you do, I have to agree again with TG, you were on borrowed time if your battery is more than 5 years old. You just need to move up here by me, and your batteries will last at least 7 years, LOL. I've had batteries last 11-12 years and all I do, is keep them clean and check the water in them at least once a year, even if they say "maintenance free". Just my 2 cents.

...me too!

...TG doesn't believe it tho :shades:


:sofa: ;-)

[Tommy Gun]

12 years? :faint:

[Dad's72Mach]

I too have been reluctant to believe the tender was the problem, however my battery isn't even 4 yo(bought my car in April of '08, engine build date is feb of '08). Despite the initail drain down, which was not a surprise as I had left it untended for a few months, the failure seems rather sudden. I have read a few reviews about Battery Tender Plus and overcharging. I guess if I buy a new battery it will have a warranty so if it fails I can get it replaced and the mystery will be solved either way.

Thanks for the responses!

[Tommy Gun]

You left it unattended for a few months or didn't use it for a few months?

[Dad's72Mach]

You left it unattended for a few months or didn't use it for a few months?

Didn't start the car for a few months. This was before, and the reason I did, buy the tender.

[68fastback]

You left it unattended for a few months or didn't use it for a few months?

...yeah, that'll do it! Sulfation starts the instant the car is shut off at anything less than fully charged and batteries in cars with high parasitic losses will typically degrade faster.

A good batery tender (I like the battery minder) with an automatic desulfation mode can make a big difference on a car with high parasitic losses.

[Boston Mike]

I will stay out of this discussion.

[Birdman]

There's a very good chance your battery is low on electrolyte. I have seen more than one 2007 Gt500 at least a pint or more low. Did you check the fluid level before charging? I would bring the level up by adding the proper amount of distilled water then reconnect the battery tender.

[Tommy Gun]

...yeah, that'll do it! Sulfation starts the instant the car is shut off at anything less than fully charged and batteries in cars with high parasitic losses will typically degrade faster.

A good batery tender (I like the battery minder) with an automatic desulfation mode can make a big difference on a car with high parasitic losses.


That's what I was thinking.

The battery was already dead enough before the tender put on to bring it back to life.

Perhaps it brought it back enough for a short run, but then died off quick again.

THAT can also kill an alternator in my opinion, trying to bring back a dead battery.

THAT is what happened to mine.

These conditions are also worse I believe when it is cold out. I keep my tender on the car when ever it is cold or I think I won't start it for over a week.

[68fastback]

...for sure -- battery must be full to 'rings' before charging or the plates will much more easily warp.

...and make sure it's reading least at 11.8v before hooking up the battery tender (if not use a regular charger to get it above that first) ...most of 'tender' units will only 'finish' an already fairly well charged battery but will just sit there and slowly drain it (about 20mW/hr drain) if below a critical voltage (usually 11.8v, but varies by brand of battery maintainer).

...also, some 'tender' units require the battery is connected ot the unit *before* it's plugged into AC or it will not charge at aproper level and may not go into desulfation mode -- which some units (e.g. BatteryMinderPlus) permit you to 'force' but you really only want it to go into desulfation after it's will hold at 12.8v or more after an 8-12 hour sit with no charging. The BatteryMinderPlus monitors charging (if initially hooked up in the right sequence) and will then go into desulfation at the correct voltage for the actual condition of the battery.

I actually called BatteryMinder (they not in NJ any longer but are on L.I.) and talked to the engineer since their instructions were a bit odd. He convinced me the above matters. Definately RTFM -lol.

[Joe G]

I also use the BatteryMinder based on what I found a few years ago.

[Tommy Gun]

Me too.

[68fastback]

The engineer told me that on rare occasions the BatteryMinder/BatteryMinderPlus will not 'restart' properly after some AC power outages. But he said the unit only consumes about 20mA so it would take a couple weeks to put any signif dent in a good battery. He told me to voltage check any battery on maintenance after a power outage just to be sure and if the voltage isn't right to disconnect it from AC, then disconnect from battery, then re-hook to battery and then recoonect to AC and it should restart ok. So far we've had many (lol - welcome to rural NY) power outages but it's restarted every time, no prob. Just mentioning in case anyone is interested. We had talked for about 20 minutes because he lives in an area I used to hang as a teen. I appreciated that he was candid about the potential problem.

I should have saved his tel number. Funny how I got it. I called one of their retail vendors because I had some questions. They could not answer all my questions adequately so they gave me the number for Battery Minder. Turns out it was the number for Schummacher Electric (who also makes various battery chargers and maintenance/desulfation devices). While talking to them, they were telling me to use a procedure for hooking up the unit across two batteries that was different than posted online at the vendor site and that's when I discovered they were not Battery Minder (when the answered the phone they didn't mention the name of the company, so who would have thought?). So it was clear they could not answer the questions either. They put me through to someone else in Schummacher who gave me a number for Battery Minder. When I called it, the person answered the phone: "yeah?" -lol I thought that was odd so asked if this was so-and-so at Battery Minder. He said yes ...who's this? I told hime and he immediately asked: how'd you get my direct number? I told him the story -lol. He thought it was pretty funny. I asked him where on L.I. they were and we started reminiscing about the area in the 60s -lol. Anyhow, very nice guy ...and honest too! Told me about the product and how it became a huge hit and eventually lead to over a dozen related products, of which the BatteryMinderPlus is one.

Anyhow ...I like it ;-)

[Dad's72Mach]

Well I bought a new battery and everything is working fine now. Betty had her bath and is looking her usual hot-@ss self. I wish I had asked about this sooner as I did not buy the BatteryMINDERPplu0,s I got a BatteryTENDERplus. I hope this is a good unit as I would loathe buying another but it would be cheaper than another battery.

[68fastback]

Well I bought a new battery and everything is working fine now. Betty had her bath and is looking her usual hot-@ss self. I wish I had asked about this sooner as I did not buy the BatteryMINDERPplu0,s I got a BatteryTENDERplus. I hope this is a good unit as I would loathe buying another but it would be cheaper than another battery.

I think Grabber has the BatteryTender and really likes it ...just make sure to check the instructions on the sequence/how to connect it and how desulfation works. Most of these units are very gentle on the battery such that you don't even need to pop the caps on the battery (unless it needs distilled water but good idea to wash/clean the caps to be sure they're not clogged) because they will not cause any electrolyte bubbling (hydrogen bubbles) if at least at the minimum voltage (which any good battery will be). Desulfation mode usually keeps an intelligent (gauged to battery condition) trickle-charge on the battery but adds a proprietary variable high-frequency (2-3Mhz) pulsing to desulfate (electronically loosen/break-up sulfate crystals from the plates) while maintaining the battery at peak voltage. Great little devices!

[Dad's72Mach]

Desulfation mode usually keeps an intelligent (gauged to battery condition) trickle-charge on the battery but adds a proprietary variable high-frequency (2-3Mhz) pulsing to desulfate (electronically loosen/break-up sulfate crystals from the plates) while maintaining the battery at peak voltage. Great little devices!

Ummmm ok. Those are good things I suppose. Right?

[68fastback]

Ummmm ok. Those are good things I suppose. Right?

lol ...yup! ;-)

[papashelby]

Well I bought a new battery and everything is working fine now. Betty had her bath and is looking her usual hot-@ss self. I wish I had asked about this sooner as I did not buy the BatteryMINDERPplu0,s I got a BatteryTENDERplus. I hope this is a good unit as I would loathe buying another but it would be cheaper than another battery.

Dad,

Like I said earlier, I've got 4 of the Batterytenderplus units, and have never had any issues with them. I use them mainly for my atv's, boat, and garden tractor. I put one on the Shelby this past winter and everything is fine. I did unplug it a couple of times (per Birdy in a different post), let it sit for a few minutes, and then plugged it back in. Both batteries in the atv's are 11 years old and I keep the chargers on them for most of the year, so I can only assume, they are doing what they are meant to do. Hope this makes you feel better about your purchase.

[Tommy Gun]

Dad,

Like I said earlier, I've got 4 of the Batterytenderplus units, and have never had any issues with them. I use them mainly for my atv's, boat, and garden tractor. I put one on the Shelby this past winter and everything is fine. I did unplug it a couple of times (per Birdy in a different post), let it sit for a few minutes, and then plugged it back in. Both batteries in the atv's are 11 years old and I keep the chargers on them for most of the year, so I can only assume, they are doing what they are meant to do. Hope this makes you feel better about your purchase.



:wow2: you must be rich. :rofl3:



.

[Dad's72Mach]

Dad,

Like I said earlier, I've got 4 of the Batterytenderplus units, and have never had any issues with them. I use them mainly for my atv's, boat, and garden tractor. I put one on the Shelby this past winter and everything is fine. I did unplug it a couple of times (per Birdy in a different post), let it sit for a few minutes, and then plugged it back in. Both batteries in the atv's are 11 years old and I keep the chargers on them for most of the year, so I can only assume, they are doing what they are meant to do. Hope this makes you feel better about your purchase.

It does, thanks. I think I might have had it plugged in before I hooked it up last time. Plus the battery had been allowed to almost fully discharge before I bought the tender. I'll be more careful in the future. I also plan on driving the Shelby a little more often.


:pimp: