Battery Tender Jr failures


BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
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

GT Owner
Mar 9, 2007
1,151
So Cal
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

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
 

RPM217

2005 white/blue stripe
Jun 18, 2010
1,658
Rye Brook, New York
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

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
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

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
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

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 26, 2007
1,135
Florida/North Jersey
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

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
Maybe I should of got an F-car charger for $400.

$_57.JPG


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
 
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SFGT

GT Owner
Oct 23, 2012
70
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

GT Owner
Mar 1, 2007
7,278
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
 
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BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
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
 

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RPM217

2005 white/blue stripe
Jun 18, 2010
1,658
Rye Brook, New York
FYI, the Ferrari charger is a CTEK, branded and marked up accordingly!!!
 

jcthorne

GT Owner
Aug 30, 2011
792
Houston
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

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
May 1, 2009
617
Calabasas, California
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

GT Owner
Nov 29, 2006
509
Beaumont, TX
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

GT Owner
May 25, 2013
1,215
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

GT Owner
Mar 9, 2007
1,151
So Cal
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)

Battery Tender female plug.jpg
 

BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
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

GT Owner
Aug 30, 2011
792
Houston
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.
 
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BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
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.