Recommendations on how to extend Battery Tender cable?

[Super65lark]

Nope, MT-24 plain ol' lead acid. My old one was too. I mean, I can order a new battery tender....Just one of these things that stumps. Only difference between the scooter battery and the auto battery is amp, obviously.
I even hooked up a jumper cable like some people suggest, and that didn't work either.

[elagache]

Dear Iain, Bill, and mid-60s Buick electricians,

Officially stumped. Battery finally died, headlights wouldn't turn on. Got a new battery, interstate. Car starts right up.
Maintainer will work on tiny 12v scooter battery, but not this new battery.
What gives? 

How old is your maintainer charger?  What symptoms does it give that indicate that it won't work with this new battery?  I don't know how these devices can fail, but perhaps there is a failure mode that you have unfortunately discovered - da' hard way . . . .

Let us know what are the symptoms of da' patient.

Cheers, Edouard 

[Super65lark]

I realized something, friends. I asked a professional mechanic. My new battery is 100% charged. My old battery was less than 50% charged. In fact, it was pretty much dead.
Battery maintainers don't go to these extremes. They keep the battery with some voltage that's less than 100% charged (usually). And, they're all different.
So I actually think there is nothing wrong with the charger and hence the reason it turns on for the scooter battery.

[elagache]

Dear Iain and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

I realized something, friends. I asked a professional mechanic. My new battery is 100% charged. My old battery was less than 50% charged. In fact, it was pretty much dead.
Battery maintainers don't go to these extremes. They keep the battery with some voltage that's less than 100% charged (usually). And, they're all different.
So I actually think there is nothing wrong with the charger and hence the reason it turns on for the scooter battery.

How does your charger behave when you connect it to your new battery?  The Battery Tender chargers will "pretend" to charge even a full battery.  What I mean is that when you first connect it, the light comes on indicating that is it trying to charge the battery.  These chargers have a "close to full" light.  When the charger concludes that the battery is sufficiently charged that you could start the car if you wanted to, a second light comes on.  Finally it switches to standby mode which is a third configuration of lights.

Biquette has a beefy alternator so the battery basically remains charged.  So when I plug her into the charger, the sequence I described above takes as little as a minute.  Coquette (our 2000 Buick Century) doesn't have a strong an alternator and frequently it can take as much as 15-30 minutes to top off the battery.

Are you seeing behavior like this?  That would be a guarantee that your charger is working properly.

Cheers, Edouard 

[Super65lark]

Come to think of it, no. And I've been looking at various maintainers. Seems BT & BT Junior are the most popular.


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I think I've bored most everyone with this but I'm still going. At least Edouard is still hanging on. I've read a whole bunch about these, at least the economical units. It seems that they are really work the same and do the same, unless you get a defective unit - which frightens me. So, I guess order one, plug it in and watch it closely.

[elagache]

Dear Iain and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Come to think of it, no. And I've been looking at various maintainers. Seems BT & BT Junior are the most popular.

. . .

At least Edouard is still hanging on. I've read a whole bunch about these, at least the economical units.

You've got be patient on this forum.  Not everyone can visit everyday.  I almost didn't make today either! 

I ended up getting my first Battery Tender charger based on recommendations I got on this thread:

http://65gs.com/board/index.php/topic,3465.msg24235.html#msg24235

I started out with the Battery Tender Jr and it works just fine so long as you have only a battery with minimal "always on" parasitical devices.  In Biquette's case the clock is about it.  Ruthy is probably the same.

I ended up getting a larger Battery Tender for Coquette (or 2000 Buick Century,) because the charging process would turn on the aftermarket daytime running lights.  It turns out I was making a mistake in allowing the charger to energize the daytime running lights.  Eventually the daylight running lights controller failed.   

While the Battery Tender Jr. is a small package, it has all the diagnostic LEDs of the Battery Tender line.

It seems that they are really work the same and do the same, unless you get a defective unit - which frightens me. So, I guess order one, plug it in and watch it closely.

You can watch the LED status lights and you can tell right away if the charger is working properly.  The first time you install it, make a point of checking in every few minutes to make sure all is going smoothly.  Once you see that the charger is working properly, you can just plug it in and let it take are of itself from then on.

I definitely recommend them! 

Cheers, Edouard 

[Super65lark]

Thanks Edouard.
For now I came up with the best possible battery maintainer & Buick benefit -- the road.

[elagache]

Dear Iain and mid-60s Buick owners who want to drive!!

For now I came up with the best possible battery maintainer & Buick benefit -- the road.

x2!!!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Super65lark]

I decided to go down with a new model of the Schumacher I was using. Has the same style quick disconnect that the BT Junior has. I'll let you all know how it goes.

[elagache]

Dear Iain and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

I decided to go down with a new model of the Schumacher I was using. Has the same style quick disconnect that the BT Junior has.

Schumacher is another well-established company in the field.  It was started in 1947!  Here is their website:

https://www.batterychargers.com/

While they make more than battery chargers, the website URL clearly indicates they have a reputation for such things!

I'll let you all know how it goes.

Do let us know how you install your charger and cable.  If you think it would be interesting pictures would certainly be appreciated.  I bought the parts for extending Biquette's charger cable, but I still haven't been able to find the time to actually do the work.  So I'm still looking for ideas.

Cheers, Edouard 

[Super65lark]

Edouard,

Do you know what voltage your battery gets to with the BT plugged in?
I plugged in the Schumacher, and with the unit still operating, it measured 14.6volts. At that point I became nervous and disconnected it.
Then, immediately after unplugging it, the voltage was 13.6
Either way, the anxiety of having a defective unit overcharge a new (& expensive) battery may not be worth it.

[elagache]

Dear Iain and mid-60s Buick battery caregivers,

Do you know what voltage your battery gets to with the BT plugged in?
I plugged in the Schumacher, and with the unit still operating, it measured 14.6volts. At that point I became nervous and disconnected it.
Then, immediately after unplugging it, the voltage was 13.6

I had Biquette connected to her Battery Tender charger, so I disconnected the charger and unplugged it from the AC for about 5 minutes to reset everything.  Before connecting, the battery read 12.95 Volts (with some variation.)  When I first connected the charger, curiously it also read exactly the same: 12.95 Volts.  However, after about 15 second, the charger switched to its "battery almost full" mode.  At that point the voltage read 14.37 Volts.  I didn't investigate any further.

I'm reasonably confident that car batteries can be charged at 14 Volts for another curious bit of trivia.  My parents had a slot-car set that was powered by transformers rated 14 volts.  Dad would use those transformers to recharge the battery in our power boat.  I don't recommend using a slot-car transformer to recharge a lead-acid battery, but I think it is safe to assume those batteries can handle 14+ volts when charging.

Let us know if you get this trickle charger to handle Ruthy's needs.

Cheers, Edouard