Battery Tender

[Topless69GT 28]

Has anyone had any luck with Battery Tender products. I have on my 07 GT Convertible and I have now put two new batteries in my car in the last 6 months. I think it is the Battery Tender that is the problem. The car only has 3k miles on it. I put the Battery Tender ($39 dollar one) on the car because it sits at a house in Southport North Carolina that my family owns and every time one of went down there we had to jump it. The battery tender seemed to work initially but now the last two times the battery is dead and will not hold a charge. So basically since I started using the Battery Tender it has killed two batteries and a car with only 3k miles has its third battery.

 

From when I bought the car new in 07 until 2014 I had the original battery while not using the Battery Tender. Since I started using the Battery Tender I seem to put an new one in the car every time I touch it. Obviously I have removed the Battery Tender product. I am wondering if the product is defective or if it is just a garbage product. Does any one use one of these or another brand that works? I would like to find one that works so I don't have to continue to jump the car or unhook the battery before I leave and go back to Indiana. The car can sit for 6 months or more at a time.

[Protowrxs 111]

Hmm.. I have one on my 1985 SVO that sits under the car port and have never had any issues. Even a cheap battery that's been in it since 2010. I do try to fire it up every 2 to 3 weeks just for the car's sake but it's worked fine. It was killing the battery after 2-3 weeks otherwise which I have never tried to track down in any detail.

 

Would be interesting on what others have experienced.

 

Stephen

[Topless69GT 28]

Which Battery Tender are you using? The Junior ($39) or the other one that is around $69?

[mauleta 10]

I have a Battery Tender Plus on my 2006 Mustang GT and was able to get 7 years out of the original battery that came with the car (I bought it new).  I have had no issues with it.  The car has been sitting in a garage since December and I don't expect to have any issues with it starting (hopefully soon.  It's snowing).

[stangs-R-me 120]

I've got an original "Battery Tender Plus" that's got to be at least 10 years old.   My '69 is hooked up to it year round and it has never given me any problems.   When I had my '67 Fairlane, I'd pull both batteries during the winter months, set on a shelf, and hook them BOTH up to the same Battery Tender ... this worked great without any issues too.   BTW ... the current battery in my '69 is over 8 years old !!

 

A year or so ago, I bought a "Battery Tender Jr." for a truck at work that just gets pulled in & out of garage bay every day (not titled or insured so this is all the exercise it gets).   At first, it had a bad battery in it yet the Tender Jr. would top it off enough over night for it to start "most" mornings.   When it got to the point that it would "not start" most mornings & some evenings we finally replaced the battery and the thing has been no problem ever since.   

 

So, I'm real happy with performance of both an original Battery Tender & a newer Jr. model !!

 

When shopping for the Jr., I read a lot of negative reviews for both it and the regular model ... glad I took a chance as having that dumb truck start every morning & evening certainly takes away the stress of dealing with it NOT starting !!

 

Doug    

[Topless69GT 28]

I will get the $69 one and try them again. Maybe I just got a bad unit.

[Dave R. 85]

In the mid '80's we bought a Ford, of course, E150 conversion van. It was a third vehicle for us and was intended for vacations primarily. It sat in the garage for months at a time. Sometimes it sat from one summer until the next summer. After several batteries went bad from non-use I bought the cheapest trickle charger that I could find. I plugged it into a timer and set the timer for 1 hour per day. That solved the battery problem. Beats a $30 or more charger that may not work anyway.   Dave R.

[Topless69GT 28]

I emailed Battery Tender and they told me that the Jr. is really not adequate for most cars. It puts out 0.7 amps where the Tender Plus puts out 1.25 amps. They recommend the Plus since the Jr. can't keep up with the demand and the battery will eventually go dead. I went to Advanced Auto and bought their 1.5 amp version for $29 and have it hooked up to the 07 GT and bought another for the 69 GT.

[1969_Mach1 333]

_{Replacing the Battery Tender probably fixed the problem.  I've had a Battery Tender Plus on my 69 Mach 1 year round for about 10 years.  Never have a problem starting it up.  The battery is always fully charged, and lasts a long time.}

 

_{If it goes dead again I would: (1) Be certain there is no drain on the battery.  Shorted diodes in the alternator are a common cause of battery drain.  Key on or off, they will drain the battery.  Alternator will seem to work fine.  Only the peak output will be slightly low in addition to draining the battery.  (2) Try disconnecting the battery and see if it remains charged with the Battery Tender connected to it.  If the battery goes dead, and it was a known good battery, then it can only be the Battery Tender.}