Troubleshooting Detran Tender

[James Burleigh]

I got myself a Deltran Battery Tender Junior to hook up to my Sportster in the garage. But when I plug it into the electrical outlet and hook it up to the bike I don't get any light coming on (green or red) on the piece that plugs into the electrical outlet. The troubleshooting manual says that if that happens the problem is at the power source. I plugged in other stuff that works at that outlet. The only thing I notice is that with my multimeter I show 118 V, not 120. But that's true on other outlets in the house also.

Also, if it's not hooked up to the battery, would the light come on?

With it just plugged in to the outlet and not the bike, would I show 12 V with my mutimeter at the plugs that come off the tender?

I'm showing 12 V on the plugs coming off my battery.

Any ideas? Got the part at Cycle Gear. My only conclusion is that it must be the unit.

Jb

 

[JamesK]

My battery tender will show a flashing red light (on the front) if plugged in but not connected to the battery. Just guessing but given that the unit claims to be "intelligent" I would not be surprised to see it not give a voltage reading on the output wires without a load...have not tried measuring it with a meter though. If the above logic is correct, you could try (depending on your multimeter) try to measure the current when the unit is connected to the battery by putting the multimeter in series with the battery.

 

[sammon287]

The connection at the battery is probably reversed. If the polarity is wrong, the light won't come on. I assume you are not using the included alligator clips. My Jr. does not flash the light if nothing is connected to it while plugged into the wall. Steady red while charging; steady green when charged.

 

[BkrK12]

Someplace, in the dim memory recesses, I remember reading that you have to connect to the battery before plugging into the outlet.