OK, it has gotten too cold for me to ride in the morning. (3o degrees, but I am 70 and the cold is too much for me) So I got the battery out of my buddy 125 and brought it upstairs to my apt.
A friend gave me a Battery Tender Plus so I can keep it charged until spring. The problem is that I have never done this before. There are cords with a round circle plus and minus, and another set with alligator clips on them, and then of couse the tender that plugs in. My friend is gone for a couple of months and I need some instructions. Help
If your scooter happens to have a cigar lighter outlet then you can get the battery tender male plug to plug into it. That's what I did and it's worked out great.
smithrw wrote:If your scooter happens to have a cigar lighter outlet then you can get the battery tender male plug to plug into it. That's what I did and it's worked out great.
This won't work on a BT Plus - the charge current maximum is too high (> 1A) and will blow the socket's fuse. The BTJr only allows .75A, so it can charge successfully through the 12v socket.
Feel da rhythm! Feel da rhyme! Get on up! It's Buddy Time!
Great video Siobhan That helped alot. So I need to take battery outside huh. Was hoping to do in my apt. I do have a small deck, but here in Seattle it rains alot. Have to think about this some more.
Shortie wrote:Great video Siobhan That helped alot. So I need to take battery outside huh. Was hoping to do in my apt. I do have a small deck, but here in Seattle it rains alot. Have to think about this some more.
Bring it inside...it's fine.
I want to be riding when I'm your age...you're an inspiration!
smithrw wrote:If your scooter happens to have a cigar lighter outlet then you can get the battery tender male plug to plug into it. That's what I did and it's worked out great.
This won't work on a BT Plus - the charge current maximum is too high (> 1A) and will blow the socket's fuse. The BTJr only allows .75A, so it can charge successfully through the 12v socket.
Ya... oops. Thanks bf for blowing a fuse that is nearly impossible to find in any autoparts stores. Add that to the winter project list...
Yeah, I actually blew the 1A fuse this past winter - I cranked the starter while the BTJr was still connected, and somehow zorched it, even though it shouldn't have. Go figure.
Like others, I haven't found a 1A fuse in the local shops, so I plugged in a 2A, which was the smallest at my auto parts place. Since the only things I plug in there are a BTJr, a cell charger, and a GPS charger, all of which successfully worked on the smaller fuse, I'm not really running any risk upsizing to 2A.
Feel da rhythm! Feel da rhyme! Get on up! It's Buddy Time!
PeteH wrote:Yeah, I actually blew the 1A fuse this past winter - I cranked the starter while the BTJr was still connected, and somehow zorched it, even though it shouldn't have. Go figure.
Like others, I haven't found a 1A fuse in the local shops, so I plugged in a 2A, which was the smallest at my auto parts place. Since the only things I plug in there are a BTJr, a cell charger, and a GPS charger, all of which successfully worked on the smaller fuse, I'm not really running any risk upsizing to 2A.
So this is an ok thing to do? I was about to resort to this once it came time to take it apart and stick a new fuse in there, didn't want to without verifying with some "experts" first.
Well, I Am Not A Scooter Mechanic, but it's all about current draw. The BTJr has a known current limit of .75 amps, and since my little chargers worked OK on the 1A fuse, they must pull less than 1A. Putting a bigger fuse in the circuit won't force more current out the socket, so it's no big deal. It's all about knowing what your devices will pull.
Putting a 10A fuse in there to run heated gloves, on the other hand, would likely (quickly) overheat, melt down, and/or short out the 1A-capable wiring under the front cowl. Not a bright idea.
Feel da rhythm! Feel da rhyme! Get on up! It's Buddy Time!
smithrw wrote:If your scooter happens to have a cigar lighter outlet then you can get the battery tender male plug to plug into it. That's what I did and it's worked out great.
This won't work on a BT Plus - the charge current maximum is too high (> 1A) and will blow the socket's fuse. The BTJr only allows .75A, so it can charge successfully through the 12v socket.
Ya... oops. Thanks bf for blowing a fuse that is nearly impossible to find in any autoparts stores. Add that to the winter project list...
I upgraded my fuse to a 3 amp. My local hardware store stocks a variety of fuses and I could have replaced it with a 1A, but something I plugged in somewhere along the way (not my Battery Tender Jr) blew the fuse.
Not planning to stress the wiring but I'd rather not not to open up the scoot to replace it if I goof up again.
PeteH wrote:Well, I Am Not A Scooter Mechanic, but it's all about current draw. The BTJr has a known current limit of .75 amps, and since my little chargers worked OK on the 1A fuse, they must pull less than 1A. Putting a bigger fuse in the circuit won't force more current out the socket, so it's no big deal. It's all about knowing what your devices will pull.
Putting a 10A fuse in there to run heated gloves, on the other hand, would likely (quickly) overheat, melt down, and/or short out the 1A-capable wiring under the front cowl. Not a bright idea.
Well I know about all that stuff. I just have a container of about 30 2A fuses. (Mk5 GTIs have a tendency to blow the heated seat fuses, so bf just buys the large "assortment" packages of them... we have yet to use one of the 2As). Anyway, he's a computer engineer/software engineer/VW enthusiast/mechanic so I trust his judgement, he told me the same thing you did. I'm in design and marketing and tattoo artistry, and it's all just nonsensical blabber to me. I just wanted to make sure that the Buddy itself could handle it without causing any other electrical problems.
So thank you for easing my troubled mind... before I had to make my own thread about it on here!
Shortie wrote:How often should I be putting it back on the charger, probably won't be riding until April or so.
The Battery Tender is designed to be left connected to the battery continuously. When it senses that that battery needs charging it'll give it a little juice, so it'll be ready to go when you need it in April.
Pull it out once a month and charge it overnight, that should be enough. Just make sure it is in a well ventilated area when it is charging and that there are no open flames or possibilities for sparks.
smithrw wrote:If your scooter happens to have a cigar lighter outlet then you can get the battery tender male plug to plug into it. That's what I did and it's worked out great.
This won't work on a BT Plus - the charge current maximum is too high (> 1A) and will blow the socket's fuse. The BTJr only allows .75A, so it can charge successfully through the 12v socket.
Ya... oops. Thanks bf for blowing a fuse that is nearly impossible to find in any autoparts stores. Add that to the winter project list...
PeteH wrote:
This won't work on a BT Plus - the charge current maximum is too high (> 1A) and will blow the socket's fuse. The BTJr only allows .75A, so it can charge successfully through the 12v socket.
Ya... oops. Thanks bf for blowing a fuse that is nearly impossible to find in any autoparts stores. Add that to the winter project list...
Did you try Radio Shack?
Yep. They don't keep the wee ones in stock around here I guess.
Just going to put a 2A in there, have lots of those!
smithrw wrote:If your scooter happens to have a cigar lighter outlet then you can get the battery tender male plug to plug into it. That's what I did and it's worked out great.
This won't work on a BT Plus - the charge current maximum is too high (> 1A) and will blow the socket's fuse. The BTJr only allows .75A, so it can charge successfully through the 12v socket.
Ya... oops. Thanks bf for blowing a fuse that is nearly impossible to find in any autoparts stores. Add that to the winter project list...
Been there. NAPA can order those fuses and have them in the store the next day. The other option is to scour through low amp fuse variety packs. Those are still a bit hard to find and there is usually only a single one amp fuse, though.
OK, it has gotten too cold for me to ride in the morning. (3o degrees, but I am 70 and the cold is too much for me) So I got the battery out of my buddy 125 and brought it upstairs to my apt. 
