Battery tender leads

[phoneman]

  I have a question for you guys that use a Battery Tender during the slow ( as in too cold ) season.

  Where did you run the lead from the battery to ?  As in where does it stick out so you can hook up the battery charger when needed ?

  It really doesn't get cold enough here for me not to ride but my ride to work is only about 3 miles and I ride a couple of different bikes during the week.  I noticed my Connie was a little low on starting voltage the other day.  I got in a good 150 mile ride last weekend and everything charged up like it should so I don't think the battery is going bad.  Just a case of not getting enough running time on my trip to work.

  The removeable battery cover looks like it is just begging for a slot to be ground in it so the lead would stick out down low and would be easy to access and out of the way when not needed.

  If there is a better place or way give me some ideas.  Thanks in advance.

  BTW--the weatherman says it's gonna be 9 F here Monday night/Tuesday morning.
I work outside all year and I'm loving this cool weather.

  You can put on enough clothes to stay warm but you can get butt-naked here in the summer and you are still gonna sweat like a pig. ( If a pig could sweat )

  I'm tired of sweating.  I may change my mind in the next couple of days.

[B.D.F.]

Probably the easiest way to do it is to put a short whip (an electrical cord with a connector on the end) wired directly to the battery and just hanging down (easy boys!) a few inches from the battery cover. No need to file or cut the cover, there is enough room to snake wires out from under the cover though only barely. Cover the end of the whip with a fair coating of grease and then a physical cover so it does not corrode and you will be all set.

You should have an in- line fuse as close to the battery as physically possible just in case the wire chafes and shorts. The fuse can be quite large in value so it should never really be at risk of popping using a battery charger, tender or similar, and only really be there for a complete short to the frame.

You can also make more elaborate wiring paths if you want. My taps come from the battery, under the battery cover, and split with one going forward and the other going under the seat where it is used for all the heavy current electrical connections on the bike such as heated gear for both rider and passenger. The one going to the front powers up the headlights as well as most of the electronics on the bike.

But the easiest way I know of is a short whip from the battery, just dangling, about 10 inches long or so. Of course you can tuck it away somewhere when not in use if you choose to do so, and could always add a piece of Velcro to hold it firmly someplace on the bike if you wanted to do that.

Brian

  I have a question for you guys that use a Battery Tender during the slow ( as in too cold ) season.

  Where did you run the lead from the battery to ?  As in where does it stick out so you can hook up the battery charger when needed ?

<snip>

[Tarheelbob]

Just run the battery tender pigtail from the battery to some easily accessible point outside the body work. Here's what I did:



Tucks up nicely out of the way when not in use.



To clarify; this is my heated gear lead, too. I added a little 6" SAE-to-coax adapter to my battery tender and use the same connection point.

[phoneman]

  Thanks guys.

  It didn't look like there was enough room to get the lead out of the battery compartment.  Maybe I was just fixated on my idea--even though I was not really wanting to be grinding on the battery cover.

  Back to the man cave to have another look.

  Did I mention it's supposed to be 9F here ? 

  This can also function as a power supply for heated gear.  I may need some shortly.

  Thanks again.

[B.D.F.]

You can of course use the one tap for both heated gear and a battery tender / charger (also for an electric tire pump) but the heated clothing may require more current. Mine is fused for 15 amps on the heated gear taps while a battery tender is quite a bit less than that I believe. So I would suggest using wire and a fuse rated for the highest current using device you intend to ever use on that circuit.

I went with all coax (DIN) connectors on my whips, which heated gear plugs right into. I re-wired my electric air compressor to also use one of those rather than using an adapter and also set up a male whip for battery charging. Nothing wrong with the adapter method, just saying that you can go a different way and hard wire everything with coax connectors.

Brian

  Thanks guys.

  It didn't look like there was enough room to get the lead out of the battery compartment.  Maybe I was just fixated on my idea--even though I was not really wanting to be grinding on the battery cover.

  Back to the man cave to have another look.

  Did I mention it's supposed to be 9F here ? 

  This can also function as a power supply for heated gear.  I may need some shortly.

  Thanks again.

[texrider]

I ran mine forward so it is hidden within the right side fairing, but still easy to reach.

[Conrad]

I ran mine forward so it is hidden within the right side fairing, but still easy to reach.

+1 With both battery covers removed it's very easy to run the battery tender pigtail up and over the top of the inner cover and a bit forward so that it hangs down on the inside of the right side fairing.

[phoneman]

  Thanks Conrad.  There's plenty of room to run it out where you stated.

  I'm almost embarrassed I didn't see that big ole hole up there.

  Worked like a champ 
 

[Conrad]

  Thanks Conrad.  There's plenty of room to run it out where you stated.

  I'm almost embarrassed I didn't see that big ole hole up there.

  Worked like a champ 
 

I got a little worried when you started talking about grinding the cover.   

[Dade22]

I installed a powerlet on the left side. This is powered all the time.  In the winter, i back feed my float charger through this.  Yes its fused!

Just an idea.


Dade22

[stevewfl]

My C14 never stays parked long enough for a battery tender 

I have 4 battery tenders for the others when i'm on a trip to the snow or the desert and leave them behind though 

[VirginiaJim]

I've never used one..  What are these 'battery tenders' you speak of?

[phoneman]

  I got the battery tender lead all hooked up.  Even used it to charge the battery.

  Dang battery still acted like it was about to take a dump so I just put a new one in.

  Like Forrest Gump said- " Just one less thing to worry about. "

  And if I need it again I already have the lead hooked up. 

[Son of Pappy]

I've never used one..  What are these 'battery tenders' you speak of?

They are in the freezer, right next to the chicken tenders.

[stevewfl]

battery Tender makes apparel too 

[Boomer]

Mine is wired to a Cigarette lighter socket mounted in the left fairing inner.
Fused but always on.

[Conrad]

They are in the freezer, right next to the chicken tenders.