Modern Vespa

I bought a new 2012 Kymco Like 200i back in Late July. From day one I have always used a battery tender. Today when I went to start the scooter it was hard starting. Instead of it cranking the starter motor easily it started to turn the starter motor, but then paused momentarily before the scooter came to life. I blew it off as low battery performance due to the cold. It is 48 degrees in my garage. After about an hour of riding I stopped for a drink. When I went to start the scooter the same thing happened. This time I noticed all the lights and the digital clock when blank (out) during the pause period and then like the motor came to life a moment later. I rode another hour and a half. When I got home I shut down the scooter and restarted it and again it behaved the same. When I hooked it up to the battery tender it went through its normal routine of starting off with the light let a steady red turning to a flashing green. After about 20 minutes it went to solid green. I checked the battery to make all connections were tight and clean and they were. Do you think its the cold that is causing this or do I need a new battery?

battery tenders are not for everyday use when the scooter is generally ridden weekly.

you have probably cooked the battery too much and weakened it. thus the starting issues you are now having.

replace the battery. Only use the battery tender if you are letting it set for a couple weeks at a time. Then hook it up 4-6 hrs prior to riding. no need to let it sit there and cook it all the time.

I was under the impression that a battery tender would babysit a battery. I generally ride weekly so it sounds like I don't need a battery tender except for an occasional period of extended non use.

A properly working battery tender shouldn't cook the battery. It should maintain between 13 and 13.6V after first charging it to 14.4V.

That said, they're for use when the battery isn't otherwise being charged - and maybe the charging system isn't up to scratch? Whatever, I'd get the battery checked for condition (any auto shop, you want CCA of 150A or more). If it can't do that, replace it, and get the tender itself checked out...

Thank you. I'll have it checked.

The high point, IMO, of the Battery Tender is the FACT that it won't cook a battery. Most high quality chargers these days have circuits to prevent that from happening.

+1

'Circuits' can go wrong though - witness regulators etc. A battery tender is more likely to just 'play dead' than provide over-voltage though.

to the op . what brand , model number tender do you have? post a pic if you can.

I think the tender's follow a set pattern when charging. If you plug a battery in and leave it for months it will turn on and charge to get the battery up to the correct voltage as needed. But each time it is connected to the battery it charges to certain voltages even if the battery doesn't need a charge!

I cooked all the water out of the battery on my BMW by using the battery tender too often (I think!). The problem is that you don't know when the next time you will use the bike...

Battery Tender Jr.

http://modernvespa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1522266

Deltran Battery Tender Jr. 12V.

I bought it brand new when I bought the scooter (6 months ago). I have used this brand for years on MCs that I have had. On the scooter I installed the loop connector for ease of hookup.

When I got back from my ride I open the battery case and checked the coonection. All clean and tight. I will call my dealer Wednesday when they reopen for business after New Year's close and have it checked out.

I would suspect the battery was not serviced properly when you bought the scoot. Alot of dealers just acid them and put them in the scoot, then say here you go.

The scoot being only 6 months old you should get a warranty replacement battery. This one after the acid goes in fully charge it then install in the scoot.

You're still on the cooked battery theory, and we still don't have any battery tests.

Troutbum, you should remove the battery from the scooter and take it to any place that has a "battery load tester". Simple test and a quick way to determine if your battery is okay.
*You should be able to leave your battery tender hooked up all the time when you're not riding unless it's defective. If it's defective, it could cause a problem with the battery.

If I can get off work early today I'll give that a go with one of the auto parts stores. If not today maybe one will be open tomorrow.

Most auto parts stores have a load tester. I had one of the higher end, Deltran battery chargers for AGM batteries that became defective several years ago and it screwed up the battery. The lights would indicate that the battery was charging and then indicate that it was fully charged but what was happening was that the charger was not going into float mode so it was overcharging the battery.

Now that you mentioned it I wonder if I have a defective unit. I won't know for sure until I can get the battery tested. When I plug the battery to the tender it starts off red and usually within 10 to 15 minutes at most it goes to flashing green eventaully to solid green. Since I usually can only ride on weekends I generally check the status in the morning and evening. Never once have I not seen it other than solid green except as I said when I intially plug the battery to the tender after my weekend riding. Should I see the status light go between solid and flashing over the course of a few days?

It depends on the charge level of the battery. It can go to green within a few minutes if the battery is already adequately charged but would take as long as overnight or more if the battery was in a poor state of charge. Once you have the battery tested, it will tell you where to look next. If the battery is fine, then the chances are that your charger is also fine and that the problem is somewhere else..............possibly the starter relay.

Thank you.

Thanks everyone. This has been very informative. Next step for me is to have the battery tested.

Simple-Kymco has 2 year warranty----get it started and take it to them, period.

My take on battery chargers/keepers---you don't need them if you ride everyday.....and do not install stuff that has static drag on battery, or exceeds charging capacity of system.

in practice bike/scooter new in good stock shape parked with battery charged (think highway run of 20 miles or so) should start up after a month of so of sitting. Many of the newer/sealed batteries can hold charge for an amazing amount of time.

I did not have the time to have the battery tested the past two days. Called my dealer today and gave them the run down. From what I described the tech thinks its the battery. He mentioned that battery brand Kymco uses in the Like is on the cheap side, but at any rate he start a warranty claim to get me on the road riding again. I should be ridin by Saturday. 8)