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Battery charger doesn't work
Old 01-27-2017, 09:30 AM   #1
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Battery charger doesn't work

We bought a battery charger for our tractor, and it's not working.

Everything seems to be connected properly. The electric outlet is OK. Battery terminals are clean. When the charger is connected to electric power, the charger lights flash for a couple of seconds. Then, nothing. The charging light is supposed to come on after 5 seconds, but it doesn't.

The very inadequate Troubleshooting section in the manual merely says "Check electrical outlet. Check electrical connections. Check battery."

Here are photos of the way I connected the charger to the battery and tractor chassis. Does anything look wrong? The instructions are to attach the positive charger clip to the positive battery terminal, and that's what I did.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg charger.jpg (570.2 KB, 38 views)
File Type: jpg positive.jpg (354.1 KB, 36 views)
File Type: jpg negative.jpg (344.4 KB, 34 views)
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Old 01-27-2017, 09:34 AM   #2
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Try clamping the negative to the negative battery terminal rather than the chassis.
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Old 01-27-2017, 09:40 AM   #3
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I used to touch the clips together, very briefly, to verify that the charger was providing juice. If that's true the problem is generally the posts on the battery are not really getting the juice from the charger. Little steel wool or anything abrasive to get the contact clean. Same way on the ground make sure it's on bare clean metal.

FWIW my chargers 40+ years old. I don't know what a modern charger might do when you intentionally ground it.
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Old 01-27-2017, 09:41 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
Try clamping the negative to the negative battery terminal rather than the chassis.
+1
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Old 01-27-2017, 09:43 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
Try clamping the negative to the negative battery terminal rather than the chassis.
Yes, you might not be getting a good connection there, or that part not be a good ground.

However, there is a slight risk to that - they should instruct you to make that the last connection, so any spark is away from the battery, in case there is any hydrogen gas that could be ignited. I would unplug the charger, make the connections and then plug the charger back in. And reverse that to disconnect (unplug charger first).

Also, if the battery is very dead, some of these 'smart' chargers will just shut down, because a very low battery can indicate a fault condition. But that is kind of a catch-22. Might need a jump or a dumb charger to get it kick-started.

-ERD50
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Old 01-27-2017, 09:45 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
Try clamping the negative to the negative battery terminal rather than the chassis.
that's what i do
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Old 01-27-2017, 09:51 AM   #7
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Not what the instructions say to do, but I guess it wouldn't hurt.

Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
Try clamping the negative to the negative battery terminal rather than the chassis.
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Old 01-27-2017, 10:03 AM   #8
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that's what i do
Me too, I always connect directly to the battery.

I always put the + one on the batter first, then the negative one, and only then do I plug in the charger.

I do it this way so if the clip slips off and hits car metal while I'm putting it on, I won't get any big sparks.
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Old 01-27-2017, 10:15 AM   #9
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We don't plug in the charger until both clips are in place. For that very reason.
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Originally Posted by Sunset View Post
I do it this way so if the clip slips off and hits car metal while I'm putting it on, I won't get any big sparks.
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Old 01-27-2017, 10:21 AM   #10
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To test the battery maintainer, you could temp hook it to your car battery and see if it functions as it is supposed to. If it does, then likely your tractor battery is either too discharged or dead. A battery maintainer is not intended to be able to charge a too low battery. The function is to maintain a full charged battery.

Assuming the maintainer is working correctly. You could hook up your tractor battery to a std battery charger and let that go for 24 hours or so. Then disconnect the std charger and hook up the maintainer. If battery is OK shape, the maintainer should work at that point.
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Old 01-27-2017, 11:04 AM   #11
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A battery maintainer is not intended to be able to charge a too low battery. The function is to maintain a full charged battery.
True.
The OP's photo shows a 1.5 amp charger/maintainer, which would only put out a trickle charge. The poor little thing is probably just overwhelmed at what you're asking it to do.
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Old 01-27-2017, 11:31 AM   #12
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Some modern chargers look for a voltage on the battery before they provide an output. So, the old trick to touch the leads together and look for a spark, doesn't work. Also, they won't charge a totally dead battery.
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Old 01-27-2017, 11:39 AM   #13
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The manual says that if the battery is damaged or dead, there's an indicator that should light up on the charger to let you know. *Nothing* is lighting on the charger, after the first couple of seconds.
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Old 01-27-2017, 11:43 AM   #14
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First thing - Check the charger with a Volt meter when it's not connected to the old battery.
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Old 01-27-2017, 11:44 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by braumeister View Post
The OP's photo shows a 1.5 amp charger/maintainer, which would only put out a trickle charge. The poor little thing is probably just overwhelmed at what you're asking it to do.
What he said.

I'd try leaving a regular battery charger (8 amp or higher) for at least a few hours and bring it up to regular voltage. Then try the maintainer.
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Old 01-27-2017, 11:53 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
Try clamping the negative to the negative battery terminal rather than the chassis.
+1
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Old 01-27-2017, 12:00 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by Amethyst View Post
The manual says that if the battery is damaged or dead, there's an indicator that should light up on the charger to let you know. *Nothing* is lighting on the charger, after the first couple of seconds.
If the leads are not getting good contact my guess is it won't light the indicator.
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Old 01-27-2017, 12:06 PM   #18
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I've never had the need to charge a car battery. But did find a video by car guy Jay Leno (yep, same guy) about battery charging and a good charger very interesting:

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Old 01-27-2017, 12:13 PM   #19
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Old 01-27-2017, 12:44 PM   #20
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Yes, you might not be getting a good connection there, or that part not be a good ground.

However, there is a slight risk to that - they should instruct you to make that the last connection, so any spark is away from the battery, in case there is any hydrogen gas that could be ignited. I would unplug the charger, make the connections and then plug the charger back in. And reverse that to disconnect (unplug charger first).

Also, if the battery is very dead, some of these 'smart' chargers will just shut down, because a very low battery can indicate a fault condition. But that is kind of a catch-22. Might need a jump or a dumb charger to get it kick-started.

-ERD50


In this vein.... do you have a manual switch? There are times when I want to charge my boat battery and it will not 'turn on'.... but when I switch to manual battery instead of deep charge battery is starts charging....
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